The city “Built by Disney” – Orlando, FL – is struggling with it’s image across the globe. Orlando is locked in a bitter dispute over the centrally located Lake Eola Park with an anti-poverty group called Food Not Bombs.

While arrests are piling up in this family destination city, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer is trying to make sure that the media doesn’t turn on him for the city’s seemingly petty and harsh restrictions regarding permits organizations need to feed homeless citizens.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, Food Not Bombs have ramped up efforts to feed Orlando’s homeless, providing people with vegetarian and vegan meals in Orlando’s most visited park in the city.

“With a political opponent, you can either negotiate, compromise or disagree,” said lobbyist and political analyst Dick Batchelor. “This organization seems to have a very strident political message, and I’m not sure they’re interested in a resolution.”

Further complicating the peaceful organization’s goals, police are not only swooping in with handcuffs, but hackers from the cyber-activist group, Anonymous, are attacking Orlando’s cyber-territory in solidarity and bad publicity is being generated worldwide.

“We are not connected to Anonymous at all. We have no connection. They do not consult us on anything that they do. We don’t support what they do. We don’t condemn it. We have no comment on Anonymous,” said Brock Monroe, of Orlando Food Not Bombs.

Orlando city officials are on the verge of looking tyrannical and draconian in the eyes of the world because it’s hard to defend arresting anti-poverty activists, who are also peaceful. Mayor Dyer says he’s concerned about the safety of having thousands of homeless people in an area shared by children, but he has yet to provide the organization with an equally accessible alternative.

“We are an anti-poverty activist organization. Our literature is equally as important as the food we share,” member Mark Stephens said. “The city doesn’t want to give us something equivalent to the park.”

A resolution to this issue doesn’t seem possible in the near future. In addition to distributing food, Food Not Bombs pushes a political message of ending poverty. Alternative feeding sites have been offered, but members say they won’t consider a location unless it meets both political and food-distribution needs.

FrugiVoice: Do you feel Orlando’s Mayor should allow Food Not Bombs to feed the homeless in the city’s most visited park? 

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7 Comments

  1. God forbid we see homeless people while we are enjoying are vacations with Micky Mouse! Seriously this is disgusting. You have a pacifist community organization helping the people that the Mayor and the city seem to want to ignore and dispose of because seeing poor people might make people sad or disgusted on their wonderful vacations. Seriously, give these activist access to some place, centrally located, in order to feed this people! These politicians are DISGUSTING and the worst type of people.

    • I totally agree with everything you said. Sometimes politicians get placed in a position that unveils the two-faced rhetoric they spit during campaign runs. You know the whole “We need to eradicate poverty,” “help the homeless,” and all that jazz.

      I love what Food for Bombs is doing! Keep up the good work and let’s get involved…

  2. I don’t see what is the problem with serving healthy meals to the poor at any location. If the municipal system of Orlando isn’t willing to offer a establishment for Food Not Bombs, then why should they complain? Like it or not, there are going to be some people in poverty. They just can’t look away and pretend that all is merry.

  3. What’s weird about this story, which is not reported by this article, is the crime that the homeless people cause after they are fed. This heavily slanted article, as well as the Food Not Bombs narcissists, is not taking into consideration the externalities with such large crowds. Classic example of a seemingly good deed is actually cause harm or disturbance.

    But, don’t get me wrong, I actually agree with this organizations premises, and I think this is problem with our societies: We try help the bastards of our sick economic system, only to intrude into people’s happiness.

    And here is another “Frugivoice” If there is crime after the feedings, why are the police arresting volunteers and not operating in crowd control units.

    • PRIVILEGEBINGO

      @Weh: Really? Being fed food makes you a criminal element? Gee, here I was thinking a criminal element was a criminal element, no eating required. Never mind all the upper class people doing bad shit so long as they’re not being given food.

  4. I think is the saddest story of the year. I cannot believe “happy place on earth” can’t figure how help it’s most vulnerable citizens

  5. The problem is that the officials seem to think if they ignore the problem and arrest the people who drag said prolem into the light, it will vanish..happened all over history.

    Officially they can only get two! permits to feed the homeless…two food parties so to say per year.

    And to Weh, so do you have links/posts/articles that show the other side, about the problems you say that are caused?

    Also you have always some bad people in a bunch of good people. Just like dog owners are all thrown together in one pot and the bad owners drag the good owners down in the mud, same with homeless people..or black people…

    The media loves to bunch up a story…especially when the officials do not want to have those people around..so the media has more leway to fire up some stories how bad the women are who burn their bras or want to vote or want to have an interracial marriage..or homeless people.

    See what I mean?

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