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| Wealthy, Powerful Outraged When Homeless Allowed Into Malls With Gift Cards |
| 2006-12-19 |
| Some people may have giggled at the idea of a gaggle of homeless men taking over the upscale Short Hills Mall in New Jersey, a stunt staged by radio shock jocks Opie and Anthony and heard by WBCN [website] listeners all weekend. It was tantamount to bringing a bus filled with the bedraggled from Boston Common to sit on SantaÂ’s lap at the Chestnut Hill Mall. But Mayor Thomas M. Menino was not amused in the slightest. "This so-called 'shopping spree' is a sick and twisted exercise that degrades the most vulnerable members of our society. This is an outrage. This is wrong, and we need the public and our partners who care about the homeless and about basic human decency to stand up and tell them so," Menino said, adding that the broadcast came on the same day that the city began counting the HubÂ’s homeless. "The homeless people who will be used for this event are human beings who may have been struggling for years with the adversity and problems that come with alcoholism and addictions, or with mental illness and other disabilities," Menino said. "The fact that WBCN has chosen the homeless and the holidays to present this humiliating and shameful attempt at humor is inhumane and shameful..." Thus artfully dodging the point that the shock jocks weren't laughing and sneering at the homeless. |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #7 Mumbles gives the word "stupid" new meaning. |
| Posted by: mojo 2006-12-19 13:03 |
| #6 I guess it shames and humiliates the Homeless to be seen by Regular People. They should saty out of sight where they belong, right Mayor? Sarcasm off. |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2006-12-19 11:44 |
| #5 Well, seeing how Boston is fast becoming the Detroit of the Northeast, he'd best remember that he has more important things to worry about, the bums he worries so much about being one of them... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2006-12-19 11:40 |
| #4 Technically, I don't see any comments from wealthy people, just grandstanding from a lefty pol. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2006-12-19 11:34 |
| #3 Kind of a low-class gag on the homeless. But very revealing of the wealthy class as a whole I think. |
| Posted by: bigim-ky 2006-12-19 11:23 |
| #2 Mumbles is pretty familiar with these guys. A few years back, their April Fools joke was that Menino was killed in a car crash, which came as quite a shock to Menino's family, seeing that they weren't in on the joke when they heard the story. It got them canned out of their first major gig. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2006-12-19 10:08 |
| #1 I thought it was a great idea...how many homeless men has Governor Menino shopped for lateley? |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2006-12-19 08:58 |