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> When the homeless population in your area skews significantly mentally ill, this ceases to be mere "fear of people who are different". I think that's the sam

> When the homeless population in your area skews significantly mentally ill, this ceases to be mere "fear of people who are different". I think that's the same thing applied to mental illness; people don't understand mental illness and fear it. Why is someone who is depressed or bipolar threatening? What do we really know? Does mental illness make people more likely to commit crimes? * It's the wrong question, because if there is any effect (and I don't know that there is), it probably depends on the illness and its severity. * Mentally ill people commit crimes, but so do mentally healthy people - in fact I expect that 99% of crimes are committed by the latter. * What is mental 'illness'? It's not a binary condition; it's a continuum. Also, many people living in homes and probably working at your office are mentally ill; would you trust them in your guest bedroom? * Finally, homeless people (especially those who are mentally ill) are often the weakest in our community, often poorly fed and unable to care for themselves. Those are not the people to fear (fear strong, healthy, bold young men). If the homeless people were criminal and had intiative, they wouldn't be living on the street.

Kalium 11y ago
I understand mental illness. Judging by your rhetoric, perhaps better than you. I know full well how dangerous someone suffering hallucinations can be. You'll have to forgive me for not wanting to welcome such a person into my home. Please, spare me your "Not everyone suffering mental illness is violent!" rhetoric. I know that. It's neither a helpful nor useful point in this context. I also know that some are, that a given homeless person is disproportionately likely to be such a person compared to the general population, and that there's no reliable way for a layman to mitigate this risk other than keeping the person at a reasonable distance. Please, just for a moment, stop and consider that maybe I am not just some terrified waif, shaking in my boots because someone said "OH TEH NOES! MENTAL ILLNESS!". Perhaps some of us have real concerns about what you propose. Perhaps some of us are aware that being homeless, mentally ill, or both doesn't magically render a person incapable of offering significant violence, despite your claim. Also, try being less condescending about it. I'm (poorly) fighting the urge to tell you to go do something anatomically unlikely because of all the silly things you just wrote.

Kalium 11y ago

I understand mental illness. Judging by your rhetoric, perhaps better than you. I know full well how dangerous someone suffering hallucinations can be. You'll have to forgive me for not wanting to welcome such a person into my home. Please, spare me your "Not everyone suffering mental illness is violent!" rhetoric. I know that. It's neither a helpful nor useful point in this context. I also know that some are, that a given homeless person is disproportionately likely to be such a person compared to the general population, and that there's no reliable way for a layman to mitigate this risk other than keeping the person at a reasonable distance. Please, just for a moment, stop and consider that maybe I am not just some terrified waif, shaking in my boots because someone said "OH TEH NOES! MENTAL ILLNESS!". Perhaps some of us have real concerns about what you propose. Perhaps some of us are aware that being homeless, mentally ill, or both doesn't magically render a person incapable of offering significant violence, despite your claim. Also, try being less condescending about it. I'm (poorly) fighting the urge to tell you to go do something anatomically unlikely because of all the silly things you just wrote.