This post was sent to me recently:
A few weeks ago on a Sunday I witnessed something that reminded me that city ordinances have an effect on the least among us. I was stopped at a red light at the intersection of Sunland Park and Mesa Hills, it was a Sunday afternoon with the usual blistering conditions and not a hint of shade. An old woman was apparently panhandling on the island and two El Paso policemen had stopped their vehicle and were standing over her while she packed her belongings. The officers just stood over her with their arms folded not offering a hint of compassion as the woman finished packing and left the island to go someplace else. I thought of Courtney Niland and her unease at seeing drifters at a gas station near downtown. This lead to the policy of no panhandling except for city employees doing a fill the boot campaign. I got to see city policy in action and it made me feel bad. I pay my taxes without compliant and I do not make my living in the local government procurement trough, unlike the greed is good blog commentators at another site. I don’t know what we as a community can do for those less fortunate, but I can’t help but feel badly for not standing up to the powers that be. Before I moved here I lived in another community that has a far larger homeless population and the city built them a shelter and it seemed to lessen the amount of people in the streets.
I am left to wonder what would I do, if I was all alone in the world with no parental or spousal support network, and had lost my job? Would I take to the streets? I can’t honestly answer because I have never been in that situation. Maybe it would be a good thing if our elected officials spent more time with the sick, ugly, poor, and uneducated rather than the rich and beautiful? Could it be that would evoke some empathy within them?
Anonymous
elpasospeak 
The city also has no problem with all the youth groups that sell stuff at major intersections, despite the fact that the kids run in and out of traffic, endangering both themselves and drivers.
LikeLike