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Tuesday, December 16, 2003

In the world's richest nation 

From the LA Times:

The nation's largest homeless district, skid row spans 50 square blocks of downtown Los Angeles. To enter here is to confront a society that is raw, scavenging, extraordinarily complex.

At least 11,000 people bed down here every night, most in some 60 single-room-occupancy hotels established just to house them.

The rest inhabit the sidewalks and the undersides of bridges spanning the Los Angeles River. Their skid row operates 24 hours; its cycles are tied to county checks and busy shelter kitchens.

I'm reminded of Frank Herbert's dictum in Dune (quoting from memory):

Guilt starts as a feeling of failure. The wise ruler provides many opportunities for failure for his populace.

Black is white.

Ignorance is strength.

Brutality is compassion (thanks to alert reader zenjohn for filling in the blank, and alert reader Rash Nussel for the parallel construction).

corrente SBL - New Location
~ Since April 2010 ~

corrente.blogspot.com
~ Since 2003 ~

The Washington Chestnut
~ current ~



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