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"The homeless are way more aggressive than they are in Chicago or Texan cities. The feces. The crime." So where do homeless people go to the bathroom in Chicag

"The homeless are way more aggressive than they are in Chicago or Texan cities. The feces. The crime." So where do homeless people go to the bathroom in Chicago and Texas? In SF most businesses won't let homeless people (ie. obviously poor people and/or people with severe mental issues) use their bathrooms, and even if they did, most of the city closes down at night, so there's nowhere to go. SF has some public bathrooms, but they're very few and far between, and if you're homeless, possibly suffering from mental issues and/or on drugs or drunk you're not going to be going on long treks through the city just to use a bathroom.. not to mention that sometimes you just have to go immediately (and the need can be exacerbated by being sick or drunk or on drugs). So, again, where are these people supposed to go?

devoutsalsa 5y ago
Another thing that’s not obvious about the public bathrooms is they aren’t safe. You go in, close the windowless door, do your business, and open it up to find someone standing there waiting to rob you.
freeone3000 5y ago
In Texas they use restrooms at fast food places, gas stations, and Starbuckses like everyone else out on the town and in need of a pee. Failing that, the one in the local mall. Not having bathrooms available to the public is a problem of SF's own invention.
dragonwriter 5y ago
> So where do homeless people go to the bathroom in Chicago and Texas? San Francisco has, even by California standards, an unusual lack of an aggressive policy of pushing the homeless out of places where they are visible to economic elites. So, if you are reasonably well-off person, you are more likely to see all of the things that go along with homelessness in SF than elsewhere. (SF also devotes unusual resources to dealing with the impacts of homelessness, but the net result and the frustration it causes for economic elites that are usually the power that directs local politics shows why most cities prefer to spend resources hiding homelessness rather than dealing with it.)

devoutsalsa 5y ago

Another thing that’s not obvious about the public bathrooms is they aren’t safe. You go in, close the windowless door, do your business, and open it up to find someone standing there waiting to rob you.

freeone3000 5y ago

In Texas they use restrooms at fast food places, gas stations, and Starbuckses like everyone else out on the town and in need of a pee. Failing that, the one in the local mall. Not having bathrooms available to the public is a problem of SF's own invention.

dragonwriter 5y ago

> So where do homeless people go to the bathroom in Chicago and Texas? San Francisco has, even by California standards, an unusual lack of an aggressive policy of pushing the homeless out of places where they are visible to economic elites. So, if you are reasonably well-off person, you are more likely to see all of the things that go along with homelessness in SF than elsewhere. (SF also devotes unusual resources to dealing with the impacts of homelessness, but the net result and the frustration it causes for economic elites that are usually the power that directs local politics shows why most cities prefer to spend resources hiding homelessness rather than dealing with it.)