Edit
I kinda made this post out of spite for the fact the most previous post in this community, whose title I quoted/copied, was getting so many downvotes… At the time I posted this, the previous post had about a 30% downvote rate, and it really, really made me mad.
I am relieved tho to see people in the comments here who have real, actual empathy for their fellow humans. Thank you for contributing here.
It blows my mind how normalized it is to hate on those who are struggling. Especially in 20fucking23 when so many of us now are on the verge of it ourselves. Let’s be better, everyone - to everyone. I beg you.
Imo we draw the line when someone who wants to be housed is threatened with being houseless and provide them with housing. Providing housing first is also the best way to deal with all the issues connected to being houseless like drug use, trauma from violence, mental health issues, etc
Imo the line has been crossed long ago and gets crossed every day and its important to keep in mind when trying to find solutions that are more like band aids on a broken system.
yeah im not advocating to kill them all or arrest them all or anything. i dont have the answers. but its pretty much weekly that someone at my job is assaulted or cars are broken into daily or a kid finds a dirty needle or so on. and most of these people seem like they dont want help. they really do revel in being awful it seems. they steal and harrass us gleefully without a look of remorse in their eyes so idk.
you would too if you had to sleep outside. shame vanishes when survival becomes imperative. does that make the behaviour okay? no, but why are they doing it. Haves vs Have Nots. They see you everyday go into a warm place of business then come out and drive home to a building to sleep in. these people are 24/7/365 exposed to the elements, social judgment, and victims of crime nearly all day. so of course when they rustle your jimmies they want you to see the desperation they’ve resorted to. but you look at them like monsters instead of people forced to do what they must in order to get to tomorrow.
i think if you had to deal with these people on a daily basis you would have a different opinion about them.
“These people” should be provided with a safe home to sleep in, that’s the solution. Maybe if you had to deal with long-term homelessness firsthand, you’d have a different opinion about them. Maybe you wouldn’t look at them and see a “pest” anymore, but a struggling person who’s been failed by the system.
never said they were pests or not human or that i dont sympathize with their plight. just that something needs to be done for them so they dont have to camp on the streets
i figured the detail of my response would have eluded to that daily interaction. and above that, I’ve been there. forced to choose shame to defeat hunger. these People-You are talking about everyone you know, love and care about…oh to be a stranger in your world. what a cold and cruel judgement