5 ms·
Tensions with “houseless residents” escalating in Portland
- dexwiz 4y agoI considered moving to Portland in late 2020, glad I did not.
- kieselguhr_kid 4y agoIt's really nice here, actually. But don't come if you don't want to.
- leet_thow 4y agoIt's not though. I've visited friends there anually for the last 15 years. Last year I genuinely feared for my life and this summer my friends totally understand why I'm refusing to enter city limits.
- cnelsenmilt 4y agoWell, I've lived here for the last 15 years and other than getting buzzed by a car once or twice on my bike I have not ever "feared for my life".
- kieselguhr_kid 4y agoIf Portland makes you afraid for your life maybe don't go outside ever again. It's only scary if you're afraid of other people.
- leet_thow 4y ago
- kieselguhr_kid 4y agoWelcome to every city in America. If one armed dude scares you, I got bad news about your whole country.
- whimsicalism 4y agoI am very eager for this crime wave moral panic thing to end so I don't have to nod sagely when someone says ridiculous stuff like this (in person, obviously online I'll just communicate my real thoughts).
- pyuser583 4y agoDoes Portland have nice working class neighborhoods? I’m not trying to attack Portland, I don’t know much about it.
- kieselguhr_kid 4y agoThere's a few nice ones and a few shitty ones. It's like any other city in the US, in that the working class neighborhoods have been gentrified or neglected to various extents, but nice working class neighborhoods have not yet entirely vanished.
- whimsicalism 4y agoWhat is an example of a coastal city with "nice working class neighborhoods"? I am curious what people mean when they say nice, it seems very value laden.
- reducesuffering 4y agoGenerally people use "nice" to refer to low-crime, little blight (abandoned, falling apart homes, junk cars), and well upkept infrastructure and scenery. Ten years ago, many parts of many coastal cities would qualify. Being in the Bay Area, I know San Jose, Union City, Newark, Fremont, Dublin, Livermore, and Walnut Creek homes were all affordable on working class Bay Area wages. Those days are gone. I'm bitter about most of my friends being unable to afford a middle class life here. However, they're mostly the same people that complain about any new construction and homes, so it's a bit self-inflicted.
- whimsicalism 4y ago> However, they're mostly the same people that complain about any new construction and homes, so it's a bit self-inflicted. It is a bit self-inflicted, but having lived in cities my whole life you can't ignore the demand side of the story. White flight has completely reversed itself in the last 15 years and urban areas are now incredibly popular destinations for millennial aged white people who grew up in suburbs in a way that just wasn't the case before. Even with a ton of building, it is hard to keep up with the demand boost.
- kieselguhr_kid 4y agoThis particular act of vandalism is getting attention because Laurelhurst is a very wealthy neighborhood. All of these affected houses are worth at least $1M. The worst impacts of this crisis have been in homeless people themselves and in poor neighborhoods that the city chronically underserves, but outside of internet comments the press has shown little interest in examining that. The scare quotes around "houseless residents" are stupid. They live in Portland and aren't housed. It's the best descriptor.
- teakettle42 4y agoA phrase like “houseless residents” is used to convey two unrelated levels of information: The first level of information is the obvious one: an adjective phrase that describes a homeless person. The second level of information is about the writer: it conveys the writer’s support for a political position, and an ideological in-group to which the writer claims membership. The “scare quotes” here are used to convey that the author does not subscribe to the underlying political position that the phrase communicates; rather, they’re quoting someone else’s usage. This is correct.
- finfinfin 4y agoCould it also indicate the usage of a new phrase in place of an established word “homeless”? Like if I used the term “apartmentless city dweller” I would probably put in quotes.
- whimsicalism 4y agoNo they're putting it in quotes to make fun of it. It's like a "those stupid libs" signal but classier.
- woojoo666 4y agoWorth noting that "houseless" is not in quotes in the article, so may just be something that OP is emphasizing
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]