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{"id":210,"date":"2015-05-22T12:11:45","date_gmt":"2015-05-22T17:11:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thenakedjesus\/?p=210"},"modified":"2015-05-22T12:11:45","modified_gmt":"2015-05-22T17:11:45","slug":"just-feed-the-hungry-dont-worry-about-the-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thenakedjesus\/2015\/05\/just-feed-the-hungry-dont-worry-about-the-law\/","title":{"rendered":"Just Feed the Hungry, Don’t Worry About the Law"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

$\"TNJ-36-fixed.fw\"$ <\/a>Did you know\u00a074 different cities<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0[and growing<\/em>] actually have laws against feeding the hungry in public? Think about that for a second, 74 different cities<\/strong><\/em> where giving a homeless person a ham sandwich in public can get you in trouble with \u2018The Man<\/em>.\u2019 In places like\u00a0Orlando FL you can be\u00a0arrested for the simple, graceful, loving act of ladling hot soup\u00a0in a public park. It seems doing this simple act of human compassion violates the city\u2019s restrictions on feeding the homeless in public.<\/p>\n

Many of these cities seemed to be worried about the people who live [I assume pay property taxes<\/em>] near the park, and have less a concern for the homeless [I assume don\u2019t pay property taxes<\/em>] in the park. Remember Arnold Abbot<\/a>? He\u2019s the 90 year-old WWII vet who made the news, and the rounds on Social Media, who was cited twice in one week for giving out food to the homeless in a public park in Fort Lauderdale FL.<\/p>\n

Now, I\u2019m certain some will say, \u201cThere\u2019s no reason to feed people like that in public, that\u2019s why we have feeding kitchens. Let those places feed the homeless, there\u2019s no need to fed people in a public park. It\u2019s a pubic safety issue. It\u2019s a public health issue<\/em>\u201d I get that, I don\u2019t agree with it, but I get it. What I\u2019ve found is that many people who say that are actually saying, \u201cWe don\u2019t want those dirty, creepy homeless people in our area of town; we don\u2019t want to see them in public. We have nice houses, nice parks, and make a good living and having those people around us simply reminds us of how greedy we are, and how we just don\u2019t care about those people.<\/em>\u201d That\u2019s truth, you know it is. Think about it, you never see a Feeding Kitchen<\/em>\u00a0in the more affluent areas of town, because they don\u2019t want those<\/em> people in their comfort zone. Feeding Kitchens are usually in the industrial areas, or low income area \u2013 far from the view and comfortable life of those with money. Not long ago I had a conversation with someone who lives near one of those parks who told me, \u201cThey\u2019re creepy. How can I explain to my kids why those people are in the park. I have to keep my kids safe. I would rather they be removed and move to their side of town<\/em>\u201d [Which is funny, because by definition \u201chomeless\u201d would mean that they don\u2019t have a side of town<\/em>]. I believe we should be having that conversation with our children, because we will have to admit that we have too much while so many have nothing.\u00a0When a person in need is\u00a0in your face<\/em>, in public, you have to deal with the problems facing people who are in need of help; and nothing pushes people faster along the spectrum of compassion than their child asking \u2018Why don\u2019t we help them?<\/em>\u2018<\/p>\n

Creepy, dirty, greasy homeless people disrupt our comfortable, affluent lives \u2013 and they should. They should move us to care, to help, to be involved in why we have homelessness and how our systems are not designed to care for the least among us. I believe we are called by Christ to live by an\u00a0act of compassion, and yes, civil disobedience, when it comes to feeding those who are hungry.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"