March 10, 2008

The Unhappiest Hobo

LITTER. SPIT. FLIP PEOPLE OFF. All in a day's lack of work for this friendly fellow. He must have been on a union-mandated break from his cardboard sign operation in the Glendale Blvd. median at Glenhurst/Glenfeliz, where all the cars U-turn to cross the Hyperion bridge. Sorry my soul-stealing camera displeased you, mister! Hopefully you were able earn it back with those tax-free cash donations from guilt-driven Silver Lakers.

12 comments:

Miles said...

He's the official welcomer to Atwater. We'll all be worse when he's gone.

waywest said...

The guy's flipping you for taking his picture and, apparently, you didn't bother introducing yourself. I don't like him panhandling at my corner either, but why treat him like a zoo animal?

Seems like a cheap shot--and post.

AVN said...

Lots of people take lots of pictures of other people out in public. (Google "Malingering.")

This guy was sitting on a public corner in a busy neighborhood in broad daylight. I took the picture from across the street with a long lens. I didn't introduce myself, but I also didn't approach him or harass him.

If he does suffer from shyness, however, he should reconsider his career choice. More people see him every day in the median than will ever see this picture.

AVN said...

And Miles, as much as this guy is a fixture at Atwater Village's gate, I can't see how we'll be worse when he's gone. I watched him stall traffic by jaywalking on a red light, and throw trash into a planter hedge (20 feet from a proper bin). Oh, and flip people off.

mjs said...

A jab at unions?

Only the guilt-ridden give him money? This guy reminds me of Dick Cheney, except for the transparency and the hat.

How is it we still see so brightly the mote in another's eye, and yet refuse to pluck the beam from our own?

++++

Will Campbell said...

I love it that waywest has no problem with the dude offering what's basically an obscene gesture, but goes after AVN for taking an entirely legal picture of the act.

Cheap shot? Nah. Cheap comment.

waywest said...

@avn:
Yes, it's perfectly legal to take photos like this. That's not my point, but I think you knew that already.

@will campbell:
Um, I'm going after avn? Please...

waywest said...

BTW: I _like_ this blog. Sometimes a comment is just a comment--not a poke in the eye.

Miles said...

Can't we all just get along?

ninatim said...

The businesses along Glendale Blvd. have pointed out in recent months the homeless and panhandlers in the area have been getting increasingly confrontational. The local police say car break-ins are on the rise and that is most likely due to the homeless living along and in the river. The police cannot do anything about them because they are officially not breaking the law. But the people handing them money enable them to stay. So what needs to happen is people need to stop giving them money. LAUSD just made major cuts including slashing funding for after school programs. Please donate money to worthwhile causes, not a guy that's going to go get a beer or skunk weed.

Man said...

Why aren't homeless people allowed to not want their picture taken? You hipster a**hole.

AVN said...

I think most people would go with yuppie a**hole, but thanks for the upgrade!