4 ms·

Maybe that's my cynical German view of the USA, but to me that's the natural outcome of a society where the prevailing attitude is that everyone is responsible

by sgift 9y ago

Maybe that's my cynical German view of the USA, but to me that's the natural outcome of a society where the prevailing attitude is that everyone is responsible for themselves and if you have problems that's your fault and your fault alone.

anonymous5133 9y ago
It is more than that. The issue is that SF provides a lot of services to the homeless and tolerates them. In more conservative cities, they have harsh anti-homeless laws. Some cities have even been caught giving "one way" tickets to get rid of their homeless problem. The net effect is that certain cities tend to have an abnormal accumulation of homeless due to homeless moving there.
weerd 9y ago
There are services for the homeless in America. That attitude is only taken by a portion of our population. You have a fair point though, it's a large portion... The population in the USA is swelling and everyone wants to live in the city, so prices are rising. Except for meth and dope, which only costs a couple bucks. Cities don't have the money or available land to deal with it. It's awful. There's also another side to this situation, and I might be blowing it out of proportion but here it goes.. I think that we have self-centered attitudes in this country which make young people think that their own experience through life is paramount and above the society around them. I.e. thinking it's OK to backpack around Seattle all day filching cigarettes and dollars from anyone who will look their way, all while leaving their shit and trash in the common spaces. I have mixed feelings about this because there are poor souls out there who have been fucked over in life and deserve help. But some of these kids have expensive backpacks/tents, nice ink, and smoke fine weed. Maybe I'm misinformed, but the whole scene can really look like narcissism and fat ego.
- userpass 9y ago
  Those "expensive luxures" are cheap. Mandatory things like education, healthcare and rent on the other hand are very expensive.
V-2 9y ago
I saw plenty of homeless and deranged people every time I went to Berlin. One woman actually lived in a tent in front of a police station in Pankow (for safety).
- piva00 9y ago
  Me too, I go to Berlin about once or twice a month, there are homeless and deranged people around but NEVER anything like what I saw in SF. One day when going to the Van Ness' Muni station I saw a couple of homeless people, they had syringes hanging from their arms, right before I reached the turnstiles. I never saw so many deranged people on the streets, screaming as loud as one possibly can as I've seen in San Francisco. So yes, Berlin has the same problems but I think they are on very different scales.
  - V-2 9y ago
    Admittedly I've never been to Frisco, but when I visited New York (back in 2003 I believe), I haven't encountered anything what I - being from Europe - would perceive as out of the ordinary in this aspect. I have no such recollection at least. Obviously I may not have gone to the right places; or other locally specific factors could be at play, such as some homeless-hostile regulations. For this reason though I'd be sceptical of broad explanations such as "that's because the core values of your society are so and so". Ironically, it's no other than San Francisco that is reputed to be (culturally) the most European city in the US...

by sgift 9y ago

anonymous5133 9y ago

It is more than that. The issue is that SF provides a lot of services to the homeless and tolerates them. In more conservative cities, they have harsh anti-homeless laws. Some cities have even been caught giving "one way" tickets to get rid of their homeless problem. The net effect is that certain cities tend to have an abnormal accumulation of homeless due to homeless moving there.

weerd 9y ago

There are services for the homeless in America. That attitude is only taken by a portion of our population. You have a fair point though, it's a large portion... The population in the USA is swelling and everyone wants to live in the city, so prices are rising. Except for meth and dope, which only costs a couple bucks. Cities don't have the money or available land to deal with it. It's awful. There's also another side to this situation, and I might be blowing it out of proportion but here it goes.. I think that we have self-centered attitudes in this country which make young people think that their own experience through life is paramount and above the society around them. I.e. thinking it's OK to backpack around Seattle all day filching cigarettes and dollars from anyone who will look their way, all while leaving their shit and trash in the common spaces. I have mixed feelings about this because there are poor souls out there who have been fucked over in life and deserve help. But some of these kids have expensive backpacks/tents, nice ink, and smoke fine weed. Maybe I'm misinformed, but the whole scene can really look like narcissism and fat ego.

userpass 9y ago
Those "expensive luxures" are cheap. Mandatory things like education, healthcare and rent on the other hand are very expensive.

V-2 9y ago

I saw plenty of homeless and deranged people every time I went to Berlin. One woman actually lived in a tent in front of a police station in Pankow (for safety).

piva00 9y ago
Me too, I go to Berlin about once or twice a month, there are homeless and deranged people around but NEVER anything like what I saw in SF. One day when going to the Van Ness' Muni station I saw a couple of homeless people, they had syringes hanging from their arms, right before I reached the turnstiles. I never saw so many deranged people on the streets, screaming as loud as one possibly can as I've seen in San Francisco. So yes, Berlin has the same problems but I think they are on very different scales.
- V-2 9y ago
  Admittedly I've never been to Frisco, but when I visited New York (back in 2003 I believe), I haven't encountered anything what I - being from Europe - would perceive as out of the ordinary in this aspect. I have no such recollection at least. Obviously I may not have gone to the right places; or other locally specific factors could be at play, such as some homeless-hostile regulations. For this reason though I'd be sceptical of broad explanations such as "that's because the core values of your society are so and so". Ironically, it's no other than San Francisco that is reputed to be (culturally) the most European city in the US...