am guessing here, but it seams you did not make it to santa's good list. :P LOL

Those bums should be thankful that they're homeless in America and not Russia!

n5667, you sure have a talent for insensitivity. Your statement may have possibly been one of the most idiotic things I have ever read.

You don't even know this homeless person. There are hundreds of thousands of war veterans, including a skyrocketing number of Iraq vets, on the streets - is that what makes your America so great? If you knew the person pictured in this photo was a vet (who knows), would you still have stuck your foot in your mouth?

n5667, you should stop calling them "bums" - I think "trolls" would be a more appropriate word. Most of them can be found underneath bridges, guzzling beer and shooting heroin. Looks like the troll in the picture just wasn't able to make it that far.

In Internet terminology, a troll is a person who posts inflammatory messages on the internet, such as on online discussion forums, to disrupt discussion or to upset its participants. "Troll" can also mean the inflammatory message itself posted by a troll or be a verb meaning to post such messages. "Trolling" (the gerund) is also commonly used to describe the activity.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_troll

Just a thought...

Why do the fools who just love to agitate on this page also happen to be the worst spellers and users of grammar. I mean, I like to fuck with the english language as much as the next guy or gal, but if you're going to contribute in whatever form you can to an intellectual conversation, couldn't you at least use capital letters? Proper puncutation? Learn how to spell?

Seams? unline? Ever heard of Proofreading? Spell check? Basic common sense?

It's truly a shame that our public schools aren't capable of at least teaching these fools how to express their whack ideas in proper form. Then again, perhaps the presentation reflects on the validity of the statements.

Fire away internet trolls. I'm ready.

"You don't want to enter into a battle of wits with me because it's obvious you're unarmed."

Troll droppings should not be responded to.

Troll droppings will be removed as soon as possible.

Engaging trolls, even with the best of intentions, is still known as "feeding the trolls."

Happy Holidays... to Everyone

If you want the holidays to be more than a corporate gift giving bonanza, then make it something different. It really is completely up to you. Help make life a little better for the homeless on our streets if you feel it is a great injustice.

I for one will be doing just that, as well as sharing with people the reason for the holiday. I don’t care if you’re Christian, Jewish, Muslim, atheist, or whatever. Make the holidays into something more than a gift giving event. But it is up to you.

If you are wondering where the trolls went to check out the deleted comments section of SC Indymedia.

Actually there aren't that many homeless people hanging out underneath bridges and in nooks and crannies in parking garages anymore. Why? Some engineer or two came up with the "brilliant" solution to put up a bunch of chain link fences in those areas. That may be part of the reason why you see the homeless person above hanging out where he is instead of some less visible, more sheltered, place.

I recently ventured out to downtown Santa Cruz in the middle of the night. I wanted to see what it was like for homeless people in Santa Cruz.

After my experience, I feel a lot of sympathy for these folks. The downtown environment seemed surreal. Totally quiet and most buildings lit up like they were open. Those building stood safe and unoccupied while people curled up in the hidden corners of the downtown area. I wondered to myself what the real crime was that I was witnessing. Despite the fact that these people have no place to call home, most all manage to obey the rest of the laws and don't harm people around them.

We need a real solution to the homelessness crisis. It is a matter of life and death for many of these people.

Jeez i cant believe the negativity you got Josh. I thought it was a very good article. Short and to the point. I guess the above posts just go to show you how insensitive people can be. Good work and powerful image.

Shouldnt we be asking ourselves why these people ended up on skid row? It is not the system that is to blame but rather the consequence of bad personal choices. I personally feel now pity for these vagrants, they have made their bed now they must lay in it. Tough luck

Thanks josh for the recognition of our poorest residents. While the season is one of merriment for many of us, there are those that find themselves homeless are in crisis. With the ever widening economic gap and many cuts in spending on poverty and homelessness at all levels government we should be prepared to see many more homeless in our communities. The hurtful comments from some who responded are those of fascistic trilobites and their raciest, minions. Most likely these thugs are encouraged by the oppressive anti-homeless laws in Santa Cruz, no sleeping, no camping, no begging, no setting, just move along, get a ticket and go to jail. These laws are made by and supported by our so called progressive city government. Thank the city council for the emergence of this troll buster mentality you see on these pages. Watch you back if you doing any political work on poor or homeless issues in this town.

n5667, Anonymous Poster, and Chicano 831 can all wind up sharing the sidewalk with the ones you call "bums' and "trolls."

"Tough luck" said Chicano 831, who blames bad personal choices and not the system for homeless people.

There are many reasons people become homeless, Maybe they were laid off their jobs , or their rent skyrocketed when their buildings were sold (0ur friends rent went from $700 a month to $1500 and he became homeless. Or maybe they got thousands of dollars worth of medical bills and their houses got repossessed. Maybe their apt burned down.

The system spends 500 BILLION a year (5,000 million) on killing people instead of providing mental health services, job training for homeless people and womens shelters (for homeless women fleeing violent men). How about all the homeless teenagers and pre teens fleeing sexual abuse and battery?

How dare you look down your snobby noses at other Americans who are not as fortunate as you (still) are (until you get laid off or your rent goes up or you have a medical emergency and cant work) Then you will be tossed into the street by a system that only values you for your ability to be a wage slave.

Your attitude of contempt is like the rich psychopaths who run the world. Get human or shut upl