i need to gather my thoughts before i talk about this poorly written, poorly researched article which highlights one of my favoritest nicest homeless people.




"nuisance criminals?"

i didnt read the article yet, but i often find that city pages is full of shit.

yeah, this is a really strange article.

i need to gather my thoughts before i talk about this poorly written, poorly researched article which highlights one of my favoritest nicest homeless people.

That article pissed me off WITHOUT having had any personal contact with any of those people. I hope you write a letter, Rayna.

"These jokers aren't exactly criminal masterminds." - quote form the article

really? is this a shock jock radio show?

rayna, which of the profiled folks is the one you're speaking of?

So mean spirited. Erin Carlyle must be a total asshole.

without reading it yet, i will say the fact that they are trying to give 'clever' nicknames to people is pretty gross. "king listerine"? hillarious. get it? he's addicted to alcohol!!!

did the author come up with those nicknames? what a weird article.

i couldnt make it through the list of profiles. i just said "what the fuck" and closed the page. i mean, what is the point of this article, anyway? its just ridiculous.

There are at least three people on there who hang out right outside my place of work, but I've never run into them. That's a really weird article.

I don't see the point here. Homeless crack addicts and alcoholics with mental issues are the city's biggest crime problem? Sounds as if we have a social services problem, not a criminal problem. Was that your point?
Comment by eric on Jul 28th, 2009, 20:54 pm

tru dat

i'd wager the point of the article is to attract readers and hits to the site

sad but (likely) true, christ o

"Journalism"

i was impression that those were the names given to the individuals by law enforcement. i didnt read this too closely after the first or second profile. gross and exploitive.

This article creeps me out! It makes no sense to have this in City Pages who usually/used to be thoughtful and caring in regards to homeless people. Really weird. And the mug shots? What sort of sensational shit is this?

I am inconvenienced by hobos.

Don't know the point of it either but when reading it I definitely thought, oh yeah there is the quy who called me a cheapskate when I gave him a dollar and not the five spot that was sitting next to it in my wallet and there is the perv who followed my girlfriend for a block saying all kinds of lewd shit that should of had his remaining teeth taken out with brick.

its like making fun of the mentaly challenged kids in a grade school lunch room.

this is going to be one of those things where people read it and then it will become like a game to spot these people and harass them. its just horrible.

"mentally"

wait - you mean people who have severe and untreated mental and addiction problems often act out in unsavory/unacceptable ways? thank you, city pages, for bringing us this "news".

kodakya, that is what i thought right away too. This is a bad idea.

Christ O Fire posted this on Jul 31st, 2009 at 12:43:11 pm
i'd wager the point of the article is to attract readers and hits to the site

Yeah, any way of looking at why this article was written comes up with it just being a bad idea.

kodakya posted this on Jul 31st, 2009 at 12:47:14 pm
this is going to be one of those things where people read it and then it will become like a game to spot these people and harass them. its just horrible.

also agree. and giving undue attention to this doesn't necessary help on a million fronts.

tom,

how would the readership of the city pages voices their opinion to the publishers, and saying, "this is trash, why are you writing this shit?" in a mature and thought out manner be harmful?

the opening story of the article seems to have zero connection to the rest of the article. it seems to be shoehorned in for purely incendiary reasons.
it also seems the author went to great pains to pointedly NOT offer any solutions or ways to curb this problem. "hey, dawgs - isn't this shit fucked up? peace out!"

exactly! sooo weird.

number one - confidentiality doesn't permit me to share that information, pitpat

number two - the author's demonizing nicknames exemplify the entire tone of the article, de-humanizing every single one of these people. and dissmissive terms like "crackheads" dont belong in journalism when applied to people.

the article also has a very "im down with the lingo of the street" patronizing sarcastic vomit inducing tone. sentences such as "And the king of these minor offenses is our boy Dwight. ..."

i mean, really? "our boy?" isn't the word "boy" as applied to a grown up, always dehumanizing and most likely racist? jesus.

i just thought of something, mischke usually has the author of that week's cover story on his show each wednesday, i didnt listen on wednesday, but i'm going to now just to see what he and she have to say about it

cv, I am not sure I understood the phrasing of your question. I think people responding in a thoughtful manner is great but the article itself is going to be the thing that gets the most attention.

wait, is this shit the COVER story?!

