I heard ranting. The typical homeless-man ranting that we’ve all become accustomed to. I wasn’t scared. I’m used to walking downtown in cities – New York, San Francisco, New Orleans, and Chicago. Why should visiting Denver be any more dangerous?

It was about 6 p.m. on a Wednesday last month when my wife, our friends, and I were walking the five blocks on 15th Street from our hotel, Embassy Suites, to a restaurant on Larimer Square. There’s a little pocket park along the way at Arapahoe Street, and it’s apparently become a hangout for unhoused people.

He was yelling something about someone killing his family. I glanced at him – no dirty look or anything, just a curious glance. He was crossing 15th toward our side of the street. I turned back and continued walking. I know that 99% of unhoused people are harmless to strangers. I guess I wasn’t prepared for the other 1%.

I felt something hit the back of my neck, and it knocked me to the ground. I heard my glasses rattle across the pavement. I’d somehow caught myself a bit with my elbows and arms, so my head didn’t hit the concrete. Splayed out on the sidewalk, I heard my wife and our friends yelling, then asking if I was OK, and then they were helping me up. I got to my knees, then my hands, then I was sitting on a bench. I was dazed, and I couldn’t respond. Was I OK? I had no idea.

It turned out – according to surveillance video and witnesses – the guy had stormed up behind me and punched me full-force on the back of my neck. He then walked back across the street and stood watching and yelling at us. We were in front of a bank, and the security guards ran out to help.

EMTs arrived and checked me for a concussion. I was OK. Two scrapes on one arm and one on the other where I hit the ground, and I couldn’t move my neck to the left. Denver Police arrived and spoke with me, then they went to speak with him, and that’s when he decided to run. The police caught him, we did an ID, and he went to jail. I went to our hotel room.

And that bothered me.

The officer asked me, three times I think, “Do you want to press charges?”

Do I want to press charges? What I want is for no one else to get hurt. I’m a 55-year-old guy in good health. What if I’d been 75? What if I’d been a child? What if I hadn’t caught myself and had hit my head on the concrete? What if my attacker had carried a knife?

Do I want to press charges? What I want is for the guy to get help with the addiction or mental health crisis that he’s having. What I want is for him not to be living on the streets. What I want is for someone to fix this.

Because I’m angry.

I’m not angry at the guy who attacked me. (Not anymore, now that I’ve calmed down a bit.)

I’m angry at you. I’m angry at me. I’m angry that we have collectively created and sanctioned a society that is unsafe. Unsafe. If I as a visitor to Denver can be attacked in broad daylight on a nice street, unprovoked, by an unhoused man, then we are unsafe. We have failed; I have failed you, and you have failed me. And we have all failed that man whose psychosis or drug-induced delusion or whatever demons he’s dealing with led him to attack a stranger.

I’m no expert on homelessness, but it’s nothing new to me. Formally, I’ve worked in soup kitchens and volunteered with a Room in The Inn shelter program. Informally, I’ve shared meals with homeless folks and taken people to motel rooms in the middle of winter.

But the last several years, I’ve been surprised to see how bad the situation has become, and it’s become increasingly difficult for me to call any of this OK: Entire sections of public parks in Queens abandoned to become urine-soaked campgrounds. Blocks of roadside RVs becoming permanent lodging along the railroad tracks outside San Francisco. And now this, in Denver of all places.

I have sympathy for those on both sides of this issue as cities grapple over rules that would ban sleeping on the streets. But after what just happened, I have to agree: We need to ban living on the streets. We need a ban, and, in tandem, we need the resources to fix the situation that we’ve created. We need adequate public housing for those sidelined by our high-stakes economy. We need forced re-institutionalization for those mentally ill who cannot take care of themselves. And we need free drug treatment for the victims of our pharmaceutical piracy and our ridiculously failed war on drugs.

If cities can’t afford these solutions, the state and federal government certainly can. If we’re going to let this continue, why do we even have governments?

It should be safe for visitors to walk in Denver and every other city’s downtown. Parks should be for playing children. Everyone should be housed. And we should never be blindly accustomed to the ranting of homeless people.

Chris Smith is a 30-year journalist and is currently editor of Clarksville Now in Clarksville, Tennessee.

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The Seattle Seahawks took care of business against the Denver Broncos yet again. This was far from a clean game, but the Seahawks overcame their mistakes and prevailed 26-20 win Mike Macdonald’s NFL regular season head coaching debut.

And you know what that means…

It’s Enemy Reaction time! If you’re new to this series, after every Seahawks win (with few exceptions) we revisit the key moments of the game through the lenses of our respective game threads. I must admit that with more people watching on streaming services, the lag between streamed broadcasts and regular TV broadcasts (which is still on a slight delay in itself, mind you!) have made game threads a little bit more difficult to follow. That won’t deter me in the slightest, but if you see some unconnected things to specific plays, you have a valid explanation.

As usual, the Broncos comments are courtesy of Mile High Report.

