11 ms·

Yep, I personally would much sooner use public transportation that charged $10 (with no exceptions) than free public transportation. Sharing close quarters with

Yep, I personally would much sooner use public transportation that charged $10 (with no exceptions) than free public transportation. Sharing close quarters with aggressive, smelly, intoxicated, unstable people is stressful and unpleasant

jeromegv 7y ago
Wow. Have you ever wondered that may be inequality should be a problem worth solving instead of finding yet another way of isolating yourself from the problem?
- werber 7y ago
  What can be done outside of good free healthcare that views mental health including drug use as a public health issue? I live in Detroit and we have abysmal services for people in those Circumstances
- mbreedlove 7y ago
  It's a lot easier to isolate myself than it is to solve homelessness.
- tbrownaw 7y ago
  I'm not entirely clear on how avoiding unpleasant situations precludes also working to fix those same situations. (I'm also not clear on why this is an "inequality" problem rather than a "destitution" problem.)
  - drdeadringer 7y ago
    "Out of sight, out of mind" is real and not uncommon.
    - buzzkillington 7y ago
      Not being assaulted is privilege now? I live down town. There's a homeless man on drugs who screams at the top of his lungs at random people every so often until the police come and pick him up. If you would rather he not be out of sight and out of mind please send me your address, I will buy him a one way ticket so he can camp out in your back yard.
      - dominotw 7y ago
        > Not being assaulted is privilege now? wasn't it always?
        Gabriel_Martin 7y ago
        In the USA, and seemingly most other modern liberal democracies, that being true is the crux. "Equal protection" seems damaged beyond all repair, noting also that now this imbalance has now seemingly blown up in the face of the USA, India, and the UK. The justice systems of these countries are systemically failing with huge miscarriages of justice abounding. So to make a long story long regarding your question.. Yes.
      - patcon 7y ago
        Thanks for helping me think on this. Background: I personally feel that dealing with our collective failings is a collective burden. Your shitty situation is you getting the short straw in the lottery of who feels that collective failing more acutely. It's disappointing to hear people conspire on engineering situations so that people like themselves simply don't notice/feel the failing personally, rather than hearing them spend energy working through a more complex resolution of the broader failing. A don't think anyone's saying you're a bad person. But it maybe sucks to hear that you feel it's been shoved onto you alone (which is prob true), and then that others are rallying behind your shoving it elsewhere out of sight. (Note: i realize this thread is a pile-on and your not the initial commenter :)
      - drdeadringer 7y ago
        > Not being assaulted is privilege now? That is not what I was talking about, albeit assault being a valid concern. I too have been approached. There is "plenty to go around" without your kind offer, which I decline but not for the reasons I assume you hope for but for which I just stated ["there is no need"].
      - gamblor956 7y ago
        Generally, most people who are "pro-homeless" or talk about treating them with respect don't actually live near or otherwise interact with the homeless on a regular or even occasional basis, which lets them feel superior and cast moral judgments on those of us who do live near the homeless and try to do something to contain the problem.
    - baddox 7y ago
      But when people's health and safety are immediately threatened I find it difficult to argue that people who are able to shouldn't avoid the threats.
- m0zg 7y ago
  But it can't really be _fully_ solved. In any case there will be people who simply refuse the responsibility of being a proper adult and _choose_ to live under a bridge. In a city of a 700K+ people (Seattle) there will be hundreds of such folks. What do you do with them in a free country?
  - ridethewave 7y ago
    >But it can't really be _fully_ solved. In any case there will be people who simply refuse the responsibility of being a proper adult and _choose_ to live under a bridge. Do you think humans have agency and can choose or ?
shantly 7y ago
The Kansas City Zoo has to let people in certain counties visit for free every so often, as part of the agreement by which it receives funding from those counties. This used to be implemented as periodic "free" days, but those became so notorious for outbreaks of violence that they switched to sending vouchers for different days to every household in those counties so the free-day visitors are spread out rather than all there at once.
- dandanqu82 7y ago
  I bet that probably increases the number of visitors visiting for free too. Since, many parents and families may not be able to take a specific day off if they work in low-wage service industry jobs. It’s probably better all around, but has more cost with mailing vouchers.
patcon 7y ago
This comment makes me feel sad. No judgement of the speaker intended in that, just saying so.
toomanybeersies 7y ago
That's a bit elitist, isn't it? We could also ban vagrants from being inside the city limits at night. Out of sight, out of mind. More seriously though, take an Uber (or UberPool) if you want clean, sober public transport.
- winrid 7y ago
  Sorry that's just not an acceptable answer. Telling everyone to add to traffic in the city just to be in a clean environment is stupid. I spent two weeks in Beijing. They actually kicked the homeless out of the city and there are constant reminders to keep the subways clean. It was really nice.
  - iudqnolq 7y ago
    This is not actually true. Beijing has a massive underclass of people living illegally because they don't have internal passports that allow them to live in a city. This let's the city have the benefit of their labor while being able to crack down harshly and jail/deport whenever. They also don't provide any social services for these people (trash pickup, school, medical). So that's why many people who you might otherwise have seen were staying out of sight in the rich areas. If you want to read more, the Chinese system of inherited internal passports is called hukou.
    - winrid 7y ago
      Thanks for the info. Maybe the explanation was dumbed down for a foreigner.

