4 ms·
Enforcing laws against the homeless is not the done thing in Seattle. The problem is not thinking of ways to detect their law breaking, but rather that the city
by ALittleLight 7y ago
Enforcing laws against the homeless is not the done thing in Seattle. The problem is not thinking of ways to detect their law breaking, but rather that the city chooses compassion over order and consequently ignores their lawlessness instead of enforcing the law.
If you do come to Seattle, you'll find the streets teeming with the homeless who are completely undisturbed by the police. Just walking around the city, and trying to avoid the homeless, I've witnessed multiple instances of homeless shoplifting, hard drug use (injecting themselves, crack pipe, etc), bodily functions on the street, threatening behavior (homeless people simply screaming invective and threats at passersby), to say nothing of people camped in sleeping bags on sidewalks and tents.
You can absolutely get on buses without paying. Simply ignoring the driver and walking by is all that's required. The police will not be notified, nor would they respond if they were, nor would their response be effective deterrence if they did.
- bilekas 7y agoI honestly appreciate this; its probably one of the reasons I have a subconscious appreciation for Seattle. As I mentioned, I don't know enough about the area/situation. But I am genuinely pleased that people at least give a shit.
- ALittleLight 7y agoI suspect it's easier to appreciate from afar. Personally, I found it quite distasteful and frustrating to live in a dirty and dangerous city. The city's permissive attitudes are a major reason I left.
- lazyasciiart 7y agoNo, it's pretty easy to appreciate as a resident of the city. I do, and so do a ton of other people who still live here.
- GhettoMaestro 7y agoTell me that after some shitbird takes a dump on your sidewalk. God I hate retards like you. It’s the real reason SF and Seattle are going to burn.
- SalmonCannon 7y agoFirst visit to Seattle: dinner date at a restaurant downtown, step outside and within minutes a homeless guy crosses the street and tries to jump-kick me, then he falls down and just lays there unresponsive. One of the most bizarre/confusing things to ever happen to me.
- aaronbrethorst 7y agoThis sounds like a recitation of hyper-conservative Sinclair Broadcasting's Seattle is Dying program from earlier in 2019. Here's a response to that: https://www.realchangenews.org/2019/11/06/no-seattle-isnt-dying https://www.realchangenews.org/2019/11/06/no-seattle-isnt-dy... Also: I've lived in Seattle since 2003, and in Capitol Hill since 2005. I've worked in Pioneer Square, in the 'core' downtown area, and on Capitol Hill. Currently, my commute takes me 1.7 miles on foot or bus through Capitol Hill. I see plenty of homeless people on my daily commute. The housing affordability crisis is worsening, and the city is simply not doing enough to solve it. I occasionally see needles laying on the ground or people shooting up. They don't have anywhere to go to shoot up, so they do it on the street. I'm not sure what their alternatives are when our supposedly progressive city council and mayor restricts options to create safe injection sites. All that said, the most unsafe I have ever felt in Seattle has been when I've been in the presence of alt-right protestors and counter-protestors openly carrying firearms.
- baroffoos 7y agoIts strange how the American version of compassion is to totally ignore homeless people rather than do anything to help them.
- ALittleLight 7y agoIncluding medical, police, benefits, and so on, there's approximately a billion dollars a year spent on Seattle's homeless. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homelessness_in_Seattle#Responses https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homelessness_in_Seattle#Respon...