Ep. 85: Incitement Against the Homeless (Part I) - The Infestation Rhetoric of Local News
Added 2019-09-04 14:36:06 +0000 UTC“As homeless people turn off visitors, San Francisco tourism senses threat” notes Travelers Weekly. “Seattle Is Dying: Drugs And Homelessness In Seattle,” laments KOMO Seattle. “Austin veteran fights off alleged homeless attacker after offering to help him,” exclaims ABC-affiliate KVUE.
As housing costs skyrocket and inequality grows, homelessness is reaching crisis levels in large metropolitan areas. In response, the media––namely local news stations––routinely treat the homeless like an invading species, a vermin to be, at best, contained, and at worst eradicated.
The result has been a slew of stories pathologizing those experiencing homelessness as uniquely dangerous. Panhandlers are viewed as con men out to screw over the working man, chased down by vigilantes with the help of outraged local news “standing up” to the poor. The housing status of those who commit crimes is only mentioned when they’re homeless––never for the housed––and every transgression committed by the homeless is viewed by our media as evidence that the homeless population in general is out to attack us all.
But this narrative flies in the face of the evidence, and tracks––like most “crime coverage”––with the needs of real estate interests who set the tone for local media coverage, and who have every reason to highlight and oversell the threat of homeless to pressure lawmakers and police to displace “eye sores” for the yuppie clientele they’re attempting to sell and ultimately serve.
On this first of our two-part episode, we are joined by Steve Potter, an Austin-based artist and homeless activist.
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Guest
Steven James Potter is an artist and activist based in Austin, TX. He is a member of the Homes Not Handcuffs Coalition and the Austin Homelessness Advisory Committee, Steve is also a founding member of the Gathering Ground Theatre, a theatre troupe of Austinites who have lived experience of homelessness and create plays based on their experiences.
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Show Notes
Stoking Hostility Toward Homeless People
Adam Johnson | July 31, 2019 | The Appeal
Seattle Is Dying [video]
Eric Johnson et al. | March 19, 2019 | KOMO News
The Non Sequitur In Seattle Is Dying
Don Smith | March 24, 2019 | Washington Liberals
The Criminalization of Homelessness: Explained
Bidish Sarma & Jessica Brand | June 29, 2018 | The Appeal
Homelessness: the media’s big problem
Tim Redmond | June 29, 2016 | 48hills
Sinclair, the pro-Trump, conservative company taking over local news, explained
Dylan Matthews | April 3, 2018 | Vox
How Amazon Helped Kill a Seattle Tax on Business
Alana Semuels | June 13, 2018 | The Atlantic
Homes Not Handcuffs: How Austin Criminalizes Homelessness [PDF]
Grassroots Leadership Action Research Collective | October 2018
No Safe Place: The Criminalization of Homelessness in U.S. Cities [PDF]
Tristia Bauman et al. | February 2019 | The National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty
Criminalizing Homelessness Violates Basic Human Rights
John Raphling | July 5, 2018 | The Nation
At NY Observer, Trump’s Too Close to Cover–but Promoting Publisher’s Real Estate Is No Problem
Jim Naureckas | August 2, 2015 | FAIR
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Transcript
For a full transcript of this episode, go here.
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