Homeless in Santa Monica

In response to “Fine Dining Before the Enemy Descends,” Op-Ed Page, Feb. 20:

Linda Blandford’s portrayal of the homeless in Santa Monica as an admirable group who engage in “reasoned discussion(s) of glasnost and neurosurgery” by day and hide out by night is a complete whitewash of a very ugly situation. To wit: The Santa Monica Police Department spends 30% of its time (at a cost of over $5 million) dealing with the homeless; all criminal activity, murder especially, has increased significantly since Santa Monica became a mecca for the homeless; you cannot go to a market, gas station, restaurant, library, bank or anywhere else in public without being hit very aggressively for money; Palisades Park, once a haven of tranquility, has become homeless headquarters and one of the most dangerous places in the area; social workers are attacked and killed in their offices by the homeless; they’ve even attacked lifeguards.

So as you can see, Ms. Blandford, Santa Monica’s homeless are not the noble savages you imagine them to be. In the future I suggest Ms. Blandford pay close attention to her self-portrayal as “just an outsider from another country” and stick to subjects of which she has a farthing of familiarity.

ALEX SLOAN

Santa Monica