4 ms·

I like how we live in a first world country, but yet casually dismiss the fact that there are homeless people living outside in tents, and that feces and syring

I like how we live in a first world country, but yet casually dismiss the fact that there are homeless people living outside in tents, and that feces and syringes are only an occasional thing so it's really not so bad. Coming from a clean, safe neighborhood in New England, where even trash on the side of the road would be offensive, I feel like we are definitely living in two different parallel universes.

techsupporter 8y ago
I think that's a very disingenuous reading of what I wrote. I was comparing my personal experience to the hysterics I read on forums like NextDoor and local Reddit. I did not say that the problem was not a problem, but that some responses to and perceptions of it are overblown. (Oftentimes, these positions are used to justify espousing a preference for simply throwing homeless people in jail for "vagrancy" or involuntarily removing people from the state. So, yes, in a way, I do find the response to be worse than the actual problem.)
- mdorazio 8y ago
  Not really disingenuous at all - I read your comment the exact same way.
hsod 8y ago
what's your point? honestly can't tell what you're trying to convey here
CodeMage 8y ago
I don't mean this in a confrontational way, I'm just being curious: have you been on Nextdoor? From my experience so far, the typical attitude of an average Nextdoor "neighbor" towards the homeless is not: "This is a problem, we have to do something for these poor people." Rather, it's: "This is a problem, I don't want it near me." I don't know about Ballard, but people on Nextdoor in the Eastside neighborhoods have a penchant for NIMBYism and, as a side effect, truly do tend to exaggerate things. I'm not saying we should just ignore homelessness, but exaggerated complaints on Nextdoor are definitely not the way to address the underlying problems.
mdorazio 8y ago
It's way worse on the west coast than most places and I think it's probably somewhat of a "boiling a frog" scenario. Rather than a single big influx upsetting everyone, the homeless situation has been slowly getting worse every single year to the point where we now have tent towns that stretch literally for a mile [1]. The problem is there are no clear solutions that anyone can agree on. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04Z3Rd0rD_I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04Z3Rd0rD_I
- drak0n1c 8y ago
  Rhode Island (where I used to live before Seattle) is a blue state with functioning prosecutors that actually prosecute charges for misdemeanors and crimes, but they offer sentenced individuals the alternative of entering the drug court system for mandatory interned rehab, or the mental health system. People going through the system say it saved their life. Intervention works. West coast states do have similar drug courts, but since crimes are not prosecuted and misdemeanor charges are routinely vacated there is no incentive for people to actually be helped. For helpful information on Rhode Island's program I recommend the last 20 min of this documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpAi70WWBlw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpAi70WWBlw
  - mdorazio 8y ago
    I don't think criminal law/enforcement explains enough of it. The west coast has a somewhat unique combination of fair weather, public services, people willing to give money to the homeless, and cultural acceptance of vagrancy that you don't see many other places. The result is that we kind of vacuum up a bunch of homeless people from other states, which then don't have to deal with the problem themselves.
    - lazyasciiart 8y ago
      Do you mean "lack of public services"? Try New York, for instance - you don't see people camping in tents because they spent billions of dollars building shelters, to meet the constitutional requirement for shelter. Massachusetts has the same right in their constitution.
lazyasciiart 8y ago
It's not about "is the homeless situation here terrible". It's that there are organized groups in Seattle that claim the city is too dangerous to live in because of homeless drug gangs, and that's nonsense.
thrower123 8y ago
In New England, you freeze to death if you are not under cover in the winter, so you don't really have sizable permanent populations like in places with a less godforsaken climate.

techsupporter 8y ago

I think that's a very disingenuous reading of what I wrote. I was comparing my personal experience to the hysterics I read on forums like NextDoor and local Reddit. I did not say that the problem was not a problem, but that some responses to and perceptions of it are overblown. (Oftentimes, these positions are used to justify espousing a preference for simply throwing homeless people in jail for "vagrancy" or involuntarily removing people from the state. So, yes, in a way, I do find the response to be worse than the actual problem.)

mdorazio 8y ago
Not really disingenuous at all - I read your comment the exact same way.

hsod 8y ago

what's your point? honestly can't tell what you're trying to convey here

CodeMage 8y ago

I don't mean this in a confrontational way, I'm just being curious: have you been on Nextdoor? From my experience so far, the typical attitude of an average Nextdoor "neighbor" towards the homeless is not: "This is a problem, we have to do something for these poor people." Rather, it's: "This is a problem, I don't want it near me." I don't know about Ballard, but people on Nextdoor in the Eastside neighborhoods have a penchant for NIMBYism and, as a side effect, truly do tend to exaggerate things. I'm not saying we should just ignore homelessness, but exaggerated complaints on Nextdoor are definitely not the way to address the underlying problems.

mdorazio 8y ago

It's way worse on the west coast than most places and I think it's probably somewhat of a "boiling a frog" scenario. Rather than a single big influx upsetting everyone, the homeless situation has been slowly getting worse every single year to the point where we now have tent towns that stretch literally for a mile [1]. The problem is there are no clear solutions that anyone can agree on. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04Z3Rd0rD_I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04Z3Rd0rD_I

drak0n1c 8y ago
Rhode Island (where I used to live before Seattle) is a blue state with functioning prosecutors that actually prosecute charges for misdemeanors and crimes, but they offer sentenced individuals the alternative of entering the drug court system for mandatory interned rehab, or the mental health system. People going through the system say it saved their life. Intervention works. West coast states do have similar drug courts, but since crimes are not prosecuted and misdemeanor charges are routinely vacated there is no incentive for people to actually be helped. For helpful information on Rhode Island's program I recommend the last 20 min of this documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpAi70WWBlw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpAi70WWBlw
- mdorazio 8y ago
  I don't think criminal law/enforcement explains enough of it. The west coast has a somewhat unique combination of fair weather, public services, people willing to give money to the homeless, and cultural acceptance of vagrancy that you don't see many other places. The result is that we kind of vacuum up a bunch of homeless people from other states, which then don't have to deal with the problem themselves.
  - lazyasciiart 8y ago
    Do you mean "lack of public services"? Try New York, for instance - you don't see people camping in tents because they spent billions of dollars building shelters, to meet the constitutional requirement for shelter. Massachusetts has the same right in their constitution.

lazyasciiart 8y ago

It's not about "is the homeless situation here terrible". It's that there are organized groups in Seattle that claim the city is too dangerous to live in because of homeless drug gangs, and that's nonsense.

thrower123 8y ago

In New England, you freeze to death if you are not under cover in the winter, so you don't really have sizable permanent populations like in places with a less godforsaken climate.