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I was having a related discussion with my wife a few days ago after we drove into downtown Portland. People who live in the city full time may not see the chan

I was having a related discussion with my wife a few days ago after we drove into downtown Portland. People who live in the city full time may not see the changes evolving around them if it does not happen suddenly, but if you are from outside the city and drive in only occasionally, the changes are astounding. I am tempted to say that the city government has clearly failed. But I hear stories about other cities experiencing similar things in the last couple years, so ... what's going on? The amount of graffiti everywhere has skyrocketed, homeless tents and camps, broken down RVs surrounded by trash littering the sides of the roads, and no sign that the city is actually doing anything about it. No social workers, no clean up crews, not even police. I also wonder if the shift towards remote work is only going to exacerbate the problem in the near term. Restaurants and retail are leaving the urban core because many of their customers were office workers who no longer leave home.

hotpotamus 5y ago
> what's going on? My guess is that we are seeing the psychological responses to massive inequality. People have realized that they're trapped in a system they have little control over and are falling behind economically. For some this manifests as what we saw in China as the "Lay Flat" movement, but others are more willing to be aggressive. For myself, the political situation of the last half decade has more or less led me to believe that law in the US is essentially meaningless; it's applied capriciously if at all and it seems that others have had this realization. Just my pet theory.
- s1artibartfast 5y ago
  I agree it is a psychological issue, but have a polar opposite conclusion. What we are seeing is the result of general disillusionment in our social systems coupled with moral post-modernism. People have become so obsessed with the flaws in our economic, social, and legal system that they accept anarchy and mob rule. The worst cases in our current system are widely publicized, and not viewed as an area for improvement but reason for abandonment . The whole system of government is not seen as a slow march towards progress, but an inherently racist institution which serves primarily to oppress. under such a world view, criminals are the victims, and and those trying to improve the existing systems are villains.
  - krainboltgreene 5y ago
    > that they accept anarchy and mob rule Back this up with anything? Every modern polling shows the public wants more public services, not less.
GoodJokes 5y ago

hotpotamus 5y ago

> what's going on? My guess is that we are seeing the psychological responses to massive inequality. People have realized that they're trapped in a system they have little control over and are falling behind economically. For some this manifests as what we saw in China as the "Lay Flat" movement, but others are more willing to be aggressive. For myself, the political situation of the last half decade has more or less led me to believe that law in the US is essentially meaningless; it's applied capriciously if at all and it seems that others have had this realization. Just my pet theory.

s1artibartfast 5y ago
I agree it is a psychological issue, but have a polar opposite conclusion. What we are seeing is the result of general disillusionment in our social systems coupled with moral post-modernism. People have become so obsessed with the flaws in our economic, social, and legal system that they accept anarchy and mob rule. The worst cases in our current system are widely publicized, and not viewed as an area for improvement but reason for abandonment . The whole system of government is not seen as a slow march towards progress, but an inherently racist institution which serves primarily to oppress. under such a world view, criminals are the victims, and and those trying to improve the existing systems are villains.
- krainboltgreene 5y ago
  > that they accept anarchy and mob rule Back this up with anything? Every modern polling shows the public wants more public services, not less.

GoodJokes 5y ago