Prejudice Rears Its Ugly Head
By Bob Boclear
Hello, once again. I still need $300 to get my commercial driver’s license insurance reinstated. Also I’m still waiting in the CMHA line
I was in the flats around 9 p.m. distributing the Grapevine when all of the sudden a man came towards me. I thought he was coming to get a copy, but instead he grabbed me around the collar and choked me to the sidewalk. There were plenty of witnesses. He had no reason to do it, but he did.
He said to leave his customers alone. I said that I was at least 300 feet from his establishment. The club owner said, “You are the scum of the earth.” Once again, prejudice against homeless people. We got into a heated argument. The police came, and did not consider my side of the story. There was a woman with the club owner who said she was a police lieutenant who told the police the story. They believed everything that she said.
In another incident, my friend and I were distributing the Grapevine near the St. Vincent Hospital when once again, all of a sudden a security officer twisted my arm around my back and put me up against a fence. Personally speaking, this guy treated me fairly, but the manager of the business was brutal and derogatory.
He tried to beat my friend up, and went off on me when I was trying to explain to him that all we were doing was spreading the word. The point that I’m trying to make is, “Stop this prejudice! Try to understand and help us get out of this bad situation.” Like I always say, I hope to be writing a happier and more pleasant article next time. I can be reached at 344-1580. Thank you for reading our paper, and God bless you.