by George Salamon
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| "In Missouri, a new state law that took effect on 1 January makes it a crime for any person to sleep on state property. For unhoused people, sleeping in public parks or under city highways could mean up to $750 in fines or 15 days in prison for multiple offenses." —The Guardian, January 5, 2023. Photo: An unhoused person in Los Angeles. Photograph: David Swanson/AFP/Getty Images via The Guardian. |
Homelessness is a crime
in the state of Missouri,
where sleeping on the
street is not punishment
enough for so capital a sin
by those who belong in a
loony bin for the criminally
cruel and heartless, claiming
the voices in their heads
are those of God or Jesus,
without even being facetious.
George Salamon thinks he sees where this is going. As Richard T. Evans pointed out in The German Underworld. Deviants and Outcasts in German History (1988): "The Nazis planned their first big round-up of the homeless as soon as they came to power."