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Unfortunately this kind of ableism/privilege isn't uncommon in silicon valley: > 'In only the latest cultural altercation between San Francisco’s tech workers

Unfortunately this kind of ableism/privilege isn't uncommon in silicon valley: > 'In only the latest cultural altercation between San Francisco’s tech workers and the city’s impoverished population, one tech worker has declared the homeless are “riff raff” whose “pain, struggle and despair” shouldn’t have to be endured by “wealthy” people commuting to work.' (https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/feb/17/san-francisco-tech-open-letter-i-dont-want-to-see-homeless-riff-raff https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/feb/17/san-franc...) It's the same reason it's often illegal for homeless people to sleep on benches. The elite would rather have the problem swept under the rug. > "In its majestic equality, the law forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, beg in the streets and steal loaves of bread." - Anatole France This line of thinking of "efficiency trumps social issues" and that "regulation is always bad" is very harmful for both the workers and customers these kinds of systems are supposed to protect. The parent might find this map (http://projects.newyorker.com/story/subway/ http://projects.newyorker.com/story/subway/) showing inequality along NYC's subway interesting. The subway connects people from widely different economic backgrounds; the social darwinist might not like this but it's essential for giving those less well off opportunities and decreases the insularness of wealthy areas. Sometimes social focus is only ever a bad thing for those who benefit from the lack of it.

baddox 10y ago
I realize and appreciate the very unfortunate situation that many poor and mentally ill [0] people are in. I want them to have access to health care, public transit, job opportunities, etc. I don't like when people cavalierly express the desire to be spared the sight of these people. But the thing is, (living and working in downtown San Francisco) I see a lot of what I can only describe as harassment or assault committed by apparently mentally disturbed/ill [0] people. I genuinely don't know how to solve this problem, but I do think that people have a reasonable expectation to not encounter these situations in well-traveled public places. [0] "mentally disturbed" and "mentally ill" are probably not the most precise or appropriate terms to use here. I do not know the correct terms but I appreciate any corrections.
- eli_gottlieb 10y ago
  A decent system of psychiatric hospitals and available housing for the mentally-ill would solve the problem.
  - smsm42 10y ago
    The problem is some of those people won't want to stay in the hospital, and sometimes their habits are such that for regular hospital it'd be very bad match. And involuntary commitment is a very problematic proposition, it's a very dangerous tool esp. when used against people who can't explain themselves well, have no other people who can help them, and no knowledge or ability to help themselves.
    - int_19h 10y ago
      To be more specific, US used to be more lax about involuntary commitment. And then it was discovered that all too often, people were committed for no good reason - sometimes due to negligence or pseudoscientific BS, sometimes deliberately. Furthermore, once people were in the system, they were often abused themselves, and it was very difficult to get out, even if you were actually perfectly sane. So committing someone involuntarily became much more difficult as a result. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deinstitutionalization_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deinstitutionalization_in_the_...
- kitsune_ 10y ago
  As a European living in a country where people of all walks of life regularly use public transportation systems the attitudes present in this thread are a bit shocking.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
thescribe 10y ago
In this case efficiency really does Trump social issues. If you cannot say that your bus/rail/subway will arrive so regularly as to not get a worker fired it is a no go for adoption.

baddox 10y ago

I realize and appreciate the very unfortunate situation that many poor and mentally ill [0] people are in. I want them to have access to health care, public transit, job opportunities, etc. I don't like when people cavalierly express the desire to be spared the sight of these people. But the thing is, (living and working in downtown San Francisco) I see a lot of what I can only describe as harassment or assault committed by apparently mentally disturbed/ill [0] people. I genuinely don't know how to solve this problem, but I do think that people have a reasonable expectation to not encounter these situations in well-traveled public places. [0] "mentally disturbed" and "mentally ill" are probably not the most precise or appropriate terms to use here. I do not know the correct terms but I appreciate any corrections.

eli_gottlieb 10y ago
A decent system of psychiatric hospitals and available housing for the mentally-ill would solve the problem.
- smsm42 10y ago
  The problem is some of those people won't want to stay in the hospital, and sometimes their habits are such that for regular hospital it'd be very bad match. And involuntary commitment is a very problematic proposition, it's a very dangerous tool esp. when used against people who can't explain themselves well, have no other people who can help them, and no knowledge or ability to help themselves.
  - int_19h 10y ago
    To be more specific, US used to be more lax about involuntary commitment. And then it was discovered that all too often, people were committed for no good reason - sometimes due to negligence or pseudoscientific BS, sometimes deliberately. Furthermore, once people were in the system, they were often abused themselves, and it was very difficult to get out, even if you were actually perfectly sane. So committing someone involuntarily became much more difficult as a result. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deinstitutionalization_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deinstitutionalization_in_the_...
kitsune_ 10y ago
As a European living in a country where people of all walks of life regularly use public transportation systems the attitudes present in this thread are a bit shocking.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]

thescribe 10y ago

In this case efficiency really does Trump social issues. If you cannot say that your bus/rail/subway will arrive so regularly as to not get a worker fired it is a no go for adoption.