Homeless Assaulted in St Petersburg

It is amazing how many Tampa bloggers consider Rachel Moran a great writer. Considering she is most famous for this paragraph.

We are thinking about proving this nuisance and need for civil action by making a short film called “Eddie Rolls on the Homeless,” whereby Mark secretly videotapes me and Lil Sis in a variety of situations to see how many homeless people approach us and, then, how many of these situations escalate into harrassment. Then, he’s gonna videotape Eddie in the same scenarios, only Eddie is going to beat up every homeless person who escalates the contact after being told that his panhandling is illegal and annoying.

It seems there are St. Petersburg residents who share Moran's sentiment.

Ira Gumm, a wispy old man with a trembling voice, was panhandling outside a liquor store last Sunday evening when a young man punched him.

The blow blackened the left half of Gumm's wrinkled face, so it looks covered in soot. His left eye is completely red. When he blows his nose or sneezes, blood spills out.

But Gumm, 60, hasn't reported the assault or sought medical help.

"I don't see what the point is of telling anyone," Gumm said. "It was just one of those young guys who like to beat up on people."

St. Petersburg police have eight reported attacks on the homeless. Considering how leery homeless people are of law enforcement there is probaby more undocumented. This is an example of Rachel Moran-style justice.

A few weeks ago, St. Petersburg police said, two men cut a 51-year-old homeless man's thumbs with a razor, apparently because he refused to give them money or cigarettes.

The homeless are also being robbed. Taking from someone who has nothing has about as lame as it gets. Sometimes it's just for kicks.

- On Jan. 3, police came to the 3100 block of 37th Avenue N after a resident called to report that two homeless men sleeping at a train station were being beaten by four young men with metal rods and stick. Both homeless men were seriously injured and taken to Northside Hospital.

- A few weeks later, another homeless man was beaten by young people. J.W. James, 61, said two teenagers walked up and asked if he had anything to give. When James said he had nothing, one of them punched him in the face. One of the teenagers also threw a brick at James, police said.

- A week after that incident, a 36-year-old homeless man named Derrick Davis was attacked by three teenagers in the 1500 block of 22nd Street S. They punched Davis, kicked him, beat him with a folding chair, and threw rocks at him, police said. They only ran away after a woman who saw the attack began yelling.

Rachel's idea isn't that original. Attacks on the homeless have already been posted on Youtube. Sticks of Fire webmaster Tommy Duncan tried to weasal out of Rachel's post with a disclaimer. His remark that the post was " a blunt assessment of an ongoing issue in St. Pete and everywhere," is laughable.

For those of you who think Rachel is a great writer, you need to read Alon Levy's hysterical literary critique of Rachel's post.