I'm kind of torn on it. On one hand, I think its good for a community to embarrass people who do things like running around grabbing women's crotches in the skyway. There should be (if it isn't already) a sort of healthy shame to keep society in check, and I think its ironic when people try to shame those who do the shaming. BUT I'm sure these people either already feel shame (anyone in their right mind knows society condemns actions like those in the article) but are caught in a horrible cycle where they can't stop themselves.

It's a stupid article, but I deal with these people (quite literally at least two in the article) all the time at my job. I've been threatened, my girlfriend has been threatened, as have my close friends. Its a very fine line to walk when you try to prioritize individuals in your community out of a gesture of preservation, as in, the "normal" people belong more than those deviants who are ruining the community. This is unfair. But its a struggle for me to understand how to keep the idea of shame as an honest statement from the community back to itself in a way that doesn't reduce human beings to names like "king listerine"

Hobos- the ultimate hipsters

i am so not getting the point of this piece.
i would assume most cities of a certain size/population have a contingient of homeless and/or mentally ill and/or addict folks. surely this is not unique to minneapolis. so how does the act of simply pointing out that they exist - to say nothing of actualy mocking them - constitute 'journalism'?

damn, this is the cover story??!? </life under a rock>

here's hoping that the resultant firestorm of criticism leads to some upheaval in CP's ranks, affecting how this paper's run and trimming the sensational and damaging shit(ty writers) away.

i would wager that 'shame' is not going to win the battle against unchecked mental illness.

I hope never to be known as "the Skyway Jerk-Off".

Cockblock, there is a difference between how you relate to people as an individual and how you, or this writer, or anyone else relates to them as part of an institution. Knowing that I didn't want to talk to the guy infront of the Turf Sunday because he always ends up screaming at me is different than making fun of homeless people in a paper of record.

But on to the more important question:

Which five of these guys should I Pick To Click?

absolutely agreed, pitpat.

like, the fact that somebody is grabbing crotches in public is basically proof positive that social mores, 'shame', etc are not even factors in their behavior.
i don't think anybody here is defending illegal actions or arguing that these behaviors aren't genuine nuisances.

exactly the reason why this type of sensationalistic, exploitative article is also irresponsible journalism- from the comments:

Good job Erin, and I can tell you that if this citizen sees Earl Darling again (who is far more than than a nuisance - I've witnessed him commit 2 assaults against 2 women on the same day and a recent arrest for a lost cause rape) I may just give him some street justice. Peace!


hahah, also the inclusion of "peace" at the end? forreal?

I have a feeling this thread is going to be famous.

oh, i get you tom. right on.

The new cash model of internet journalism seems to be a mix of provocative articles and open forums for crazies. Short and shocking and then give people an unmoderated message board to be fucking mouthy. This is instant ad revenue and the equivalent of slapping a billboard on a car wreck.

Those crackheads are just misunderstood is all. The cops and the paper have got it all wrong.

"this was a common way for him to meet women" and that "women sometimes like being grabbed on the vagina..."

i should have just cut and pasted the article so people didn't have to click in their site and give them ad revenue.

This comment is aweseome:

"Top Ten Rude Customers Terrorizing Uptown Restaurants." This list can include regulars at places like Chipotle and Damico Cucina...the ones who you KNOW have a ton of money but refuse to tip or even make eye contact with the people behind the counter. Example: "Queen Merlot" Lady with Blonde Hair Extensions who keeps getting the bottomless glass of wine, and expects servers to always notice the instant she needs refil. Has never tipped, even once." Obviously show a photo of her getting into her car after 4 to 5 refills.

"Top Ten Gross Guys Who Hang Out at CC Club"
Include photos and personal stories told by actual women who have been victimized by these men. Example: "Nasty Nelson" Nelson appears to be just your average Lyndale Avenue Hipster but he preys on single women. "He always breathes in my face and asks for my number, every time I go there. You can't believe how bad his breath is! When I told him 'no way dude' he called me a B*&ch and said that I must be gay! He's so nasty! He's always there!" "Top Ten People Who Never Pick Up Their Dog Poop Downtown." Example: "Heather Huskie" Heather has a big huge dog, and leaves a huge mess. She walks him in Steven's Square every afternoon. Neighbors have repeatedly asked her to pick it up, but she always replies, "Its natural fertilizer! Lighten up people!"

(All of these exapmles are fake.) The top ten list that you published is creepy and sensational, and not because of the people commiting the crimes.


Comment by Al from Minneapolis on Jul 29th, 2009, 13:42 pm

so is this one:

#
I agree with Matt Rothchild, mental defectives should be beaten to death vigilante-justice style. Unfortunately, this would likely leave Matt the only remaining inhabitant of Robbinsdale. Just him and his bloody bat of justice.

