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\u201cAs homeless people turn off visitors, San Francisco tourism senses threat\u201d notes Travelers Weekly. \u201cSeattle Is Dying: Drugs And Homelessness In Seattle,\u201d laments KOMO Seattle. \u201cAustin veteran fights off alleged homeless attacker after offering to help him,\u201d exclaims ABC-affiliate KVUE.

As housing costs skyrocket and inequality grows, homelessness is reaching crisis levels in large metropolitan areas. In response, the media\u2013\u2013namely local news stations\u2013\u2013routinely treat the homeless like an invading species, a vermin to be, at best, contained, and at worst eradicated.\xa0

The result has been a slew of stories pathologizing those experiencing homelessness as uniquely dangerous. Panhandlers are viewed as con men out to screw over the working man, chased down by vigilantes with the help of outraged local news \u201cstanding up\u201d to the poor. The housing status of those who commit crimes is only mentioned when they\u2019re homeless\u2013\u2013never for the housed\u2013\u2013and every transgression committed by the homeless is viewed by our media as evidence that the homeless population in general is out to attack us all.

But this narrative flies in the face of the evidence, and tracks\u2013\u2013like most \u201ccrime coverage\u201d\u2013\u2013with the needs of real estate interests who set the tone for local media coverage, and who have every reason to highlight and oversell the threat of homeless to pressure lawmakers and police to displace \u201ceye sores\u201d for the yuppie clientele they\u2019re attempting to sell and ultimately serve.\xa0

On this first of our two-part episode, we are joined by Steve Potter, an Austin-based artist and homeless activist.\xa0