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Are people reading this or just up voting the title? Sounds like someone who screwed up their life, likely by being stubborn, and doing a lot of drugs, which do
by ArchieScrivener 7mo ago
Are people reading this or just up voting the title? Sounds like someone who screwed up their life, likely by being stubborn, and doing a lot of drugs, which doesn't take knowing how to code to pull off. Reads like a love letter to misery by someone who knew they would never be truly affected by it.
- tossandthrow 7mo agoHe explicitly writes that he did not do drugs or alcohol. It would seem like it is some kind of felony charges that are the cause. Whatever they were. But all in all - the downside risk is huge in the US.
- ryanjshaw 7mo agoThe style of writing and strange segways suggest mental illness; the blog description seems to confirm it.
- deleted 7mo ago[deleted]
- pjerem 7mo agoDoesn’t change anything. In civilized world, people who are mentally ill are took care of by the society, not thrown in the streets.
- hn_throwaway_99 7mo agoHe wasn't "thrown into the streets". He was offered food and shelter, and he declined it.
- _3u10 7mo agoHe was respecting the laws of California. What he did was like a speeding ticket. I do agree that if he was truly in need he would have stolen an iPhone or some designer purses. How privileged to steal sleeping bags and food.
- delichon 7mo ago> I needed a guide. I stole Don Quixote from the library. That wasn't any kind of necessity. He lost me there.
- tossandthrow 7mo agoIt is incredible how much energy is being put into justifying why this is his own fault? I guess this is the only way people with high salaries or wealth in the US can find peace with themselves - maybe that's the mental illness?
- mettamage 7mo ago> Currently constructing the Sanctuary of the Silent Star while unpacking a 6-month journey through psychosis, homelessness, and the systems that govern us. One story at a time. I'm not saying it's his own fault. I'm also not too happy when people point to mental illness. But this is his blog description where he mentions himself that he unpacs a 6-month journey through psychosis. 6 months of psychosis means you're mentally ill with psychosis as a symptom.
- hn_throwaway_99 7mo agoWhat's incredible to me are comments, like yours, that are saying that somehow the system failed this person, just based on this blog post. When in fact: 1. He was given food and shelter, which he declined - most of his comments about the food are that it's too sugary. 2. He makes it sound like he was offered more permanent shelter in Feb of 2025, which he also declined. To be clear, I'm not making a judgment about this person - and, for that matter, the comment you replied to didn't seem to be making a judgment either, just stating a reasonable conclusion that the author suffered from mental illness. So I'd like to know what additional resources you think would have changed this person's circumstances?
- imiric 7mo ago> I'm not making a judgment about this person [...] just stating a reasonable conclusion that the author suffered from mental illness. You're not making a judgment, but are somehow able to diagnose mental illness from a blog post? Wild. It's far easier to conclude that the system has failed this person, as it habitually fails millions of people in the US, in these same circumstances. Are they all mentally ill? And even if mental health is an issue, does that mean that they are somehow less worthy of assistance? That it's OK for a human being to live under a bridge? The level of self-righteousness and lack of empathy in your comments is baffling.
- curtisblaine 7mo ago> He explicitly writes that he did not do drugs or alcohol > My public defender reminded me of a woman I did ayahuasca with in upstate New York. Well...
- _3u10 7mo agoEveryone does drugs or alcohol, even the pope, even Jesus himself.
- hn_throwaway_99 7mo ago> He explicitly writes that he did not do drugs or alcohol. What are you talking about? He specifically mentions drinking beer and doing ayahuasca in the past.
- compsciphd 7mo agohe explicitly says he has done ayahuasca. So he is someone who at least in the past did recreational drugs.
- imiric 7mo agoSure, we don't know the entire backstory, but can we agree that no person should live in these conditions? Especially in one of the richest places in the world. Everyone deserves dignity, food, and shelter. Also, can we stop stigmatizing "drug" use? Most of humanity uses "drugs" regularly for various reasons. Just because a specific "drug" which someone enjoys using recreationally is on a government list doesn't mean that they can't be a productive member of society. Live and let live.
- hn_throwaway_99 7mo agoHe was given food and shelter, and then he left on his own volition. He wasn't willing to stay in a shelter unless he had a private room so he stole some stuff from some stores so he could sleep under a bridge.
- imiric 7mo agoHe was given temporary shelter, and later a bed in a room with 20 people. Have you seen what these places look like? Would you sleep in such conditions? Dignity and personal space is something the richest country in the world can afford for all of its citizens. Yet chooses not to. People committing petty theft are largely forced to do so due to the circumstances they live in. Your judgment is better aimed at people committing white-collar crime with far worse consequences in the same city the author is located in.
- hn_throwaway_99 7mo agoHe makes it sound like he was originally offered more permanent shelter but he rejected it: > The end of March happened and so did the temporary shelter. I needed to find a new place. > I remembered a place in San Mateo I rejected back in February. It hadn’t crossed my mind when I first arrived back in San Francisco. When I had been offered it in February, I rejected the offer because I thought it was ludicrous to think I was homeless. I come from a relatively privileged upbringing, and the idea of homelessness was a distant concept to my naive brain.
- 7mo ago
- hn_throwaway_99 7mo agoThere's a good saying, "People become homeless not when they run out of money, but when they run out of relationships." This post reads to me like someone suffering from mental illness and/or personality disorder.
- mettamage 7mo agoThis is the first time I'm seeing that phrase. And I think it hits the nail on the head.
- znpy 7mo ago> This post reads to me like someone suffering from mental illness and/or personality disorder. Sometimes people are just assholes, eh. I don't have the data to say this is the case, but "just being an asshole" is a circumstance that is often under-considered.
- hn_throwaway_99 7mo agoThat's the problem with personality disorders - we call them "disorders", but they're also fundamentally a part of someone's "personality", i.e. relatively unchangeable behavioral characteristics. It's hard to draw a clear line between "insufferable asshole" and "borderline/narcissistic/histrionic personality disorder".
- dd8601fn 7mo agoThe blog and the contents of the post both indicate it’s someone writing about a time they were homeless and suffering from psychosis.
- Razengan 7mo agoI assumed this was a support group or service for tech workers who ended up homeless, and upvoted for that, and then took back my upvote after reading these comments :')
- nothrabannosir 7mo agoIgnore the comments, read the article instead. One of the worst comment threads on HN so far, if you ask me. The only time I wish the comments were all LLM generated, because that would explain how they could miss the underlying humanity so thoroughly.