12-16-2010, 11:53 AM
Re: Community center types. We have a nephew (we have lots of nephews, only one like this), in his mid 20s now, he's a basically good kid - has been tramping around the world (Central America, Alaska, various places on the mainland) since dropping out of high school. He didn't stay long in Puna (too many mokes, says he), but last we heard he actually got a "real job" in a grocery store in Oahu. During his time in Seattle, he picked up the needle habit - it's a hard thing to kick.
So, you might have seen him in your Community Center a few years back, he was the type to carry a tent and ask permission to pitch it on your land for a few days. I don't "keep tabs" on him close enough to know if he did any theft when he was at his low spots, I'm fairly sure he's never hurt anyone, and he really is trying to get away from the problem - more successfully this year than last, as far as we can tell from the e-mails and phone calls we get.
My point is, he and his friends are not bad people, willing to help how they can, some good musicians, but... not exactly living the standard American dream, and even good people with the heavy drug problems (not talking pakalolo here) will lose control at times. I'm not a big fan of the "standard American dream" per se, but some very bad stuff can happen when people lose control.
Just to ramble a bit here, I'm actually really fed up with the hypocritical control freak posturing of rural Republican America, they cause more problems than they solve with their "zero tolerance" double-talk. When a community looks out for it's members, accepts people for who they are, helps people who need help, and doesn't bother people who aren't bothering anybody else, I've seen the best come out of people.
So, to tie this back in a little bit, people might be a bit better off to interact with those Community Center types, instead of just fearing the place. If it really deserves fearing, then it needs to change - odds are if you get to know the people, there won't be a reason to fear them.
On the other hand, I, have hired this kind of people to work in my yard, and lent them my tools to do other jobs. Based on my experience to-date, I'd only risk as much with them as I'm willing to lose - most surprises have been pleasant, but I've also had them disappear with stuff and never return. Somehow that last statement reminds me of advice I give about investing in the stock market...