I’m Speechless

1. What’s the bit about no legal place to go? Aren’t you legal now at the new park?

2. County Executive Joe Parisi; County Executive Staff Jeff Kostelic;
   Director of Human Services Lynn Green; County Ombudsman Andy Heidt; Land
   and Water Resources Director Kevin Connors; Parks Director Darrne
   Marsh; Dane County Sheriff Dave Mahoney

   (cc – County Board Supervisors – county_board_recipients@co.dane.wi.us)

   How do you sleep? How do you look in the mirror?

   I just read this: https://www.forwardlookout.com/2012/11/im-speechless/16600

   You
   lived it and/or are responsible for what is being done. I know some of
   you (some well, some less so); I know you to be people of conscience,
   people who care. I’m baffled by how people of conscience can take part
   in these immoral actions, so I ask again, how do you sleep?

   TJM

3. With special permission, for 90 days. After that, it will be illegal again until the parks open – and then people can go to Lake Farm Park where there is transportation (city buses 3/4 of a mile walk) for 2 weeks at a time then move for 2 days, then move again for 2 weeks. People stayed because they didn’t have transportation back and they had no legal place to go . . .but this location has no water, no transportation, the outreach workers won’t even come out there . . .

4. “…disregarded everyone’s rights..” Perhaps you aren’t getting the message from my (and others’) posts…but here we go again…

   What ‘rights’ are you describing? The ‘right’ to free Metro bus tickets? The ‘right’ to free, _on-demand_ transportation because a free shuttle to and from the park just isn’t good enough? The ‘right’ to squat on public property, indefinitely, without complying with a permit?

   “Occupy” Madison isn’t a movement. It’s a whimsical collection of people who can’t or won’t cooperate with the existing homeless infrastructure in our city and county. You don’t have my sympathy, nor do you have that of most other law-abiding Dane County residents. We support help for the homeless – and in fact we contribute plenty of money, time, and material to worthy organizations in the area. What we DO NOT support is a political game run by an ex-politician who is looking for attention, serving as the mouthpiece of a group of unrepentant law-breakers.

5. I don’t believe the issue is about “free” anything. It’s about access to services. When is the last time you waited and rode a bus anywhere? Or, couldn’t find a motel room, and you “had” to sleep in your vehicle – to put a situation mildly. The overall intent is what to look at – services, not so-called free things.

6. It is quite the stretch to compare the removal and relocation of everyone’s property from the illegal encampment at Lake View Hill to Token Creek County Park to what happened in early settlement history to First Americans… whose land Europeans came in and STOLE To refresh your memory, Europeans came to North America, illegally set up camps and homesteads on the land, cooked with huge fires, and
   then drove the rightful land owners, the First Americans off the lands and killed them… either indirectly with spreading disease, destroying their culture, and starvation or directly with weapons. Yes, the County coordinated a forced removal of the belongings of all the people who were ILLEGALLY camping on Lake View Hill… but only after many, many, many polite requests that all the campers / advocates move on their own! The County sent multiple messengers (whom you made fun of) out to notify the campers that they were breaking the law… and asked the
   campers to leave. They gave a deadline for the campers to leave on their own. The County issued tickets for being in the park after hours. None of this got through to any of you.

   You, Brenda, and the other campers sneered in the County’s collective faces and essentially flipped them off!!! Then YOU act shocked when the County comes and “forcibly” removes all of the property there? Be grateful that they didn’t confiscate everything and take it to the sheriff’s department for the individual “occupiers” to retrieve there! Or worse, that they didn’t take it to the dump and get rid of it. The County could have chosen much worse; they removed the belongings and made you relocate to a place that at least had some of what the “occupiers” demanded (a place where they could have a fire and a place where it was legal to camp). These are County resources you are asking to use, so the County should decide what campground would be acceptable.

   Brenda, you’re like a petulant child that stomps her feet and screams when she doesn’t get her way!!! Grow up already. When you break the law, at least be willing to face the consequences of your actions. You helped get these people “banished” to the edge of the city by raising such a raucous and being more and more demanding that NO ONE was willing to be a neighbor to these folks anymore. You created lots of noise and offered few / no solutions… only made it harder for this group of people. Congratulations on your great “advocacy” for this group.