Dumbass.

I agree with other posters that point out what a shitrag CP has become. Writing an article about a topic as serious as this (I mean, have YOU ever been grabbed in the crotch by a retarded crackhead?) and treating it like an article in Cracked is insulting to the readers, Law Enforcement, caregivers, Glenn Beck, The WORLD.

Being written in the Op-Ed style, my semester of Writing for Journalism tells me the author's outline should have included a latter roman numeral for "Solutions", however it appears to have read more like "I. Top Ten List With Snarky, Empty Commentary II. Conclusion."

CP, please hire at least ONE journalist back, you so desperately need it.
Comment by David Foureyes from NE Minneapolis on Jul 31st, 2009, 10:32 am

hahahaha FACE on robbinsdale

I am pretty sure this is the first article where I have felt that the comments were more well written than the article. Of course, I rarely read the CP anymore.

Ha, excellent. Can we add "Top Ten Business Guys who Grab Ass at Titties Bars?"

not to mention that 'comments' sections online are generally bottom-of-the-barrell discourse. but these have provided some serious LOLs 4 real

I'm reading this right now but in Robert Stack's voice.

IMAGE REMOVED - CLICK TO VIEW

And that music playing in the background.

I dunno. It's kinda amusing.

from now on, i am ending all of my threatening posts with 'Peace!'.

Pitpat, I think that you're not gonna be able to keep that up for more than an hour. PEACE!

PoppaL-
you have no idea what i am capable of.
one day you will learn, but by then it will be far too late.
Peace!

Whatever, I already slit your throat and all I gotta do is breathe on you to bleed you out. PEACE!

this aggression will not stand. Peace!

We'll talk about this as we Take Back Sunday. PEACE!

You guys need to shut your ugly mouths.

WAR!

I like you better as Skull Cannon. I almost like you better as FriskiesRiot. PEACE!

this article is stupid. and it looked stupid when i saw the cover and never planned on reading it. thanks a lot rayna! ;)

Christ O Fire posted this on Jul 31st, 2009 at 12:59:02 pm
i just thought of something, mischke usually has the author of that week's cover story on his show each wednesday, i didnt listen on wednesday, but i'm going to now just to see what he and she have to say about it

hmmm... i guess he didnt talk to her on wednesday

Homeless peopel who go around grabing va-jay-jays in the sky way are NO GOOD! It's ok for the rest of the world to look down on them becasue every day woment are getting raped by homeless crack heads and you all just want to look away like its nothing wrong.

I'm way more against rape than i am against shitty newspapors.

Much better. PEACE!

Skull Cannon posted this on Jul 31st, 2009 at 01:35:59 pm
Homeless peopel who go around grabing va-jay-jays in the sky way are NO GOOD! It's ok for the rest of the world to look down on them becasue every day woment are getting raped by homeless crack heads and you all just want to look away like its nothing wrong.

well, in this era of shitty insurance i could use a free exam. TAI.

PoppaLarge, you have no idea about anything.

Do I? Or do I have so much of an idea that it looks like I have NONE?

Motherfucker, the next level is my BASEMENT.

PEACE!

PoppaLarge posted this on Jul 31st, 2009 at 01:47:46 pm
Motherfucker, the next level is my BASEMENT.

What does this mean? That you are like two levels above us because the next level for us is your basement, which means it's a level below your current level? Or does it mean everyone is being dragged down to your basement level?

I am TingAI.

Stu: Dammit, it works better in conversation. Mythical_Beat can attest.

But I'm not answering your question. That's where I'm a viking!

PEACE!

"And the king of these major offenses to journalism is our girl Erin!"

This is a fucking messageboard, Poppa, and therefore there is a decorum that should be followed. You can't just throw out idle comments and not have good cause and good reasoning to back them up. You're putting a crack in the very foundation of the internet with your recklessness.

OOOOH SHIT you are second against the wall! PEACE!

the "Car Squatter" has been 86'd from 331 premises. He was caught snooping around my co-worker's porch, and broke into my boss's car. That dude fucking sucks, and is a real piece of shit. He's been trying to sell his traces of cars to people on the patio for the past few months, and would just pester people all night long.

tom posted this on Jul 31st, 2009 at 12:49:13 pm
Christ O Fire posted this on Jul 31st, 2009 at 12:43:11 pm
i'd wager the point of the article is to attract readers and hits to the site

Yeah, any way of looking at why this article was written comes up with it just being a bad idea.

