A couple days ago, on my walk home from Whole Foods, I saw a guy on the sidewalk who was obviously drugged out holding a piece of cardboard that was smoldering at the edge. It wasn’t in flames, but the red glow and smoke proved that it was capable of starting a fire. As the guy was clearly messed up on something, I watched. He was dressed in rags, and had a bottle of some liquid that looked like orange juice, which he proceeded to pour over his head. He seemed mesmerized by the smoking cardboard. At one point, he placed it on the seat of a bicycle that was parked nearby. Then he crossed Bay Place and disappeared on the grounds of the Senior Center-V.A. Center, still holding onto the smoking cardboard.
My immediate thought was that he could set the bushes and trees on fire; homeless people have started at least six fires there over the years. I wanted to do something—but what? We’re told not to bother 9-1-1 unless violent behavior is involved, and this guy wasn’t being violent. I thought of MACRO, but what’s their number? Does anyone know?
Yesterday, I came across a MACRO team on Grand Avenue. They had jackets that clearly identified them as MACRO. They were interacting with a guy wrapped in a blanket who was huddled in a bus stop; they gave him a bottle of water and engaged him in conversation. I had never before seen MACRO in action. I asked if I could ask them a question.
I told them about the guy with the fiery cardboard and said that I knew we weren’t supposed to bother 9-1-1 with non-violent calls but I didn’t know how to call MACRO. The young lady told me that unfortunately there is no phone number to call or text MACRO nor did she know when there might be. I asked if there was a website and she said there wasn’t. Then she added that MACRO currently has only ten employees covering the whole city. She explained how broke MACRO is. The vehicle in which she and her partner were traveling had been rented since their previous one had broken down.
To listen to people like Carroll Fife hype MACRO, you’d think it was a stunning success. “I have high hopes for MACRO,” she said a year ago. “I know I’ve received calls and emails about people being really happy to be served by the program.” Despite all the happy talk, MACRO remains a phantom of a program. There was much talk about increasing its funding in Sheng Thao’s budget, but nothing seems to have been done. It’s hard to avoid concluding that MACRO is just a talking point by the Fife-Kaplan-Thao-Kalb group. They need something to prove to skeptical voters that they’re serious about reducing crazy behavior in the streets. Of course, they’re not serious. It’s all a political stunt to avoid having to make actual decisions. As long as they can brag about MACRO and convince voters that success is just around the corner, they can continue to get away with doing nothing.
Well, success isn’t just around the corner. MACRO is a profound failure. Giving bottles of water to demented people defecating in bus stops isn’t the answer to anything; in fact, that bottle, when empty, will probably be tossed on the sidewalk, where some city workers will have to clean it up.
Look: When MACRO has a telephone number the public can call, let me know. Or even a website! Until then, it’s just deranged wokespeak. Ten employees for the whole city, 24-7!!! That’s not a temporary problem, it’s a joke—and the last laugh, sadly, is on us, the people of Oakland. We need real accountability from those who govern us, but we’re never going to get it from this current bunch.
Steve Heimoff