The Argus today reports a story which reveals that beneath Brighton's free and easy, 'welcoming', diverse and tolerant reputation lies a bitter and sad truth. Tonight I left a comment on the 'gay movement' and the new 'right' to adopt children into overtly homosexual households on Fr Ray Blake's blog. I intimated that there are so many causes more worthy of human focus and attention than 'gay rights'. If every gay man in Brighton made the plight of the homeless and destitute the focus of his endeavours, rather than the promotion of his sexuality and his 'gay rights', then not only would Brighton be a beacon of true human rights and true human dignity, known throughout the World for its humanity and compassion, but the town would surely be truly blessed by the All Merciful God within Whom the poor find shelter and refuge. I don't know...Call me a 'retarded homophobe' if you want, but I'm yet to see a rainbow sash wearing, gay rights activist on the soup run.
Funny...Most people who do the soup run, as far as I know, are Catholics intent upon performing the Works of Mercy called for by Our Blessed Lord. Clearly, when it comes to campaigning, this town is barking up the wrong tree and it isn't the Tree of Life. It's ironic. I had long thought the homeless were portrayed as garbage in this town...Just to demonstrate the hollow centre at the heart of darkness that is 'diversity central', here is a comment on the Argus article by one 'Johnathan' of the city by the sea.
"This could only happen in Brighton and Hove. Let the driver check the bins. In regard to homelessness, if these do-gooders stopped helping them by giving them money etc, they would soon find a job and then a home. The Argus was heavy involved in the case of the homeless couple who lived in a graveyard. The Council have now housed them, but they are still on Western Road selling the Big Issue, smoking and having a Special Brew. Why don't they get a job? In the Argus this week there were 400 jobs advertised. Almost half were for unskilled workers. People will stay on the streets if we keep giving them money to smoke and drink."This was the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah, you see. It wasn't just the rampant homosexual practices that offended the Lord. It was the blithe ignorance and near open persecution of the poor as well. Right, mate. So, leave the poor to starve and deny them any alms...This way, they will pull themselves up by their boot-straps and get a job at Legal and General. Oh, how awful and unsightly! The homeless couple who stayed the winter in a tent in a cemetery on the Lewes Road in minus temperatures have a trade, have a smoke and a drink to keep themselves going. You're complaining of vice in Brighton and you pick on them? What a homeless-phobic retard! No-one can touch the gay community in the new PC consensus but the poor, excluded and disenfranchised homeless and hostel-hopping community are fair game! Charming! Oh Lord...You have to hand it to this town...I fear that one day You will...And, readers, if you think that is offensive, then just wait...If things continue in the direction they are headed, then one day, and maybe one day soon, I'll offend the 'gay community' so much, the hardcore will be making voodoo dolls going by the name of Laurence England.
A homeless man sleeping in a bin narrowly escaped death after he was nearly dropped into a waste truck’s crusher. Union leaders have now said urgent action is needed to save its members from potentially killing someone [and hopefully, save homeless men from being crushed to death!] Officials from the GMB union, which represents all of Brighton and Hove’s binmen demanded that each vehicle sent out to empty communal bins should have an additional member of staff specifically to check bins before they are emptied. Mark Turner, GMB branch secretary for Brighton and Hove, said: "It will not cost much but it needs to be done. We are talking about saving lives here."
The move follows an incident where a homeless man was sleeping in one of the communal bins which are being rolled out across the city. The collection truck, crewed by just the driver, pulled up alongside the bin on Brighton beach and used the CCTV system in its cab to line it up and engage its automatic emptying mechanism. The bin was hoisted into the air above the vehicle and was about to be emptied into the compactor below when the driver heard terrified screams. He stopped the mechanism and discovered the man inside the bin, inches away from being tipped into the truck.
Mr Turner said: "This could have a been a very nasty incident, that man could easily have been killed and the driver would have that on his conscience, for no real fault of his own." He said it would only cost the Brighton and Hove City Council's Cityclean refuse service £32,000 a year to employ two workers to travel with the two communal bin collection vehicles. His call was backed by councillors, who also raised concerns that the city was in a position where the homeless were resorting to sleeping in bins.
Brighton and Hove City Councillor Paul Elgood said: "Those trucks are potentially lethal. It's a lot for one driver to take responsibility for." He said having an extra worker would help to address other problems with the bins. Councillor Elgood said: "A second person would be able to clear the items dumped around the bins and close the lids." Councillor Warren Morgan added, "The council must ensure that crew levels are sufficient to ensure the health and safety of both their staff and the public."
The beach incident this week followed another in Queen's Place, Brighton, in February, where a homeless man sleeping in a shop bin and was tipped into a dustcart operated by commercial waste group Veolia Environmental Services. The crew realised the man was inside as they emptied the rubbish and hit an emergency stop button to stop him from being crushed. Brighton and Hove City Councillor Jason Kitcat said: "It is a sad state of our society that people have to resort to sleeping in bins. I would guess they wanted somewhere, anywhere, to shelter from bad weather. "I suspect it's unlikely extra operatives will be sent out as the whole point of the communal bins was cutting costs but there are lots of issues where if there was a second operative they could do the job better. "They've probably spent as much money sending out unnecessary leaflets."
The council said it was working with its homelessness team to raise awareness of the dangers of sleeping in communal bins. A spokeswoman said: "The council is issuing warning stickers to deter rough sleepers from getting inside [rather than addressing the chronic homelessness problems in Brighton while many homes remain vacant]. “To employ more people simply to inspect communal bins would not be practical or cost effective. We would not want to put that kind of responsibility onto our staff as someone inside the bin may not be seen even if the bin is checked as they may be covered up by bags or other material." A spokesman for homeless charity Crisis said: "It is a scandal that people are still having to resort to sleeping rough in such atrocious conditions in the twenty first century." [Well, quite!]
No comments:
Post a Comment