This has been true of pretty much every issue since the last buy out.

MinnPost!

It's amazing that we spend so much money brutalizing these people with jail + the court system. Does it really cost that much more to give people social fucking services? WTF.

AHHHHH!!! MORAL PANIC!!! CONSUME CONSUME!!!! Quick, before Christ returns and fixes everything. Ugh, this article just made me dumber.

i just posted my comment...god what a sad article......

lol on magma.

PoppaLarge posted this on Jul 31st, 2009 at 01:23:05 pm
I think that they should make a site like "Look at this Fucking Hipster" but call it "Look at this fucking homeless person" that would be HILARIOUS.

PEACE!

GODDAMMIT MAGS. PEACE!

i didn't even see that i swears! i only scanned the thread.

PEACE!

Great minds think alike. PEACE!

THE IMPORTANT THING IS WE'RE MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN SOCIETY BY POSTING STUFF ON THE INTERNET!

PEACE!

OOPS I MEANT TO SAY THAT HERE!

FAIL.

PEACE.

I thought tom was going to delete all us fake accounts.

peach.

Number 11 on the list heard from.

"Yo, what happened to peace?"

"PEACE!"

IMAGE REMOVED - CLICK TO VIEW

Wait, Mags is ALLCAPS? I wouldn't have guessed that for a second.

HAHA.

lol nice try popz

I've lost so much respect for you, Magma.

magma90210 posted this on Jul 31st, 2009 at 02:32:48 pm
THE IMPORTANT THING IS WE'RE MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN SOCIETY BY POSTING STUFF ON THE INTERNET

...

Ok now I'm REALLY confused. So confused I forgot to say PEACE!

wait it's not you poppa?

vert, nigga pls i am not alltruthbombcapsparty, get real

Nope. PEACE!

hmmmmm i smell a rat.

i only had one alt ever, it was a one-joke "bill gates" account for some dumb microsoft thread

i occasionally post as magma90210

I'm very real. So real that I'm not renewing my subscription to Game Informer.

This article was an uncomfortable read for sure. The City Pages, The Police"force", and Erin Carlyle have MONEY to go with their addictions and disabilities...I wanna write/read an article about this dreadful teamwork they constructed. Good luck falling asleep jerks. I hope that one guy grabs all of them in the crotch!

the funny thing is, there are quite a few new and innovative programs in the last few years which address these issues. programs where the police are working with non-profits to find a more permanent effective solution than repeated arrests for "livability" crimes (i hate that loaded term. it's pretty ironic that it is usually thrown around when discussing crimes committed by people with NOWHERE TO LIVE).

all of these fairly new programs often identify and track down people who may be guilty of some of these nuisance crimes. perhaps one or two of these people have entered into a program like this in the last year, and the writer failed to notice that they, in contrast to last year, had only been arrested once this year since they have gotten apartments.

rayna posted this on Jul 31st, 2009 at 12:58:48 pm
number one - confidentiality doesn't permit me to share that information, pitpat

its not like people only know homeless people because of their job

true enough. there is another person on that list who i used to talk to quite a bit. also very nice.

On the other hand, saying something would look pretty bad. Says the guy who runs a HIPAA compliance program for an entire school at the U.

rayna you seem to know a lot of homeless peeps.
oh yeah. you hang out at palmers ;)

magma really owned that comment section hard. kudos!

Not to derail, but I noticed this in that dumbass Robbinsdale dude's quote:

Empowerment to administer well-deserved butt-whoopings and other such community-based justice, as was the case years ago, would be a GREAT start.

This is not the first time I've come across some person talking about the good old days, when people could freely beat up or even shoot Bad People. Is this some popular right-wing meme now? I think Joe The Plumber even made some comment about how you used to be able to shoot people who said mean things about the troops. I'm 41, and I don't ever remember a time when you could do these things. Never heard my parents or grandparents reminisce about that Golden Age, either.

maybe he's talking about the wild west or something

well, it isn't like homeless people don't get harassed and beat up on the regular by idiots. killed as well, just not as often.

Not that there aren't elements of this outrage with which I can agree, but I'm a little unclear what the commotion is about?

Did we expect legitimate journalism from the City Pages? I don't even mean that like, "the City Pages sucks," (It does, generally, but it's not the point I'm making.)

I'm just saying, yeah, it's a tacky, cynical article about people who have real problems and undoubtedly deserve compassion and respect. The tone seems to be humorous. Is the problem that it's not actually that funny?

