Alex, are you looking for something to do while you’re between books?

Bench-sitters are being sought to hog benches in a bid to rid a city of homeless people.

The city of San Diego in the US is trying to recruit people to sit on benches for three hour shifts.

They hope it will deter homeless people and drunks from sitting down.

Esther Viti, a community activist who oversees the donation of public benches for a merchants’ association in La Jolla, sent an email to 45 other activists last week asking them to sit in three-hour shifts, no bathroom breaks allowed.

“After all, you MUST OCCUPY THAT BENCH continually for three hours to prevent that homeless person from sitting on that bench,” the email said.

Donors weren’t happy that transients were sleeping on benches they had provided for the public, Viti said.

The group previously tried installing benches with metal dividers that split the seats. Transients simply began sleeping upright, said Deborah Marengo, president of Promote La Jolla.

No one has offered to sit a shift yet, Viti said. Some potential recruits expressed concern that the bench brigade could provoke retaliation from displaced transients.

In 2006, the Regional Task Force on Homeless estimated the homeless population at 9,600 countywide, which included 4,400 people within the city of San Diego.

http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/article.html?in_article_id=115435&in_page_id=2

Well they’ve got the time and effort to do this but do they have the time and effort for building homeless shelters or collecting clothes for them or making soup or doing something helpful?

No. Scum, that’s what they are. Miserable people without anything of use to contribute to society. And I’m not talking about the tramps.

Renquist - 12 March 2008 03:46 PM

Well they’ve got the time and effort to do this but do they have the time and effort for building homeless shelters or collecting clothes for them or making soup or doing something helpful?

I quite agree…

Madmouse - 12 March 2008 03:48 PM

Renquist - 12 March 2008 03:46 PM

Well they’ve got the time and effort to do this but do they have the time and effort for building homeless shelters or collecting clothes for them or making soup or doing something helpful?

I quite agree…

I really, really resent people like that. Enough time to bitch about something but no balls to do anything about it. Fannies.

I wonder if they could be charged with loitering, for sitting around on a bench for three hours straight?

Accipiter - 12 March 2008 03:59 PM

I wonder if they could be charged with loitering, for sitting around on a bench for three hours straight?

Police- “Can you tell me what you’re all doing here?”

Wanker #1- “Why yes, officer, we’re sitting here to prevent filthy tramps from sitting here and making this place look terrible with their foul alcoholism and dirty beards and odd-numbers of limbs.”

Police- “Put your hands behind your head and lay on the ground, sir.”

Instead of sitting 3 hrs on a park bench (who has the time anyway?) why not but a transient a sandwich?  McDonalds is still cheap

What happens if the Transients volunteer?

Tah - 12 March 2008 05:17 PM

What happens if the Transients volunteer?

I’m sure there are transients on the committee for the park benches. They, after all, have a vested interest in park benches and have a lot of time on their hands.

Since this will stop anyone except the volunteers using th benches.
Wouldn’t it be easier just to get rid of the benches?

I’m wondering how they decide who is allowed to sit on the benches, other than the volunteers. Do they ask people for proof of residence before letting them sit down?
I’d like to see them try asking my mother that…

How do they determine who is homeless??  I know guys who come off the job and look worse than a lot of homeless people.  Would they kick someone off a bench based on appearance or would they be required to provide proof of a job? 

Bunch of idiots.  A perfect example of the NIMBY syndrome.