Comments: On the subject of cults, any insights into the persons standing in pedestrian “islands” of major streets holding up “Homeless, please help” signs?
Not only have I noticed that every street corner of the major intersections features one of these Sign People, but our Radical Mayor-for-Life of Wisconsin’s People’s Republic (just up I-94 from Milwaukee) is “noticing” the same thing. Turns out that the People’s Republic had an anti-panhandling ordinance that was struck down by a Federal judge (there is no professional courtesy among SJW’s?). This was 3 months ago, and since then, these Sign People seem to have appeared out of nowhere to stand vigil in intersections.
Radical Mayor is not just noticing, he is spitting pins over this, or at least he is showing as much agitation as an aging Radical from the 60′s with the low-energy affect of a chronic heart condition is able to muster. He is lobbying his City Council to pass a broader replacement ordinance to work around the First Amendment concerns of the Federal judge by making it about “traffic safety”, he is castigating the homelessness advocates who are opposing this along with the City Council that is slow walking it, and he is calling the Sign People “grifters.”
“Grifters” suggest people acting on their individual initiative to cash on the lucrative panhandling trade that is now legal.
I am wondering if the Sign People belong to a cult? None of them have the look of major mental illness, alcohol use, and malnutrition of the Downtown street people. They kind of look like the people serving as marshals when President Obama comes to town to give a speech. They kind of look like Hollywood actors where they take short-statured actors in their late 20′s and early 30′s and have them play teen characters. The look to have padded on some “grime makeup” and dressed down to look like a popular conception of a homeless person. With regard to my cult theory, the Sign People all look fake in the same way.
The other thing is that some local reporter “went undercover” to work one of these street corners and found that begging could rake in a lot of money, but it seems like a lot of hard work to stand in one spot with a sign for hours in the heat and humidity that has been our summer this year. My cult theory is that there is some Jim Jones guy who calls upon his followers to do this as part of showing fealty, he rakes in the “skim” from the begging, but it is not about the money but rather part of the hazing ritual to belong to the cult to stand on the street?
Again, the amount of money would not motivate me to undergo the hardship, but were I in a cult, the social acceptance angle could motivate me. Any insights into what could be going on?