   (I sure don’t recall these kinds of escalations or problems with the REAL Occupy group in the late fall of 2011!)

7. Actually, I was talking about constitutional rights . . . you know, the sheriff needing to have a warrant or cause to search my items without my consent.

8. Why don’t you file a lawsuit against the Sheriff, Brenda? IMHO, trampling a constitutional right is a very serious allegation. Besides there is ample video / photos / witnesses to document what actually happened. If legal resources or money is a problem ACLU will surely help.

   What I want to know is whether something illegal really happened or this is merely your perception, Brenda.

9. Brenda: I think your posts would get across to the audience better if you tried toning down the hyperbole a bit.

   “Kidnap”, “Steal”, “illegal search” these are strong words. If they didn’t happen you shouldn’t claim they did.

   OTOH, if they did indeed happen, sue the hell out of the county and from the settlement monies you can do so much good for the homeless. More than the county will ever do.

10. I’m cracking down on anonymous comments, if you want to comment, use your real name or an email that doesn’t make you anonymous. If you have complaints about this, contact me.

11. The headline on this post, “I’m Speechless,” filled me with great hope. Imagine my disappointment when I clicked on the header to find 1,954 words of speechlessness. I’m guessing that when you do admit to speech it’s in the Fidel Castro category: measured in hours, not minutes. BTW: a word search failed to find the word “job” or “search.” Perhaps a future missive will detail such efforts among people who are, apparently, rugged enough to go camping under the stars.

12. One of our main objections to Token Creek is that if you have to be at Labor Ready by 5:30 and there is no transportation and no way to really ride your bike safely, this eliminates major job opportunities. Plus, if the van comes at 9:30 and is back at 4:30, you can’t work. This severely limits people’s ability to do anything. Lake Farm Park would have been preferable (less than an hour bike ride to labor ready) and a bus is 3/4 of a mile.

13. If you and your merry band of followers would be willing to stay in the city and work within the existing shelter and support structure (instead of squatting indefinitely on county property,) the need for transportation from Token Creek would be rather moot.

14. This is ENTIRELY about “free everything.” Have you seen Occupy’s list of ‘demands’ posted here? https://www.forwardlookout.com/2012/11/occupy-will-move-by-december-9th-if/16545

    And please, the pity party isn’t fooling anyone. If we are really talking about access to services, let’s talk about the homeless folks who actually participate in the shelter/support structure here in Madison. How many county resources are being pulled away from helping these people in order to satisfy the demands of a tiny Occupy group who can’t or won’t work with what’s already out there?

15. Just wondering – since you’re so fired up about constitutional protections – when did anonymous speech stop becoming a right?
    https://www.eff.org/issues/anonymity

    I guess you didn’t spend too much time worrying about that in law school.

    Perhaps you don’t like the mirror being held up to your face, but your whiny, abusive attitude towards county officials crosses the line from advocacy to annoying irrelevance.

16. that sounds great in theory . . . but it doesn’t work in reality – people run out of days in shelter, some get banned, sometimes the women’s shelter is full, some are couples who want to stay together, etc. And, even if you solve all that, where will they put their things during the day?

17. You’re really good as hurling abuse at everybody and anybody that’s attempted to assist the homeless, but you sure aren’t willing to endure any criticism of your behavior, actions, or attitude whatsoever.

18. I agree with you, Stan. A lot of resources, such as funding sources, human services expertise like Lynn Green, Andy Heidt, as well as who knows how many other social service workers / homeless service professionals, professional safety services, etc. and time are being diverted from the hundreds of other homeless individuals in Madison / Dane County and instead are being concentrated on the demands of this small group.

    (I wonder if my post will be deleted as it was last night… along with 22 posts from other people who aren’t being swayed by the tune that “Piped Piper Brenda Konkel” keeps blasting AT everyone!… so much for the spirit of open “discussion” of the issues / concerns at hand.