Because if the problem is that it's not okay to make fun of other people's tragedy, I'm quitting life.

You'll get my AIDS, landmine amputee and child molestations jokes when you pry them from my cold, dead hands.

oh dan no one can ever clip your comedic wings don't worry, just don't fly too close to that edgy, controversial sun in the sky

Just read it. I guess it seemed like a weird, pointless article more than anything. At first i expected it to veer into a discussion about possible solutions, or how budget cuts affect options available for the people, etc etc, but it was pretty much "here's a list of some people who have gotten arrested a lot", peppered with embarrassing stabs at humor like:

"Singletary fancies himself a bit of a ladies' man. Unfortunately, women aren't very receptive to his advances. And who can blame them—he's not exactly Prince Charming, what with the chronic crack habit"

Tee hee hee!

Don't ever change, dan. The world needs snarky internet gadflies too. Also, you answered your own question in your third paragraph.

It's a really thoughtless & mean article. Bad, bad
writing, too, high school paper style.

Agreed on the ridiculous patronizing tone. Also, I
guess it's been a while for me, but wow city pages
really has fallen pretty far. Where are the adults?

there's also the small matter of....you know...being a mass publication and getting nutcases riled up about these people and publishing, say, their pictures and then telling people where they are likely to be found on a daily basis....see: the comments about "street justice" etc

Yeah, very irresponsible. And it's mostly familiar people,
too. It's like they went downtown for the 1st time & got
to see people the rest of us have been seeing for years.

I casually refute your characterization of me as "snarky," but only because it seems to connote more effort than I prefer to be accused of, but okay. Thanks.

I'm just saying, I refer to any number of the bit-players in my daily life by dismissive, dehumanizing labels. It's easier, and they don't know I do it. If it displays a lack of respect for these people, it's because I don't know them well enough to have any specific respect for them.

I don't have the time or energy to treat more than a couple dozen people like real human beings. The rest of them/you are just texture.

Class act.

My opinion of and respect for people is contingent on their direct and tangible utility to me.

So is yours.

Sayin.

Riiiiiight.

it's a pity when a hack like erin carlyle gets to write city pages articles and danjohnson, the lenny bruce of his generation, has to sit at home smoking his crummy cigarettes

Oh, and PEACE.

danjohnson posted this on Jul 31st, 2009 at 06:14:17 pm
I casually refute your characterization of me as "snarky," but only because it seems to connote more effort than I prefer to be accused of, but okay. Thanks.

I'm just saying, I refer to any number of the bit-players in my daily life by dismissive, dehumanizing labels. It's easier, and they don't know I do it. If it displays a lack of respect for these people, it's because I don't know them well enough to have any specific respect for them.

I don't have the time or energy to treat more than a couple dozen people like real human beings. The rest of them/you are just texture.

danjohnson posted this on Jul 31st, 2009 at 06:29:41 pm
My opinion of and respect for people is contingent on their direct and tangible utility to me.

So is yours.






Cliff Notes for the Plebeians:


I'm a dick to people who serve no purpose in my life.......just 'cause.
And so are you.

it's a wonderful day in the neighborhood!

trehus. doing his best to help make the mrmb a non-toxic environment since mid-july, 2009!

NOW LINK GEORGY GIRL!

Tom- you done deleting accounts? I hope not.

I love journalism that brings us all together!

IMAGE REMOVED - CLICK TO VIEW

i'm generally all for tasteless and dumb and/or provocative humor, but this is just TOO EASY. i mean really? picking on homeless people? making 'cracks' about crackheads? as this board is usually evidence of, there are far more creative ways to be crude and humorous. shooting fish in a barrell just ain't that funny, and it's miles away from creative. i like humor most when used to deflate the egos of the various windbags who pepper our daily lives. this? way to take those homeless, destitute additcs down a peg, city pages!

Pretty easy to figure out flicker accounts, genius.

pee.yay!! Don't make tom delete me!!

Outta here. Peace!

you know what other group has been riding too high lately?
those damn paraplegics.
somebody really needs to bitch slap those goons with the majesty of the written word.

"If I have to wait on the bus 1 more minute with that "beep beep beep" shit going off and that damn vegetable can't roll his lazy fat no good ass to the invalid seating section, then obviously I'm gonna have to administer some STREET JUSTICE."