jeromegv 7y ago

Wow. Have you ever wondered that may be inequality should be a problem worth solving instead of finding yet another way of isolating yourself from the problem?

werber 7y ago
What can be done outside of good free healthcare that views mental health including drug use as a public health issue? I live in Detroit and we have abysmal services for people in those Circumstances
mbreedlove 7y ago
It's a lot easier to isolate myself than it is to solve homelessness.
tbrownaw 7y ago
I'm not entirely clear on how avoiding unpleasant situations precludes also working to fix those same situations. (I'm also not clear on why this is an "inequality" problem rather than a "destitution" problem.)
- drdeadringer 7y ago
  "Out of sight, out of mind" is real and not uncommon.
  - buzzkillington 7y ago
    Not being assaulted is privilege now? I live down town. There's a homeless man on drugs who screams at the top of his lungs at random people every so often until the police come and pick him up. If you would rather he not be out of sight and out of mind please send me your address, I will buy him a one way ticket so he can camp out in your back yard.
    - dominotw 7y ago
      > Not being assaulted is privilege now? wasn't it always?
      - Gabriel_Martin 7y ago
        In the USA, and seemingly most other modern liberal democracies, that being true is the crux. "Equal protection" seems damaged beyond all repair, noting also that now this imbalance has now seemingly blown up in the face of the USA, India, and the UK. The justice systems of these countries are systemically failing with huge miscarriages of justice abounding. So to make a long story long regarding your question.. Yes.
    - patcon 7y ago
      Thanks for helping me think on this. Background: I personally feel that dealing with our collective failings is a collective burden. Your shitty situation is you getting the short straw in the lottery of who feels that collective failing more acutely. It's disappointing to hear people conspire on engineering situations so that people like themselves simply don't notice/feel the failing personally, rather than hearing them spend energy working through a more complex resolution of the broader failing. A don't think anyone's saying you're a bad person. But it maybe sucks to hear that you feel it's been shoved onto you alone (which is prob true), and then that others are rallying behind your shoving it elsewhere out of sight. (Note: i realize this thread is a pile-on and your not the initial commenter :)
    - drdeadringer 7y ago
      > Not being assaulted is privilege now? That is not what I was talking about, albeit assault being a valid concern. I too have been approached. There is "plenty to go around" without your kind offer, which I decline but not for the reasons I assume you hope for but for which I just stated ["there is no need"].
    - gamblor956 7y ago
      Generally, most people who are "pro-homeless" or talk about treating them with respect don't actually live near or otherwise interact with the homeless on a regular or even occasional basis, which lets them feel superior and cast moral judgments on those of us who do live near the homeless and try to do something to contain the problem.
  - baddox 7y ago
    But when people's health and safety are immediately threatened I find it difficult to argue that people who are able to shouldn't avoid the threats.
m0zg 7y ago
But it can't really be _fully_ solved. In any case there will be people who simply refuse the responsibility of being a proper adult and _choose_ to live under a bridge. In a city of a 700K+ people (Seattle) there will be hundreds of such folks. What do you do with them in a free country?
- ridethewave 7y ago
  >But it can't really be _fully_ solved. In any case there will be people who simply refuse the responsibility of being a proper adult and _choose_ to live under a bridge. Do you think humans have agency and can choose or ?

shantly 7y ago

The Kansas City Zoo has to let people in certain counties visit for free every so often, as part of the agreement by which it receives funding from those counties. This used to be implemented as periodic "free" days, but those became so notorious for outbreaks of violence that they switched to sending vouchers for different days to every household in those counties so the free-day visitors are spread out rather than all there at once.

dandanqu82 7y ago
I bet that probably increases the number of visitors visiting for free too. Since, many parents and families may not be able to take a specific day off if they work in low-wage service industry jobs. It’s probably better all around, but has more cost with mailing vouchers.

patcon 7y ago

This comment makes me feel sad. No judgement of the speaker intended in that, just saying so.

toomanybeersies 7y ago

That's a bit elitist, isn't it? We could also ban vagrants from being inside the city limits at night. Out of sight, out of mind. More seriously though, take an Uber (or UberPool) if you want clean, sober public transport.

winrid 7y ago
Sorry that's just not an acceptable answer. Telling everyone to add to traffic in the city just to be in a clean environment is stupid. I spent two weeks in Beijing. They actually kicked the homeless out of the city and there are constant reminders to keep the subways clean. It was really nice.
- iudqnolq 7y ago
  This is not actually true. Beijing has a massive underclass of people living illegally because they don't have internal passports that allow them to live in a city. This let's the city have the benefit of their labor while being able to crack down harshly and jail/deport whenever. They also don't provide any social services for these people (trash pickup, school, medical). So that's why many people who you might otherwise have seen were staying out of sight in the rich areas. If you want to read more, the Chinese system of inherited internal passports is called hukou.
  - winrid 7y ago
    Thanks for the info. Maybe the explanation was dumbed down for a foreigner.