VIA:KTLA.COM
OCEAN BEACH — A bumper sticker that reads “Welcome to Ocean Beach/ Please don’t feed our homeless” is drawing mixed reactions.
The sticker targets aggressive panhandlers, according to Ken Anderson, 42, who works at The Black, where the stickers are sold for $2.50 each.
The stickers are a play on the National Park Service’s “Please don’t feed the bears” sticker.
Anderson says he had the stickers printed a few weeks ago because people are tired of rude, young transients demanding spare change rather than asking for it. Anderson hopes the stickers will make the community realize the homeless population there is out of control.
He’s also had T-shirts and hats printed with the same message on them.
Local business owner Chaz Lomack claims many of the young homeless in the area choose not to work, and in fact come from well-off families and have cell phones. According to Lomack, there have been incidents of violence against people who refuse to give them money.
Meantime, Frank Gormlie, 62, who runs the local “OB Rag” blog, says the stickers send the wrong message about Ocean Beach, which he describes as a “place of laid-back tolerance.”
Gormlie feels the stickers carry a message of hate and dehumanize the homeless. He has asked Anderson to stop selling them.
For his part, Anderson says his store will continue to sell the stickers as long as there’s demand.