"you can find this lazy sack of shit doing jack shit on the porch of his home, 4454 Lincoln Ave. here's a picture of him and the kids he managed to father before that train accident crushed his pussy legs. PEACE"

danjohnson, in response to your above posts, to me what is really bad about this article is the fact that these are people in this community. people with obvious problems, but people that most likely have family in the area. city pages can be read by anyone in the community, because it is free. imagine then, if you had a son, daughter, sister, father, mother... etc, who is half retarted, schitzo, cracked out, whatever... really has problems and needs help, and you open the city pages and see their picture and a mocking, pointless profile of them. they need help. this article only makes things worse. maybe, instead of this article, they could have written an article about how there is really no real resource for these people, or the families of these people, to get the help they need. some of these people were listed as having fifty plus arrests for these behaviors, yet the article also states where these people can be found on a daily basis. at what number of arrests does someone take notice and figure out that these people need treatment of some sort?

cv_josh: why should we give a shit? we don't know these people!

if they're gonna post the areas/intersections where we can find these people, they should have at least posted T-Paw's personal phone number. surely his gutting of social services isn't exacerbating this problem, right?

someone ought to find a picture of this erin carlyle lady and print her "profile" in their free publication. and then the editors of the city pages "profiles" as well.

I traced the Flickr photo but still have no idea who the Drama Llama is. Alas

PoppaLarge posted this on Jul 31st, 2009 at 01:05:16 pm
There is a difference between how you relate to people as an individual and how you, or this writer, or anyone else relates to them as part of an institution. Knowing that I didn't want to talk to the guy infront of the Turf Sunday because he always ends up screaming at me is different than making fun of homeless people in a paper of record.



Dan: please consider--there is a enormous difference between individual experience and institutionalized experience. To in any way compare yourself as an individual--your sense of humor, your empathy and respect (or lack of either), or how you engage people around you--to the functionings of any institution (newspapers, cops, etc) is, in my mind, a misunderstanding of the basic social structures of our culture.

It's not that this isn't funny or well written, or is hateful or distasteful. It's that it's unfunny, hateful, poorly written crap published as a cover story by a news source, (not a wacky comedy site or messageboard or a hipster-basing blog, but a newspaper that for years established a strong journalistic reputation some of us still remember) making money by exploiting both the subjects--some of whom I'm sure are pieces of shit--and the fears of the consumers/newsreaders of the paper and in doing so reenforces harmful stereotypes and yes, endangers not just the people in the article, but people who look vaguely like them on a scale that you could not possibly hope to achieve as an individual.

It seems like not understanding that a common theme many people who post here return to--the "what's the big deal, I, as an individual, don't like [X], ergo if cops or newspapers do the same thing it's cool" sort of logic that I find really unfortunate. I am consistently amazed at how easily people fall into arguments in which they cannot fathom expecting a different, higher standard for instutitions of power than then individual. This is ridiculous.

When I worked for years with kids, I came home a lot of days pissed at people, kids and adults alike, that I had no respect for. But as a teacher and a counselor, and thus a cog in a big old institution, you better fucking believe I busted my ass to do a great job with every single kid, including the ones I had no respect for, and if I didn't succeed either because of my own problems or another issue, I felt like I failed, because it wasn't about me and my fucking hangover or the kid who was so fucked up he spent all day trying to fight me or take a crap on me.

It's strange to me that people don't understand how these two things could be different. I'm not going to make any sort of demographic observations here but I think this phenomenon is prevalent enough to people in their twenties (and early thirties, generational divides are never clear) to fuel broad, generalized arguments that are occasionally made about said generation's problems.

how in the world did you trace a flickr photo

pitpat posted this on Jul 31st, 2009 at 07:28:55 pm
you know what other group has been riding too high lately?
those damn paraplegics.
somebody really needs to bitch slap those goons with the majesty of the written word.


Uh, the piece did profile a wheelchair-bound amputee. Good?

I want to read Mag's comment but I don't want to give CP a click.

Ha. That's my sister dropping basic mpls geography science in the second comment.

GODDAMMIT!

PoppaLarge posted this on Jul 31st, 2009 at 02:29:09 pm
PoppaLarge posted this on Jul 31st, 2009 at 01:23:05 pm
I think that they should make a site like "Look at this Fucking Hipster" but call it "Look at this fucking homeless person" that would be HILARIOUS.

PEACE!

GODDAMMIT MAGS. PEACE!

J/K, I know mags didn't jack my beat, great minds think alike, and he said it a bit better than me anyway.

i decided to write a comment on the cp site. i think i may have strayed from my intent, but it felt pretty good.

Whew on that geography error; in looking at the handy Where Do They Hang Out? Google Map, I was momentarily terrified one of these freaks wanders around blocks from my house. Luckily, it's in a totally different neighborhood!

