So you want to get a community organized and outraged city officials? Try putting a homeless encampment in their neighborhood.

The residents of Seattle's "affluent Magnolia neighborhood" are experiencing the phenomenon first-hand. The City of Seattle and homeless advocates - a misleading term if there ever was one - have the bright idea for Fort Lawton in Discovery Park by transforming the century-old former Army base into homeless shelters and low-income housing.

For some reason Magnolia residents are less than thrilled at the prospect.

The Seattle Times had a front-page story about the issue in their Saturday edition.

Just a hunch but one can guess that most Sound Politics readers' first natural inclination at this point is probably to sympathize with the local homeowners.

Homeless encampments drive down property values. Period. It's a fact in the real estate industry. Then there's the issue of whether they bring about an increase crime. The ongoing debate around where to locate "Tent City", which has plopped itself down in several Eastside cities like a family's unwanted drunken uncle, has more than fleshed out the pros and cons of homeless encampments.

This post isn't really even about the efficacy of these camps although you can debate that issue if you must.

The most important factor in this particular debate is that of hypocrisy.

As coincidence would have it this writer happened to be in Magnolia on Saturday; enjoying the second most beautiful day of the year to date with a reporter buddy who had never visited the neighborhood before.

The homes are stunning. The views along Magnolia Boulevard are gorgeous. Discovery Park is a gem with its unique ecology and geological formations that have been left relatively undisturbed for decades.

Driving past well manicured lawns and homes overlooking Elliot Bay and the Olympics a striking observation was quickly made. Magnolia is filled chock-a-block with a bunch of rich, white liberals.

There were Barack Obama '08 bumper-stickers everywhere and yard signs in heavy numbers. In fact after driving almost sixty minutes in the neighborhood we couldn't find a single piece of campaign propaganda for either Hillary Clinton or John McCain - or Ron Paul for that matter...

Here's another observation. After spending almost the entire day in rich, white, exclusive Magnolia this writer didn't see a single black person. Hell, for that matter, we only saw three minorities in total.

As a native to the area this is no surprise. Seattle has been getting whiter and whiter because of the "white flight" phenomenon of liberals fleeing here from more racially diverse cities.

It just sticks in your craw to see so much support for America's first credible black presidential candidate from a neighborhood of people who have intentionally chosen to wall themselves behind luxury in order to live apart from any person who remotely has the same skin color as their presidential candidate of choice.

You just can't have too much sympathy for these effete snobs.

These are the people that vote for and donate money to the local crop of bright-boy politicians who think that allowing drug dealers and bums (let's not use the misleading term homeless) to run rampant all over the rest of Seattle and the Puget Sound region.

Having populations of indigent panhandlers, alkies and stumblebums sleeping in front of doorways in Pioneer Square, Capitol Hill or the U-District and camped out in grotty little neighborhoods like Bothell or Woodinville is perfectly peachy. Just so long as the consequences of Magnolia's electoral decisions never encroaches on their posh, secluded oasis.

Here's a better idea than the one currently being proposed by the City of Seattle and "homeless advocates".

Instead of providing housing for around 100 less fortunate souls, why not move all the homeless in Seattle (and the entire region) to Magnolia?

Discovery Park has a large enough footprint to create a Hooverville of epic proportions. There's plenty of open space, access to the beach to collect driftwood or clams, water and utilities. Since so many Magnolia residents are no doubt guilty over how rich and white they are, it would be a thrilling opportunity to promote social justice and racial equality by having a shantytown smack dab alongside their exclusive Ozzie and Harriet homes.

Now that's change you can believe in.