4 ms·

Many, not most. Meth is a huge problem here.

by tomc1985 4y ago

DocTomoe 4y ago
One of the side effects of Meth use: Psychotic episodes [1] [1] https://www.drugs.com/sfx/methamphetamine-side-effects.html https://www.drugs.com/sfx/methamphetamine-side-effects.html
xzel 4y ago
I think most people would consider drug addiction a mental illness. If not it often is being used as a coping mechanism for mental illness or something else. Being able to empathize with people who are struggling is exactly what OP was talking about.
- tomc1985 4y ago
  And at what point do those people who made the choice to be drug addicts deplete the goodwill that is afforded to them? This isn't Minnesota or New York City. Our winters are mild; you don't need meth to stay warm at night, and the transients here tend to have more than enough clothing to stay warm when it gets into the low 50s/40s. In fact this mild weather is probably why we have so many of them literally dumped on us. (Dumped, as in, given a one-way ticket to a sunny, seaside city of their choice) Community policing programs work, just look at the success that Urban Alchemy has had in Los Angeles and San Francisco. The community is more than capable of policing itself, but it doesn't.
  - closewith 4y ago
    > And at what point do those people who made the choice to be drug addicts deplete the goodwill that is afforded to them? With respect, do you believe people choose to become addicts?
    - tomc1985 4y ago
      They choose to take drugs with widely-known addictive properties, so yes. I'm not talking about opoids which were sold to folks as non-habit-forming for a long time. Or other cases of addiction without consent. But I don't think that is the case here, for the majority of people.
      - closewith 4y ago
        I think this is a harsh and somewhat antiquated take on addiction, if I'm honest. I hope the curse of addiction never falls on you.
msrenee 4y ago
I don't see how that refutes my argument.
- tomc1985 4y ago
  So how do we get these people to stop harassing folks?
  - DocTomoe 4y ago
    Put them under psychiatric evaluation, e.g. in a ward. Someone who is in a hospital is not able to harass people on the streets. But for that, you'd need a functioning healthcare system.
- todorus 4y ago
  Neither does it his. It is a problem for some areas to the point it will completely erode the empathy of people who have to live with it. Their stake is not an internet argument, but a daily reality to deal with. You can then argue that it's caused by mental illness and we should be empathetic, but I've talked to multiple people who actually worked in psych wards, my mother being one of them. They know they need to take care of them and be empathetic, but boy don't they all have stories to tell that has caused them to dehumanize them to some extent, or suffer burnout as the alternative. Don't just empathize with the mentally ill, but also the others you so easily burden with doing the actual work.
  - msrenee 4y ago
    Are the only healthcare professionals you know in psych wards? Dark humor and "dehumanize"-ing patients is standard coping for nurses, doctors, and basically anyone else who deals with the physically and mentally ill. That doesn't mean that they don't have empathy for them and understand that there's a fundamental disconnect between societal norms and their behavior. The person I replied to posted a laundry list of complaints about when those damn homeless jerks made them uncomfortable after saying they are so hard to empathize with. It's so whiny and disconnected from the actual hardships that caused these people to behave this way. Why can't they just be clean and polite and normal?

Many, not most. Meth is a huge problem here.

One of the side effects of Meth use: Psychotic episodes [1] [1] https://www.drugs.com/sfx/methamphetamine-side-effects.html https://www.drugs.com/sfx/methamphetamine-side-effects.html

xzel 4y ago

I think most people would consider drug addiction a mental illness. If not it often is being used as a coping mechanism for mental illness or something else. Being able to empathize with people who are struggling is exactly what OP was talking about.

tomc1985 4y ago
And at what point do those people who made the choice to be drug addicts deplete the goodwill that is afforded to them? This isn't Minnesota or New York City. Our winters are mild; you don't need meth to stay warm at night, and the transients here tend to have more than enough clothing to stay warm when it gets into the low 50s/40s. In fact this mild weather is probably why we have so many of them literally dumped on us. (Dumped, as in, given a one-way ticket to a sunny, seaside city of their choice) Community policing programs work, just look at the success that Urban Alchemy has had in Los Angeles and San Francisco. The community is more than capable of policing itself, but it doesn't.
- closewith 4y ago
  > And at what point do those people who made the choice to be drug addicts deplete the goodwill that is afforded to them? With respect, do you believe people choose to become addicts?
  - tomc1985 4y ago
    They choose to take drugs with widely-known addictive properties, so yes. I'm not talking about opoids which were sold to folks as non-habit-forming for a long time. Or other cases of addiction without consent. But I don't think that is the case here, for the majority of people.
    - closewith 4y ago
      I think this is a harsh and somewhat antiquated take on addiction, if I'm honest. I hope the curse of addiction never falls on you.

msrenee 4y ago

I don't see how that refutes my argument.

tomc1985 4y ago
So how do we get these people to stop harassing folks?
- DocTomoe 4y ago
  Put them under psychiatric evaluation, e.g. in a ward. Someone who is in a hospital is not able to harass people on the streets. But for that, you'd need a functioning healthcare system.
todorus 4y ago
Neither does it his. It is a problem for some areas to the point it will completely erode the empathy of people who have to live with it. Their stake is not an internet argument, but a daily reality to deal with. You can then argue that it's caused by mental illness and we should be empathetic, but I've talked to multiple people who actually worked in psych wards, my mother being one of them. They know they need to take care of them and be empathetic, but boy don't they all have stories to tell that has caused them to dehumanize them to some extent, or suffer burnout as the alternative. Don't just empathize with the mentally ill, but also the others you so easily burden with doing the actual work.
- msrenee 4y ago
  Are the only healthcare professionals you know in psych wards? Dark humor and "dehumanize"-ing patients is standard coping for nurses, doctors, and basically anyone else who deals with the physically and mentally ill. That doesn't mean that they don't have empathy for them and understand that there's a fundamental disconnect between societal norms and their behavior. The person I replied to posted a laundry list of complaints about when those damn homeless jerks made them uncomfortable after saying they are so hard to empathize with. It's so whiny and disconnected from the actual hardships that caused these people to behave this way. Why can't they just be clean and polite and normal?