Editor’s Note: Roy Sterling Trout, based in Tucson, Arizona, has been homeless for most of his adult life, for 29 years. He tells the story of being homeless and advocates for the homeless through podcasts he produces that give a voice to the unhoused. You can hear his podcasts at:
https://radiopublic.com/homelessatlarge-GEJDbr/s1!ec2ce?fbclid=IwAR3Rq1gdAQX62NRuqRow9IIEdLL__Ah9PbutHRIfqBdzJCELRrD4E3IeTV8
TUCSON, AZ — I have stories. Lots of them would bring most to their knees.
I walked into a grocery store parking lot to ask a police officer a question. The question was: since the police swear an Oath to the Constitution, and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals deemed camp raids on the homeless without suitable alternatives unconstitutional, why are they still doing them, knowing that there is no alternatives?
I was promptly slammed on the ground and charged with trespassing and disorderly conduct. I beat the charges, however the officers broke my phone. The job I lost, and the City refused to compensate me.
Now I have a record a mile long of petty charges, most I beat. I called the police because a guy pulled a shotgun on me and threatened my life with it. The police thought, although I pointed him out and he had the exact shotgun I described, that it was my word against his. They really didn’t do anything. My truck was stolen. I called police, it was a civil crime.
In 2012 I was jumped from behind with a baseball bat. At the hospital the police told my brother-in-law that I probably deserved it. No report was ever made. In 2011, I was stabbed twice. The police didn’t arrest the guy because I’m no angel.
Back in 2001, I had an apartment. The police raided it 8 times, no warrant, they never found anything nor did they arrest anyone. The last time, they closed off a city block for 3 1/2 hours with the SWAT team. They said that they were looking for people. They cut my couch cushion (my mattress), they cut all the pockets out of my pants, they emptied my silverware on the floor. Again they found nothing, but they managed to get me evicted for police activity.
The City has never tried to compensate me for anything. The police bulldozed 22 camps. Brand new tents, Coleman stoves, etc. They never have compensated me for the property of mine they destroyed.
Here is more. The ministry I started has helped 100s of people into housing. Every time I got someone housing, I was left on the streets, pushed around by the police, and I lost everything.
I spent Christmas of 2019 in the cold and rain handing out shots of coffee to stay warm with no blankets, no dry clothes because the police had just finished bulldozing another camp. I’m 29 years homeless. There is no Constitution. I don’t believe it exists. And nobody seems to care. I’ve talked for years about how I was being treated.
Here is another little story. In November of 2020, 18 homeless people were chased out of their camps late at night by police, and within a minute savagely jumped and beaten. I made mention of that — not one person cared. I mean nobody. You wonder why I don’t like people. That is why. That’s why I am the way I am. The law is one-sided. It’s not a race war, it’s a class war, the haves, and have nots.
These are all verifiable stories.
I’ve been homeless most of my natural life. I have helped lots of people, meanwhile I got shit on. I really have begun to hate this country and everything it stands for. My dad was a veteran. He is buried by the public fiduciary in a dirt lot next to a guy named Jon Doe. I can’t believe he bought the Constitution bullshit. I spit on everything this country is, was and ever will be. It’s hypocrisy at its finest. If you don’t believe me, become homeless. You will then. We talk about other countries committing acts of genocide, we go to war over it while we own the largest act of genocide recorded in world history in the 293 million Native Americans we slaughtered taking this land. And we let our children be taught to believe bullshit from kindergarten all the way through college. It’s all bullshit. This country sends billions overseas for the poor in third world countries, yet we can’t take care of our own. Hypocrisy. I can’t continue this way. My body hurts . . .
Here is my poem:
I pick up my helmet,
I pick up my gun,
I go into battle,
the enemies better run.
I fight for freedom for the country I love,
I lay down my life when push comes to shove.
Through this battle many have died,
we returned home to find out our government has lied.
The burden I feel weighs a metric ton,
I returned from battle, to die by my own gun!
Dedicated to the 22 veterans per day who the government has let down! Written 4/28/16 By Roy Sterling Trout
Here is what is really sad. I believe preservation of life is key. Any coward can kill, it takes true courage to run in after the coward strikes to save lives. I have saved six, all verifiable. And I am still getting ran over and stomped on by people who claim to believe in God and Jesus who said love one another and blessed are the poor. They sit in church waving their money in the air like God is going to be proud of them and by the time they get home from church they have told 8 homeless people get a job you fuckin’ bum. That’s exactly what Jesus would say. Hypocrisy. I’m not God, I’m not Jesus, and I’m not the one. I’m that guy. God is the boss, Jesus is the good shepherd, I am the sheep dog. We have come to gather his sheep. We have a very angry God. Covid19 was just the beginning.
There is a lot more, far worse judgments coming for those that remain. Revelation says it. I know you probably don’t believe me. That’s fine. People didn’t believe Noah either, look what happened. People didn’t believe Jesus, look what happened. They hated My savior enough to kill him, and hang the symbol that killed him in his house of life. Hypocrisy. God didn’t condemn mankind, mankind condemned themselves.
We Are People, We Are Human, We Have Rights
’We Are The #Homelessatlarge, We Are Everywhere, #Helpusorleaveusalone
You can find Roy Sterling Trout and see his work at these Facebook sites:
https://radiopublic.com/homelessatlarge-GEJDbr/s1!ec2ce?fbclid=IwAR0Fcr6zU1y7NzFoZlTcZCp1XW-OeOS1GeT0zxrU5cicqctV3PV6UcAWSi8
https://www.facebook.com/roy.trout.376?mibextid=ZbWKwL
https://www.facebook.com/roy.trout.376/videos/135590134819425?idorvanity=972388809486687
