There was an article on blogging in the Commercial Appeal this morning. I was quoted in it and got my picture in the paper. Check it out here.
The article talks about how bloggers have made a difference in the community. In my case, it talks about how, even though this is a personal blog full of drunk posts and ramblings about tube tops, my ranting about panhandling Downtown led to something being done about the problem. Specifically, it led to the creation of the Handling-Panhandling online forum, which was part of the push to get private security hired to patrol Downtown’s streets.
I have a feeling I’ll pick up some new readers today because of the article, so I want to clarify my stance on panhandling and homelessness. A lot of people think they’re the same problem; they’re not. There are many people Downtown who have the status of being homeless. I have no problem with them whatsoever because of their status, and agree we need to do more to help them, as they are not getting the services they need. Most of Downtown’s homeless don’t bother anybody, don’t cause any problems, and I have no problem with them being here.
However, there is a segment of the population who displays the behavior of aggressive panhandling. It’s this behavior, not the status of homelessness, that I have a problem with. In fact, most of Downtown’s aggressive panhandlers are NOT homeless; police reports show that most of them have places to live on the outskirts of Downtown, and they come to Downtown’s core to beg for money. These people are not in need of help, trying to get to a better station in life; rather, they are professionals who have been down here begging for money for years, and have had the time and experience to fine-tune their pitch. Money is generally used not for food and shelter, but for alcohol and drugs. Many of them employ gimmicks, such as posing as tour guides, or selling free magazines such as the Memphis Flyer for money. They also have other ways to make money besides panhandling. Most of the professional, career panhandlers have criminal records as long as your arm, including not just panhandling arrests, but charges of buglary, vehicle break-ins, aggravated assault, and various other charges. These people ruin Downtown for everyone else, and they need to go. If you live, work, or play Downtown, and you’re as sick of these idiots as I am, we have a forum called Handling-Panhandling where you can join and discuss the problem. We even have pictures posted of some of the more prolific bums (and that’s what we generally call them down here, “bums” rather than “panhandlers”). It’s a private forum, so you’ll need to explain why panhandling is an important issue to you before you can join.
I was thinking last night… how much money per day is given to panhandlers in Downtown Memphis? I’m going to venture a guess of $1,500 per day (and that’s a VERY conservative figure). If we could somehow redirect people’s generosity away from the bums and toward ventures that truly help the homeless, think of the difference that could be made. The Mid-South Peace and Justice Center makes the very good point that there is no free shelter for the homeless in Downtown Memphis. If we could find a way to completely redirect people’s generosity, there would be funding for such a shelter. But how do we do that, when these professional career bums are out on the street, pretending to be homeless and intimidating people to give them money?
Anyway… welcome to my blog, and usually things don’t take such a serious tone here. Oftentimes I’ll recap the previous night out drinking – which reminds me, last night was closing night for Dan McGuinness in the Peabody Place Mall. Many of the Downtown regulars were there, and Mikey the Camera Nazi took my camera and got about 100 pictures. There will be a photo album soon.
There’s also other fun stuff to read on this blog. June is Tube Top Month, where every post contains a picture of someone in a tube top or mentions tube tops in some way, no matter how irrelevant tube tops are to the rest of the blog post. I’ve even opened an online store where you can buy tube tops.
If you shoot pool, I also have an online store called How to Learn Pool – check it out as well. Which brings me to my agenda for this afternoon… I’ll be shooting pool at the Flying Saucer, where my friend Pete will be thinking
But before that, I’ll be at the Majestic Grille for brunch. $3 mimosas and bloody marys, plus a special breakfast menu. We have a Sunday brunch crew that does brunch two weeks in a row at the Majestic and two weeks in a row at the Downtown Blue Monkey on a rotating basis. Next Sunday we’ll be back at the Monkey.
Let’s see… what else needs to be in an orientation post for new readers… I do a lot of “what’s going on around Downtown” posts, announcing concerts, wine tastings and dinners, happy hour nights, etc. Look for plenty of those in the weeks to come.
Places I hang out (the list on the left menu bar is a little out of date, need to revise it): 1) Flying Saucer; 2) Itta Bena on the 3rd floor of BB King’s; 3) Downtown Blue Monkey; 4) Calhoun’s Sports Bar & Grill on GE Patterson Ave.; 5) Red Rooster; 6) Earnestine & Hazel’s; 7) Hoop’s Bar on the second floor of EP Delta Kitchen; 8) Majestic Grille; 9) Big Foot Lodge; 10) Circa by John Bragg.
What else… I’m on a Memphis in May BBQ Fest team called The Ques Brothers. It’s mainly a bunch of Downtowners who enjoy partying at BBQ Fest. But we take our cooking seriously too, and this year we got 3rd place in the World Championship Shoulder category.
Oh yeah… one more online store I forgot to mention – Pro Wrestling Book and Video. Go buy some stuff if you’re into wrestling. All proceeds from these stores go toward a very good cause, the Paul Ryburn Drinking Fund. I have to pay for all the beers I’ll be drinking at Pint Nite tomorrow. Actually, now that I think about it, I won’t be at the Saucer tomorrow. But it’ll pay for Pint Nite the following Monday.
Oh and I guess I should mention that I have a job. I’m a web developer for a start-up company that does background checking services via the Web. It’s a really cool company and was founded by some of the people who were big names in the IT world in the ’80s (HP, Apple, Sun, etc.) It’s also cool because the office is a one-block commute from home. I haven’t seen the car in 15 days. Occasionally I have to go move it to a different spot in the parking garage so the attendants don’t think it’s an abandoned vehicle.
Okay. This post is long enough. I need to get to brunch. Apologies for any typos – usually I proofread these things before posting but I’m short on time today.