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I might be more swayed by that hypothesis were the NIMBYs not referring to the homeless as "trash", "scum", "thugs", hanging nooses and advocating violent assau

I might be more swayed by that hypothesis were the NIMBYs not referring to the homeless as "trash", "scum", "thugs", hanging nooses and advocating violent assault. Here are some actual quotes [1] from people organizing against sheltering homeless people in their neighborhoods: > I think at this point if anyone sees anyone doing this behavior the person witnessing it should run up to them while they're squatting and start kicking them as hard as they possibly can. Maybe if people start being super aggressive and act very violently these vagrants will stop, or at least realize they may get attacked. And I don't mean just kick, I mean kick with bad intentions and they [sic] intent to injure. Kick them in front of a bus if possible. > Forget pepper spray or mace. Use Hornet Spray and shoot at the eyes. Will give you time to run away. [1] https://gothamist.com/news/angry-upper-west-siders-wanted-homeless-scum-out-their-neighborhood-de-blasio-took-their-side https://gothamist.com/news/angry-upper-west-siders-wanted-ho...

pc86 6y ago
If someone is hanging a noose that's an objectively racist act and the fact that the victim happens to be homeless is probably not the biggest thing the person has a problem with.
- jakelazaroff 6y ago
  Sure, but I think you have to look at it intersectionally. The fact that they called them "thugs" and used a noose doesn't mean that they're only motivated by racism. Their hostility might manifest differently if the homeless people were mostly white, but it wouldn't go away.
  - bradlys 6y ago
    Weird. Never really heard of anyone calling homeless people thugs. I don't even associate homelessness with black. I associate it with crazy white dudes shitting everywhere - but maybe that's because I'm on the west coast where it seems the majority of homeless guys getting attention are white. I guess there's also the fact that if you were black, homeless, and crazy - you'd have been killed by the police already. Black and homeless - probably keeping lower profile as to avoid police killing you.
    - jakelazaroff 6y ago
      Demographics will be different in different areas. In NYC, over half of homeless shelter residents are Black, and an additional third are Latinx. https://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/NYCHomelessnessFactSheet_7-2017_citations.pdf https://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/wp-content/uploads/2...
Chris2048 6y ago
According to that same FB group: Posts, comments and/or views expressed in this group represent the thoughts of individual members and may not necessarily represent those of the group, other members, or the Group’s moderators and admins. This appears to be the same guy: https://nypost.com/2020/01/21/lawyer-for-ex-ballet-benefactor-calls-clients-lewd-texts-obnoxious/ https://nypost.com/2020/01/21/lawyer-for-ex-ballet-benefacto... Quite frankly, I don't trust this reporting, especially since it reports someone "flashing a white power finger gesture" which was clearly the "OK" gesture. The "noose" is also ambiguous - a loop of rope on scaffolding - but I can't tell if it tightens when pulled or not.
- jakelazaroff 6y ago
  If you want to show that those attitudes are anomalous, you're going to have to bring something other than standard CYA disclaimer boilerplate. That NY Post link seems like a non sequitur. I don't think it's a stretch to describe the "OK" sign as a "white power finger gesture" when the person making it is wearing a Trump visor and shouting "white lives matter". And I don't see how the noose is ambiguous, either — what do you think a noose is if not a loop of rope hung from somewhere?
  - Chris2048 6y ago
    No I don't, the burden of evidence is on you. The opinion of one guy in a group of 14k is only that one guys opinion by default. The link demonstrates the guy is outspoken. I can easily find racist comments on HN - it doesn't prove anything about other posters. Because OK is otherwise a common and totally neutral gesture, infact it only became a symbol of "white power" after essentially a hoax to that effect: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/ok-sign-white-power-supremacy-alt-right-4chan-trolling-hoax-a9249846.html https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/ok-sign-wh... > what do you think a noose is if not a loop of rope hung from somewhere? I think it's a rope knotted in a specific way to tighten when pulled. Being "the shape of a noose" is irrelevant unless it bears this quality. I have loops of string/rope all over the place, none of them are nooses.

pc86 6y ago

If someone is hanging a noose that's an objectively racist act and the fact that the victim happens to be homeless is probably not the biggest thing the person has a problem with.

jakelazaroff 6y ago
Sure, but I think you have to look at it intersectionally. The fact that they called them "thugs" and used a noose doesn't mean that they're only motivated by racism. Their hostility might manifest differently if the homeless people were mostly white, but it wouldn't go away.
- bradlys 6y ago
  Weird. Never really heard of anyone calling homeless people thugs. I don't even associate homelessness with black. I associate it with crazy white dudes shitting everywhere - but maybe that's because I'm on the west coast where it seems the majority of homeless guys getting attention are white. I guess there's also the fact that if you were black, homeless, and crazy - you'd have been killed by the police already. Black and homeless - probably keeping lower profile as to avoid police killing you.
  - jakelazaroff 6y ago
    Demographics will be different in different areas. In NYC, over half of homeless shelter residents are Black, and an additional third are Latinx. https://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/NYCHomelessnessFactSheet_7-2017_citations.pdf https://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/wp-content/uploads/2...

Chris2048 6y ago

According to that same FB group: Posts, comments and/or views expressed in this group represent the thoughts of individual members and may not necessarily represent those of the group, other members, or the Group’s moderators and admins. This appears to be the same guy: https://nypost.com/2020/01/21/lawyer-for-ex-ballet-benefactor-calls-clients-lewd-texts-obnoxious/ https://nypost.com/2020/01/21/lawyer-for-ex-ballet-benefacto... Quite frankly, I don't trust this reporting, especially since it reports someone "flashing a white power finger gesture" which was clearly the "OK" gesture. The "noose" is also ambiguous - a loop of rope on scaffolding - but I can't tell if it tightens when pulled or not.

jakelazaroff 6y ago
If you want to show that those attitudes are anomalous, you're going to have to bring something other than standard CYA disclaimer boilerplate. That NY Post link seems like a non sequitur. I don't think it's a stretch to describe the "OK" sign as a "white power finger gesture" when the person making it is wearing a Trump visor and shouting "white lives matter". And I don't see how the noose is ambiguous, either — what do you think a noose is if not a loop of rope hung from somewhere?
- Chris2048 6y ago
  No I don't, the burden of evidence is on you. The opinion of one guy in a group of 14k is only that one guys opinion by default. The link demonstrates the guy is outspoken. I can easily find racist comments on HN - it doesn't prove anything about other posters. Because OK is otherwise a common and totally neutral gesture, infact it only became a symbol of "white power" after essentially a hoax to that effect: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/ok-sign-white-power-supremacy-alt-right-4chan-trolling-hoax-a9249846.html https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/ok-sign-wh... > what do you think a noose is if not a loop of rope hung from somewhere? I think it's a rope knotted in a specific way to tighten when pulled. Being "the shape of a noose" is irrelevant unless it bears this quality. I have loops of string/rope all over the place, none of them are nooses.