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by Valerie Schwartz/PoorNewNetwork
Sunday September 8, 2002 was a warm gorgeous day in the Haight district of San Francisco, or so I had been thinking. I felt good as the warmth of the sun hit my face. Cotton wisps sparsely placed as they mingled with the never-ending blue sky. I closed my eyes and drifted of into a daydream...Then all of a sudden I was slapped back into reality when I heard, "I can't tell you...they'll kill me!, "They piped me in the head and stabbed me." Then I heard a discordant wave, an aftershock, of frantic and frightened voices: "Somebody call 911!, he looks pretty bad, he's losing a lot of blood...what happened?"
I walked up to the sidewalk and laying in between two-parked cars was a tall, thin, young man clad only in his briefs. He was covered in blood. He looked familiar, he looked like a homeless guy I used to see on the streets downtown and in the Tenderloin. I wasn't positive, although I rarely forget a face, but at that point I still was not sure who he was. His face and body were smeared with different shades of reds and rust-brown, his life leaking out of him.
Roxanne, a resident of the neighborhood, was sitting in the street next to him. Roxanne told me that he had come out of the park across the street, Buena Vista Park, and had made it as far as the curb. She had propped him up against the rear bumper of a car and was applying pressure to the stab wound in his chest. She pushed a shirt and two-fingers directly into the wound, which had been, spurting blood and plugged it. I listened to her talking to him to try to keep him from going further into shock than he already was. I heard her ask him in a very soft and calm voice, "What Happened?" He again replied, "I can't tell you... they'll kill me." He was more than frightened but she kept him talking and I truly believe that she saved his life.
What was even more incredible was when the first officer on the scene got out of his car. He cleared the street of traffic, approached the victim and sarcastically said, "What happened buddy, drug deal gone bad?" He then told Roxanne that she really shouldn't be touching him because of all the blood. A man standing on the sidewalk also parroted this message. Listening to these statements dumbfounded me. I was amazed at the phobia and attitudes of indifference and the general disregard of this young man as a person, a human being. At this moment, I was reminded of the indifference of the proposed legislation Proposition N, aka "Care" not Cash, which talks about homelessness as though it had nothing to do with human beings.
Eventually the Fire Department arrived and quickly attended to the young man. As the paramedics made their way over to where he lay, Roxanne got up. She didn't leave his side until they were next to him. Roxanne told me later, "If I had stopped putting pressure on his wounds he might have died, because the cop sure wasn't going to do it." Roxanne then told me, "I walked away and the cop called me back and asked me, "Will you get some 411 (information) for me? He won't talk to me." She continued, "I went over to him and asked him again, what happened?" "I told him that he didn't look too good and maybe he needed to tell me what happened." Roxanne told me that he then reluctantly gave her his name and birth date.
Still strong in my belief that he was the homeless person I once knew, I asked Roxanne some more questions. "Do you think that this man was homeless?" I asked. She hesitated as she thought and replied, "At first I didn't know what to think because he wasn't dressed... But as I kept him talking he told me they took his sleeping bag, he was upset about his sleeping-bag." She then went on to tell me that, "He never once mentioned any money and although they took his wallet it did not seen to bother him at all." "He said they took his wedding ring, but he never asked for his family, wife, or spouse to be notified of his condition." I asked Roxanne, "Did he say if they took his clothes?" She said, "He didn't say they took my clothes, he said nothing about them."
I am still bothered by the statements made to the victim by the first officer on the scene, in reference to a drug deal gone bad and his phobia of blood. Does this mean that because the victim was stripped to his briefs that he was: A. A crazed dope-fiend? B. A sex-industry worker? C. A pervert, a trick, or a gay man? D. Homeless? E. All of the above? I feel that the officer automatically stereotyped him into one, if not all of these categories upon his arrival. Therefore by the statements of this officer, did this mean that the young man/victim more than likely got what he deserved because, a judgement had been formulated that, the man was a walking "Petri-dish" of diseases and viruses? The reality is that first and foremost this young man is a person and should have been treated as such.
I called the SAGE-Project(Standing Against Global Exploitation) and spoke to Sammy Formo who is a peer counselor for the men's services at SAGE. The SAGE Project deals with women and men who have been sex-industry workers, that have experienced domestic violence, substance abuse, self esteem and parenting issues, homelessness and more. I asked him if he had any reports of violence or attacks of his clients in Buena Vista Park. He replied, " I don't have a lot of clients who will admit to working in that park. It does happen though. I feel that people get robbed more than attacked up there. People are afraid to come forth, It's an issue of shame. If they came forward--look how the police treated this young man--they are afraid of what would happen. They're afraid of how they will be treated."
I then asked Sammy, "Are many of your clients homeless?"
"A couple of them and some of the clients I have who will be released from jail don't have a place to go."
I then asked Sammy about Proposition N "Care-Not-Cash" and how he felt about it. " Don't get me started", his words rushed through the phone line. He added, "It's ludicrous, It's unbelievable... it will create more poor people."
I then called Jennifer Friedenbach at the Coalition On Homelessness to ask her about violence against poor homeless people of our fair city. I asked Jennifer if she thought the citizen's of San Francisco were aware of the violence and hate that is happening on a daily basis, and that many of these people who are the recipients of this are poor and or homeless. Jennifer gave a quick reply with a sigh, a simple, "No."
I then asked Ms. Friedenbach if she thought the corporate media's editorial policies are biased and if she felt that they portrayed poor and houseless folks in a negative light?" Jennifer said, "Yes definitely. I think the corporate media has created a feeling of safety among people who are creating hate crimes against the poor homeless people and this is done by constantly demonizing and constantly portraying the poor and homeless in a negative light."
Jennifer and I briefly discussed "Care-Not-Cash". "How do you feel about the mainstream media's coverage of Proposition N, or lack of coverage?" I asked.
Sounding firm and concerned she replied, "It has been horrendous. It has not been properly characterized, it just repeats the rhetoric and lies without ever explaining what the legislation says." Ms. Friedenbach then added, "It will increase poverty and homelessness."
Being that I have lived on the street and have been assaulted, been homeless and have myself slept in Buena Vista Park. I can understand and make sense of the statements made by this young man: He was worried about his sleeping bag and his wedding ring, and that he did not seem to be worried about his wallet. When you are houseless, a sleeping bag is far more beneficial than an empty wallet. I have never seen an empty wallet cover a person and fend off the chills of the night. I can also see why a ring is of importance, sentimental importance. I know very few houseless people who would worry about their clothes being taken for they can always get more. As far as material possessions go: they are not often as valued as the basics. I understand the omission of his family because of shame. I can tell you first hand, that the poor and homeless of San Francisco worry about Proposition N. I can tell you that safety is on homeless peoples mind often, they do worry about violence and the pecking orders that living in poverty can create. Poor and homeless people do worry about how their treatment will be hindered by bias and stereotyping and the fear it produces. "I can't tell you... They'll kill me."
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