How to Deal with Punk-Ass Metermaids in one easy letter...

dpt_street, Pic by Kirk Clyne

One thing I love about this job is getting the colorful letters from you, our readership. This one was particularly good (names were changed to protect the guilty):

To: Director of Fucking Over Citizens

From: Law Abiding Citizen

Dear Director Schmuckatelli,
It is truly a good thing that words can not always express emotions, because I am FURIOUS over the treatment, no, harassment I suffered from one of your meter minions today. On the corner of Larkin and O'Farrell, I was helping a friend jump-start and charge his car. This friend of my mine's car died across from a drug rehabilitation clinic which he religiously attends across the way on Geary. Once DPT got on scene, we explained our dilemma, that the car needed to charge to ensure he would get home in South City with no fuss. The official understood, but insisted we had to do this somewhere else. We respectfully obliged him and moved to the aforementioned corner.
Shortly thereafter, the very same official arrived and began writing ticket. I was a little perplexed, and asked him why. His response was, "because you and your friend got to do your," and this is his exact words, "DRUG THING right here so I 'm writing you a ticket." (Caps mine). That has to be the most pigheaded, ignorant, arrogant and insensitive thing I have heard from a city official EVER!
I will pay the ticket to the city. We were in a loading zone, the only space we could find, and we were in a known drug area. But go figure they put the rehab clinics there too. And go figure, the same official that we had only minutes before yielded to in all humility comes steaming and huffing at us because we made him get out of his Cushman in the rain, or what ever. This person had not one tactful bone in his demeanor. Then he had the NERVE to tell me my friends are fucked up and I need new ones.
What kind of outrage is that? Is the DPT teaming up with the police to wage a harassment policy on recovering addicts? Are you teaching your 'maids social intervention policy too now? If so, I got an intervention for him to attend: So you're a Meter Maid and an Asshole. We Can Help.
I seriously recommend you enroll this dude in some sort of sensitivity training before he mouths off to the wrong person. There are a lot of wrong people in the Tenderloin. But he needs to learn that there are good ones too, mostly, helping each other out in times of need that de-prioritize proper parking etiquette. That is not a grounds for punitive measures.