Letter: Mayor awakens the worst in his constituents

Friday, June 28, 2002 | 4:26 a.m.

Mayor Oscar Goodman's stance on "Hale and Hardy" is wrong. To draw a picture depicting homeless people as worthless, and to offer it for sale to the arts community as a fund-raiser indicates a strong sense of guilt on his part.

It encourages the worst in his followers. It offers no real solutions to the problem -- blaming the victim never does. The acceptance of personal responsibility has to come from within.

Las Vegas tends to be very unforgiving toward those who fall victim to its various seductions, as if not being strong enough to retain character in the face of temptation is an insult to your charity. And all the while, the community makes its money from the erosion of will.

The homeless are not the people who need to be defeated in these times. The homeless have already been defeated. The enemy of civilization is greed at the expense of human dignity.

There are all sorts of con artists out there, homeless and otherwise. But to single out the members of the homeless community, and to characterize the homeless community by depicting them all as the worst among them, is not leadership.

Our homeless population is growing, and will continue to grow as the economy continues to crash. Goodman is capable of leadership. This is mere rabble-rousing, awakening the worst in his constituents when they need to be encouraged to be the best.

ANN REYNOLDS