MADISON, Wis. â?? The late-afternoon regulars on State Street â?? Lonnie, Ron, Bruce and dozens more, nearly all of them men with outstretched hands or jiggling styrofoam cupsâ??know all too well that they’re not the most admired members of the community.
They may be drug addicts, alcoholics, ex-cons, mentally ill or homeless, but they can sense when public sentiment has shifted against themâ??like now.