SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES

Dori: How can enablers of ‘Jungle’ live with themselves?

Feb 3, 2017, 8:58 AM | Updated: 8:59 am

Jungle, homeless, I-5...

The heart-breaking story of a 16-year-old being raped and sold in the "Jungle" lies with the enablers on the Seattle City Council. (MyNorthwest)

(MyNorthwest)

I will give Mayor Ed Murray a little credit for wanting to clean out the “Jungle.” But for those city councilmembers who don’t believe that cleaning out the homeless encampment is compassionate, I have a question: How can you live with yourselves?

We had a story Thursday from KIRO 7 that illustrates the insanity of these local politicians. The person who broke the story, reporter Amy Clancy, told us how police found a 16-year-old runaway from New Jersey who was living in the “Jungle” and being trafficked for sex by a resident there.

Related: Introducing ‘The Triangle,’ Seattle’s new ‘Jungle’

This horrifying story illustrates so many things, but mainly how the entire Puget Sound area has become a magnet for homeless people around the country, as well as the rampant crime that happens in places like the “Jungle.”

We have councilmembers like Kshama Sawant and Mike O’Brien who claim compassion in not wanting to sweep and clear out these areas, but at some point, they have got to acknowledge the immorality of their policies after hearing stories like this. The guise of compassion is the single biggest problem with our politicians around here.

Instead, what they are is enablers for a situation that attracts 16-year-old girls from New Jersey who come to Seattle because the word is out: This is Freattle. That if you are a teen runaway, there is a network of information for you to find a place where you can do the drugs without getting harassed by authorities; where you can live this lawless life. This is the place to be.

How in God’s name can the enablers of the Jungle on the city council live with themselves when they have created this situation in their backyard? It’s despicable.

They can live their delusion all they want, but by dragging so many voters with them, the city that I grew up in and continue to love has become a very immoral place in many ways.

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Dori: How can enablers of ‘Jungle’ live with themselves?