    Brenda Konkel, you can dish out criticism of everyone else, but you sure can’t stand being criticized… or let anyone read the criticism of her actions that are posted here.)

19. I hear your issues. But rather than work to reform the system, you’re waging a campaign of public harassment and criticism of city/county employees – the very people you need to be working with to make things better. It raises legitimate questions about your motives and tactics, and it’s damaging sympathy for your cause.

20. Yes, what’s up with that Brenda? Why the sudden allergy to anonymous comments? [Let’s see if the censors will let this one through]

    Crackdown starts only when things start to get a wee bit uncomfy for you? When people start asking you hard questions?

21. My posts got deleted too.

    The irony of it is here’s Brenda whining about “unlawful seizures” and without blinking an eye she’s all out play censor and “seize” comments that don’t sing a paean to her antics?

22. Very succinctly stated. In addition to the criticism of city/county employees, I would add Brenda’s unending vitriolic criticism of any and every non-profit involved in the community attempting to support, shelter and/or house homeless individuals, especially Porchlight and Tellurian. Brenda’s criticism of these two agencies has been particularly brutal without any evidence on her part (as a supposed “advocate”) to problem solve with and/or suggest possible solutions to the litany of problems she states exist. Nope… just much easier to create a “straw man” then go about knocking it down, rather than actually offer solutions … that is, solutions that go beyond screaming for the city or county to “do more” for the homeless. Try actually doing some constructive problem solving, thinking outside the box, etc.

    All we hear is how unhappy Brenda and her citizen followers / supporters are with the shelters and available services and/or wait lists for services and/or housing. Unhappy with the shelter and lack of permanent housing? Go open your own long-term shelter and build enough SRO’s for the hundreds of homeless individuals in need. And don’t forget to build / convert enough buildings to provide housing for all the homeless children and families in Dane County. And, oh by the way, don’t forget to provide AODA and/or mental health treatment, long-term case management for the significant number of people who need the treatment and support, etc. Build your own system to serve the homeless … without camping out / squatting illegally on public or private land… you think the available systems are so terrible!

23. It is quite the stretch to compare the removal and relocation of everyone’s property from the illegal encampment at Lake View Hill to Token Creek County Park to what happened in early settlement history to First Americans. You really want us to buy the analogy that somehow the removal of squatter / “occupier” encampment by the Dane County sheriffs is the equivalent of the First Americans land being stolen by the Europeans who invaded this continent? If the analogy holds, then the squatter / occupier campers are the “Europeans” in this scenario as you / they have illegally squatted on one piece of property after another that didn’t and doesn’t belong to you, then turned around and expected your illegal behavior to be overlooked and/or embraced by the neighbors AND made demands for all sorts of special treatment on top of it!

    Yes, the County coordinated a forced removal of the belongings of all the people who were ILLEGALLY camping on Lake View Hill… but only after many, many, many polite requests that all the campers / advocates move on their own! The County sent multiple messengers out to notify the campers that they were breaking the law… and told the campers to leave. They gave the campers deadline to leave on their own. The County issued tickets for being in the park after hours. None of this got through to any of you.

    You and your little group of followers sneered in the collective faces of the County and essentially flipped them off!!! Then you act shocked when the County comes and forcibly removes all of the property there??? Be grateful that they didn’t confiscate everything and take it to the sheriff’s department for the individual “occupiers” to retrieve there! Or worse, that they didn’t take it to the dump and get rid of it. The County could have chosen much worse; they removed the belongings and relocated your “friends” to a place the county decided would be acceptable with firepits and latrines (two of your demands).

    You created so much racket and ill-will, perhaps the county decided being far away from everyone was the only acceptable alternative. Brenda, you’re like a petulant child who stomps her feet, goes to her room, slams the door, packs her toys and threatens to run away from home when she doesn’t get her way!!!

