Reply to Considering Seaton, but concerned about the homeless encampment

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Not a Seaton parent but I am so relieved to hear the school/community is demanding action. There was a thread asking about this several months back and the majority of responses were like “this is harmless, it’s a teachable moment.” No, a homeless camp within arms reach of an ES is not a teachable moment; It’s a recipe for disaster.[/quote]

Seaton parent here. Hearing about the gun was a tipping point. I think it has a lot to do with feeling empathy for the homeless during the pandemic year and not being directly affected bc kids were not in person. More in person kids + guns -- action happened very very quickly.[/quote]

I'll also add that I feel like the Seaton community is a pretty compassionate bunch, and the IB group is extremely economically diverse... We have millionaires and we have students who are dealing with homelessness themselves. So finding the right words and actions took some thought.[/quote]

true, but I bet that the homeless families probably had the least desire to see this as a “learning opportunity” instead of a risk.

in general, well meaning liberals are extremely naive about the nature of encampments. they are foci for criminal activities, trash, and interfere with public space. we can have empathy for the homeless and not tolerate encampments next to schools at the same time. it’s not actually a moral dilemma. it’s a *tent city.* it can be located in a less disruptive spot. [/quote]

Right. that is why we did take action, and actually the school and PTO board have been discussing it for quite a while. But we were very careful that all official viewpoints took a compassionate tone. (some of the individual parents and neighbors were more inflamed.) and to be honest, the parent community actually was not affected by this -- there were no incidents, it was all percieved risk. The immediate neighbors were impacted and they have been really active for months, understandably.

careful doesn't always mean naive.[/quote]

who do you mean by “we” when you say “we did take action”? It’s always struck me as very arrogant that the parents in positions of authority/influence see themselves as the sum total of the “school community.” [/quote]

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