Despite all the negativity about this article, I found one great moment of humor.

The Skyway Jerk-Off said something to the effect that grabbing women's vaginas is a way to start a conversation with them.

So sad, but hard not to laugh at that notion.

In my sexual past I always went about this social interaction in the exact opposite way. I mean, I wasn't overly successful but I had my share of conversations.

Dear Drama Llama,

Your next post is post #100 for you. Make it a special one.

Yours in Christ,
Randy

The dipshits on AM690 are praising this article right now. Kinda tempted to call these meathead cocksuckers.

It might be a good article to keep in mind when asked to participate in nonsense liked Picked To Click

They're going after the amputee right now. This is all awfully amusing to them. Danjohnson, you should tune in, buddy.

ya dang skippy my finger is wagging

Good point, boris.

Yeah, stories like this really bring out the puffed-up protective male instinct. Even if that puffed-up male is just a doughy chap in pleated Dockers shorts. But somehow they think this fantasy beatdown they're going to administer is going to solve the problem.

Radio dudes advocated giving the mentally ill homeless amputee "a boot to the head."

like his doctors haven't already tried that

Yeah, that's Leg Amputation 101.

"Ha ha.. we're going to kick you with our legs!"

My uncle's medicaid would only cover the first boot to the head.

I trust the City Pages will publish a picture of Eric Carlyle and list the places she hangs out. Applebees in Robbinsdale, perhaps?

something about this article has to be illegal. it... just... has to be. i wish i was a lawyer.

Is this the article meant to irrationally reinforce suburban fears about Minneapolis?

Was KARE 11 dropping the ball on this or something?

Haha well played, Herr Wink.

danjohnson posted this on Jul 31st, 2009 at 06:29:41 pm
My opinion of and respect for people is contingent on their direct and tangible utility to me.

So is yours.

Sayin.

Wow, why do you post here again?

I'm not sure I understand what you're asking.

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well Dan, if you want to be an asshole to people on the board as a habit and not contribute anything worthwhile then it seems like a pretty straight forward question.

Looks like someone read The Fountainhead!

Weren't all of us, er...bits of texture...supposed to feel some empathy toward you, danjohnson, when you were out of work and posting about it on here?

Did our utility feel more tangible to you then?

danjohnson posted this on Aug 02nd, 2009 at 06:11:58 pm
I'm not sure I understand what you're asking.

If you don't treat strangers with a modicum of respect + courtesy, none of those strangers are gonna want to be your friends and provide you with utility. Don't overintellectualize things; just be nice to people.

thank you makeitgofaster. You nailed it on the head.

The only purpose I could find in posting the rap sheets and mug shots of a bunch of criminals who are mentally ill and/or addicted to drugs and alcohol is public humiliation. So essentially this article is a more modern form of medieval village stocks.

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Really though I blame the editor as much or more than the author. I cringed at lines like "Whether he's drunk, high, or just mentally ill..." [like you can go out and choose to be mentally ill], or the one where the author lumps in mentally ill people with wife beaters. Any editor reading that should have changed the language.

Any editor reading that should have changed the language.

I think this is the basic problem. City Pages ownership is trying to make as much money as possible, fuck everything else, and their editorial staff is going along with it.

Nothing new to add, but I just wanna say that I agree with the bunch of you, an editor needs to get involved.

The quality of the writing at the and content in the City Pages has bee inconsistent for about 10 years now. It pales to what it was in the mid 90's and I hear it was even better in the late 80's, but I didn't read it back then. It seems like they now go their own Katherine Kersten.

I am on the fence regarding posting pictures of repeat offending sexual predators, thieves, vandals, assault and terroristic threats (a la "I am going to come back with my gun and kill you"). The dehumanizing angle is way wrong for a (formerly) respected publication like City Pages however public notices about those who regularly assault or steal in your community, regardless of why (mental illness, homelessness, drug addiction), IS responsible journalism. The City Pages did it in an unprofessional manner.

I really wasn't trying to be hostile, and I didn't think my usual demeanor on the board had been taken as being an asshole and not contributing anything.

I was just playing devil's advocate and trying to clarify the real problem people have with the article. The responses to my post make very valid points; there are worse things about the article than "it's mean to people."

The rest of it was just an indelicate recitation of social contract theory. Emotional and rational niceties aside, the reason people treat other people with kindness and respect is because it makes everyone healthier, happier and more successful to do so, and human society and psychology evolved to make it happen.

