The week of Aug 17th the city of Albuquerque covered up a beautiful memorial on Central and Vermont that honored people who have died of fentanyl overdose and conditions on the streets.The memorial was created on Aug 8th to honor stolen lives in light of the recent scandal involving the DEA allowing 1.8 million fentanyl pills to enter into New Mexico from 2023-2025.People in Albuquerque who experience the worst that this system has to offer, finding themselves living on the streets of the War Zone and self medicating through the American Nightmare turned this blank sign, serving only as an eyesore, into a beautiful tribute to those that have been lost to the struggle on the streets. The city of Albuquerque shit all over that.

This disrespectful act sends a message to everyone who contributed to making this memorial: the people in power do not care about your loved one, or your attempts to remember them, they want them to be forgotten. Death is a common occurrence for people living on the streets because of the drug use, ongoing exposure to the elements, hazardous conditions, and violence. Albuquerque has enough resources to reduce the probability of people dying out here, they could even get people dignified housing, so why don’t they?

The short answer is that it isn’t profitable to give homeless people dignified lives. And those that are not profitable are treated as disposable by the ruling class. The City’s recent actions reflect this fact. Unfortunately this logic also infects the general population who often view homeless people through the same lens. We have to actively fight to counteract this.

The City owns the property that this sign-turned-memorial lays on. So they could have various justifications for covering it up, such as vandalism or protecting property. But regardless, the city gets to pick and choose what graffiti and vandalism they cover up, and they made the decision that this had to go. We know that the city workers who covered this were just doing their job. Our beef is only with politicians who talk endlessly about community development, but couldn’t be bothered to help us protect a genuine effort by the people to honor those who have been lost to drugs.

Hit us up to hit the streets! We go out multiple times a week to talk with people about the reasons why the city harasses the homeless, how we can hit back against these injustices, and the fight against homelessness in general. Defy the rot of society and come with us to talk with people who experience the worst capitalism has to offer. We can’t just sit around waiting for movements to get organized or people to fight back, we have to be conscious actors making those things happen. Lets move!