    Grow up already. When you break the law, at least be willing to face the consequences of your actions!! You helped get these people “banished” to the edge of the city by raising such a raucous and being more and more demanding that NO ONE was willing to be a neighbor to these folks anymore. You created lots of noise and no solutions… only made it harder for this group of people to navigate back into the “mainstream” community via jobs, housing, etc. Congratulations on your great “advocacy” on behalf of this group of people.

24. so sad… guess you only like to hear yourself and your little group of citizen cheer leaders.

25. Really? No one will go out there? Really? Everyone call the Meriter Health Hut program and ask if no one has gone out there. The Hut at St. Vincent de Paul,
    Phone: 608-441-1322 Mobile: 608-516-1322

26. This is a shout-out to all you many unsung heroes of non-profits who work behind the scenes to make a difference. You know who you are!

    I have a fear that my post will again get gobbled up by Censor Brenda. But so long as it stays I want to say: “THANK YOU!”

    Its sad that true hard work and years of toil on the front lines goes unrecognized while publicity-seeking antics get the front page in a week.

27. I have a question… since so many citizens were willing to assist these folks, as well as a church across from DCHS, why didn’t you just ask the church if you could camp on their property?

28. Has to be zoned conservancy and they have to be willing to obtain a campground license and they don’t want to take on that liability. Plus, they don’t want to make their neighbors mad.

29. I am a very public person and stand behind every word I say and I take all the grief for having ideas that others don’t agree with. But I do it as Brenda Konkel. Others, who apparently are some how ashamed of what they have said, hide behind anonymous names and i don’t think that is fair. If you want to comment here, use a real name or email address, that has been the rule that we have followed for years now.

30. I don’t think any of the people who are opposed to your actions and your tone are ‘ashamed’ of what we say. Rather, we don’t want to be next on your list of victims to be publicly harassed. This isn’t about ‘fair.’ This is about two-way dialogue – or your unwillingness to tolerate viewpoints that contradict your own.

31. BS. You have a public persona where you play sweet, innocent, and helpful (“oh, I don’t really know how I ended up being chosen to go get everyone’s names… and I don’t know how I ended up being a case manager for 28 people”) and a private persona… which is the real Brenda… the one that goes around bashing people, spreading lies (especially to the “occupiers” so they won’t work with anyone), and creating as much discontent and ill will between as many people as possible. You have a “take no prisoners / scorched earth” attitude toward anyone who disagrees with you or gets in your way of your (self appointed) mission to “help” this group of people. You’ve taken great delight in PUBLICLY skewering many public officials and human service workers… BY NAME… in your posts / blog. Your unrelenting very personal public BASHING of such a broad swath of individuals is unwarranted and disgusting. And as Stan pointed out, the only way to get a point across regarding our disagreement of what you / the occupiers are doing and demanding is to have some kind of shield of protection from your public attacks.

32. I agree with you, Stan. A lot of resources, such as funding sources, human services expertise like Lynn Green, Andy Heidt, as well as who knows how many other social service workers / homeless service professionals, professional safety services, etc. and time are being diverted from the hundreds of other homeless individuals in Madison / Dane County and instead are being concentrated on the demands of this small group.

33. Waiting to ride a bus / having to ride a bus is a hardship? Since when?

34. Stan I am openly inviting you to visit the Occupy encampment, every decision, every debate, and plenty of joy and pain are shared in the open and under the sky. Last night Mr. Parisi engaged in a respectful dialog with the group for the first time, I cannot be sure but I believe he is realizing that none of this had to happen. The encampment has moved 26 times over the last year, it has voluntarily and peacefully moved each time. It would still be legal if the campgrounds were still open. This is not about asking for money or housing (although nobody would turn down housing), it’s about rethinking the barriers that make homelessness a crime in Madison. It is illegal to sleep outdoors in Madison. Even if you want to force people into punitive sheltering system that only covers 90 days per year. We are not even close to full employment, homelessness is a reality, we can get involved or simply place blame and go to bed. Come on out, it might change your perspective.

35. So far, is has cost the county $11,151.97 for the move. $5,431,97 in sheriff overtime. $830 in supplies. $4890 in parks salaries. And that is just what they are admitting to.

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