Geno Smith intercepted by Alex Singleton on second play, leading to field goal (3-0 DEN)

Julian Love picks off Bo Nix at the 1-yard line (3-3)

Anthony Bradford commits hold in the end zone, Broncos regain lead (5-3 DEN)

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Dee Williams muffs punt, Broncos recover and kick another field goal (8-3 DEN)

Geno Smith with the wheels, and the Seahawks’ first touchdown! (9-8 SEA)

Not another safety! (10-9 DEN)

Kenneth Walker zips down the sideline, dives for the go-ahead score (16-13 SEA)

K’Von Wallace forces Jaleel McLaughlin fumble, Jerome Baker recovers, Seahawks kick a FG (19-13 SEA)

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Geno Smith finds wide open Zach Charbonnet for a touchdown (26-13 SEA)

Bo Nix throws into triple coverage, Riq Woolen comes away with the pick (26-13 SEA)

Bo Nix scrambles for his first NFL touchdown (26-20 SEA)

Geno Smith and Tyler Lockett call game (26-20 SEA FINAL)

Bonus Twitter content!

Post-Game: Sean Payton failed Bo Nix (Troy Renck, Denver Post)

Sunday represented Payton’s 276th game as a head coach. It was the first for Seattle’s Mike Macdonald.

So why were the Seahawks more efficient, more opportunistic and more disciplined? Why were they able to make halftime adjustments, something Payton explained as overrated last season? How did Seattle offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb figure out between bites of fruit and sips of Gatorade to feed the ball to running back Kenneth Walker III?

This is the clarity the Broncos require from Payton. He needed to win the chessboard. He has to be held to a higher standard. On a team speckled with young players and one superstar (cornerback Pat Surtain II), the boss is the most accomplished and highest-paid employee. He cannot have a bad day.

There were plenty of fingerprints on this loss, but Payton deserves the most blame.

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Post-Game: Bo Nix’s growing pains on full display (Jon Heath, Broncos Wire)

Bo Nix struggled: Bottom line, Sunday’s poor performance was on Nix. Teammates could have helped him out overall, but the QB only had himself to blame for poor footwork, staring down receivers, throwing passes behind his targets and throwing into triple coverage. Nix’s decision-making has to improve and his passes need to be more accurate. The good news is that the rookie never quit and the scored late (on the ground) to help the Broncos get back in the game. Nix’s rookie growing pains were on full display on Sunday, but fans in Denver will hope for better days ahead.

Post-Game Video: Rookie struggles for Bo Nix (MileHighSports)

Enemy Preaction: New England Patriots

Broncos fans should be thankful that Ian Rapoport is indicating Russell Wilson might miss Week 2, or else I had the funniest Enemy Reaction idea ever for this weekend.

I said several weeks back that I thought the New England Patriots game would be tougher than it looked on paper because of their defense, and even though Christian Barmore is out and Matt Judon has been traded that still figures to be the case. While the Patriots offense has a better quarterback than Bo Nix, as well as a rushing attack that lit up the Cincinnati Bengals, I think this game will be decided by how much the Seahawks offense can improve upon last week’s performance. Considering the brutal stretch of the Miami Dolphins, Detroit Lions, and San Francisco 49ers to come very soon, this feels like a sneaky important game to bank.

Thanks for reading and go ‘Hawks!

Artists have the unique ability to use their creative practices as a power to move people, inspire and at their very best, provoke change and reshape community.

Denver’s leading private arts funder, Bonfils-Stanton Foundation and Denver Arts & Venues (DAV) are well aware of the artistic impact on a city and are continuing to implement Denver’s cultural plan with the announcement of the Social Impact Artist Award. The award will grant $50,000 to three Denver-based artists or art collectives that exemplify and champion positive impact and social justice through their artistic contributions. All types of art forms are being considered, so long as they demonstrate a connection to the community or historically marginalized parts of the community.

“Denver has a proud legacy of artists whose work is guided by the issues, hopes and dreams of the community,” Mayor Mike Johnson said. “Now more than ever, cities need artists who can imagine new possibilities that reshape and better our country.”

The $50,000 award will be split into $35,000 in cash and $15,000 going towards a socially engaged project to support artistic contributions in the effort to promote positive impact and social justice.

The goal of this initiative is to support the local artists of our community as they use their creative practices to address social issues. The partnership between the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation and DAV builds on their shared commitment to making Denver a more vibrant city by amplifying perspectives in communities across the city, including ones that are historically underrepresented.

“For over a decade now, we’ve made a strategic decision to direct our funding toward the arts,” said Gary Steuer, President and CEO of Bonfils-Stanton Foundation. “Art has the power to transform every aspect of community life, from the economy down to the social fabric of neighborhoods. This new award is a testament to our commitment and the potential we see in our local artists.”

Denver Arts & Venus is the City and County of Denver agency responsible for operating some of the region’s most renowned facilities (think Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Denver Performing Arts Complex, Denver Coliseum, Colorado Convention Center, and so on). They also oversee the Denver Public Art Program and fund many programs, along with the implementation of Denver’s cultural plan.

The cultural plan follows the ideal that “Arts strengthen a city. Arts enhance our community. Arts invigorate our lives. Denver is committed to ensuring the arts continue to grow and thrive.” With that, the guiding principles are integration, amplification, accessibility, lifelong learning, local talent, economic vitality and collective leadership. The Social Impact Artist Award supports the cultural plan by integrating the works of local artists and creative talent into daily life and amplifying their voices.

“Generations from now, when people look back at who and what has shaped Denver into a leading city, these expressions of art will be a part of that story. That’s the exciting part for us,” Deputy Director of DAV Tariana Navas-Nieves said.

Applications closed on Aug. 23, 2024. The winners will be chosen by a community panel reviewing applications. The official panel decision date is TBD. There will be a community celebration on Nov. 19 to honor the award winners and get an idea of what they will be creating throughout the next year in dedication and commitment to social justice and community.