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Sarasota News Leader November 30, 2012 OPINION Page 52 cause of the many homeless gathered there. hicles and definitely no poor people milling The message was clear: Homeless equals dan- about. In a perfect world, downtown Sarasota gerous. would be their private park … and they apparently have spared no effort to make it so. In fact, the homeless typically are the neediest subset of the poor, unable even to keep roofs A nation or state or city is defined not by how over their heads. And they are not a recent luxuriously it accommodates its wealthiest development. citizens, but by how humanely it treats "the least of these." Everyone in Sarasota, regardIn prehistoric times, the Darwinian "surviv- less of station, is equal in God's eyes and deal of the fittest" meant that those unable to serving of dignity and respect. care for themselves perished. But with the The homeless require rise of civilization, the assistance to overmeans — if not the will The ACLU has been fighting the city's come previously insur— to care for the poor systematic persecution of the homeless in mountable obstacles was at hand. Even Je- both the state courts and the court of public in their lives. The city, sus rebuked the hardopinion, with reasonable — if, unfortunately, the county and the cithearted of His day: "[J] izens who are prossomewhat Sisyphean — success. ust as you did not do pering share in the reit to one of the least of sponsibility to provide these, you did not do it it. to me." The ACLU has been fighting the city's systematic persecution of the homeless in both the state courts and the court of public opinion, with reasonable — if, unfortunately, somewhat Sisyphean — success. A judge dismissed the case against the "utilities thief." And another judge recently ruled the city's trespassing prohibition — which really was an anti-homeless ordinance — was unconstitutional. Probably the most dedicated opponents to the homeless presence in downtown are those wealthy people who purchased condominiums in the city's center, some costing upward of $500 per square foot. In their cloistered towers, these exclusionary individuals want no loud music, no noisy ve- LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The Sarasota News Leader welcomes letters to the editor from its readers. Letters should be no more than 300 words in length, and include the name, street address and telephone number of the writer. Letters should be emailed to Letters@SarasotaNewsLeader.com, with "Letter to the Editor" in the subject line. Letters actually printed will be selected based on space available, subject matter and other factors. We reserve the right to edit any letters submitted for length, grammar, spelling, etc. All letters submitted become the property of The Sarasota News Leader.