I have a tendency to inadvertently offend people, and I'm especially likely to do so when I'm rhetorically defending someone else who offended people.

Some times, I'm just sayin' stuff. Sorry, Tom.

I'd really like to hear what they think about all of this. Are they used to this kind of insensitive ridicule and shrug it off? Do they know they're a "local weirdy" and fine with the identity? Are they hurt? Outraged? Did any of them think it was kind of funny? Is there a hierarchy within that community? I have questions! I have questions my middle-class, suburban ass can't even begin to imagine answers to.

people still read this?

The only reason I pick up the city pages is to read savage love, even though there hasn't been a good juicy one in years and years and years. The only other thing I looked forward to reading was Tom Tomorrow, but that's not in there anymore for whatever reason...

Hi, gang.

I just want to point out that the Drama Llama totally did not get enough props for the awesome new pic he posted in this thread. A+ material, in this guy's opinion.

4 KoM ...

I cringed at lines like "Whether he's drunk, high, or just mentally ill..." [like you can go out and choose to be mentally ill], or the one where the author lumps in mentally ill people with wife beaters. Any editor reading that should have changed the language.

i cringed at that too..and the "quippy" way they throw around the word "crackhead." kind of surprised they didn't break out "retard."

city pages is a genuine piece of shit.

p.s.
by clicking on the author's name at the beginning of the piece, you can send an email/comments directly to her.

quotes from the article that are flippant, insensitive, demonizing, blantant exagerrations, or just straight up inaccurate.

"And he doesn't exactly leave a "new-car" smell."
"and how whacked-out she gets when she's on the pipe."
"And the king of these minor offenses is our boy Dwight."
"he hangs out near less classy digs: the homeless shelter on 22nd Street and Clinton Avenue."
"Refuse him when he wants something from your yard? Watch out. Lahlary once brandished an ax at a man who resisted. "

xxxxpost

and DM, i gots nothin' but love 4 u for real...i really don't think this is people doing anything but reacting to some pretty specific and real problems with this cover story...

yeah, for sure. i second magmas post.

Thirded

Remember the show cheaters? This article reminds me of the narration , except the subjects of the show were far more deserving of ridicule.

Cheaters was an excellent show

fourthing magma's comments. this article was beyond irresponsible and has nothing to do with 'journalism' or 'reporting'. shame on the author and shame on CP editorial staff for signing off on it.

And for some comparison:

How a real newspaper might do it.

Yeah, I was reading this, and thinking, "WHAT IS THE POINT OF THIS ARTICLE?". Terrible. Sensationalist crap.

I just made sure to read it in it's entirety again to give it a fair shake with full context. It made me more angry.

Didn't CP also run a front pager about homelessness earlier this year? Where some dude pretended to be homeless for a week and concluded that it sucked?

hahahaha yeah, that was hard hitting investigative journalism at it's finest.
dude wasn't mentally ill, wasn't an addict, had a savings account, friends and family to fall back on, and concluded that being homeless for 2 nights is annoying.

Truth. I thought that was ridiculous too. Then later I heard it placed second in the MN Society for Professional Journalists Awards, Long Feature category. I think I spit out my Pepsi.

are you serious, CoF?
wow.

i'm pretty sure, i'lll look it up quick

The online letters to the editor and comments are disappointing. Zero of the thoughtful articulate comments are included and a huge number of comments supporting the article are included, when it is quite obvious that there were very few "supportive" comments.

Yeah, I was reading this, and thinking, "WHAT IS THE POINT OF THIS ARTICLE?". Terrible. Sensationalist crap.

yeah, i only read half of it, but seriously, what's the fucking point of this? some dude take your cans. some beg. some are crazy. this is minor bullshit.

rayna,

i noticed that too. i picked up this weeks issue and read the "comments section" and it was at least 60 percent on the positive side. i realize that the comment that i submitted online was not the most articulate of the comments written, but without checking, my memory tells me that the online comments were at least 75 percent against this article.

that article, and the subsequent responses they chose to publish, have done more to increase my disdain for city pages than anything else they have ever done. to treat homeless and m.i. people as if they are the problem rather than the symptom just fries my fucking ass!

someone just signed up as CityPages - i wonder if they are planning on responding to this

i doubt anyone from CityPages would sign up under that name and speak for the publication. KHoff comments sometimes on CP bashing over at mnspeak, but he does it under his own name.

Maybe when someone signs up as Village Voice Media LLC we can get some real answers

haha truth!

*cue fake account*