This is something you won't hear in New York. There's a lot of homeless shelters, and the people you see on the street tend to be kind of nuts.
SF tech bro: ‘I shouldn’t have to see the pain, struggle, despair of homeless’
291–300 of 515 posts
Re: SF tech bro: ‘I shouldn’t have to see the pain, struggle, despair of homeless’
#292Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've loaded many a homeless into my fire engine to take to the local Crisis Resource Center/ Behaviour Rehabilitation center because they begged and pleaded that they want help. Great! More often than not, we see them a few days later with Steel Reserve cans littered about after someone calls 911 for what appears to them a dead man on the side of the road. Mental illness is brutal. I feel for these guys, especially a…
Wanting help is not the same as being able to be helped. Veterans often have what is called 'treatment resistant PTSD', which is another way of saying that we haven't figured out how to treat them. There is a wealth of material on how even veterans who have supportive families and are housed and in treatment can't always hold down a job. New treatments such as VR based exposure therapy, or MDMA therapy are promising,…
Holding down a job isn't relevant. They did a job for us, we owe them care in the face of the disability that job created.
Re: SF tech bro: ‘I shouldn’t have to see the pain, struggle, despair of homeless’
#293Earlier quoted context omitted.
It means a non-"progressive" White male who works in technology.
That does sound like what it means. The behavior of the "tech bro" in question is certainly offensive and insensitive, however using terms that bigoted in a headline (shaming a minority group in "tech" for holding different political views) is something one would expect websites on both extremes of the political spectrum to engage in (Vox, Breitbart, ...) rather than the Washington Post, and it's a bit sad to see the…
I agree with that. I'm fine with this story being posted and discussed, but using a slur -- even if doesn't really seem to hurt anyone with "power" -- often leads to cheapening of the discussion. Referring to the blogger as a "SF tech entrepreneur" gets the point across...and people can slap on their own connotations with that term as they please.
Re: SF tech bro: ‘I shouldn’t have to see the pain, struggle, despair of homeless’
#294Does anyone remember Leo, the homeless man that was given the chance to learn how to code? The libertarian tech utopia press loved it, but Leo never claimed his money and decided to keep living on the streets [1]. Homelessness is complex and is not a simple problem to fix.
The problem with this open letter is it is written with contempt and a complete lack of awareness of the author's own privilege. The "I don't want to see it, I earned my right to be here, make it go away" sentiment shows how little the author has thought about the problem and his own standing in the world.
Has he ever tried hanging out and having a conversation with any of these people? I do it all the time here in New York and used to do it a lot in SF (a city I now avoid because of people like the author). I recently had a great conversation about physics with a homeless man on Skid Row. The point is maybe he needs to stop, have a conversation, and find some empathy.
Most homeless shelters are dangerous places and are filled with restrictions, so many homeless people prefer the freedom of the street. Urge your local government to invest in long term housing for the homeless and not just shelters. Lift restrictions on building in SF to create more housing in general. Support mental health facilities. There is a lot of work to be done, but saying you earn a good living and therefore shouldn't have to see it isn't good enough. If you want that life move to a gated community, not a major city.
[1] http://www.businessinsider.com/leo-the-homeless-coder-2015-2...
Re: SF tech bro: ‘I shouldn’t have to see the pain, struggle, despair of homeless’
#295Earlier quoted context omitted.
political arguments against anything these days are emotional reactions to parties and politicians rather than policy. people need to turn off the cable news and live less angry lives.
...and get to know some of the homeless on a personal level. Seriously, this is a human issue. We somehow look on these individuals as if they were almost non-human, yet they have powerful stories and painful experiences. I'm not doing a good job at that but I try to make it a point to reach outside of my fully-customized bubble, and engage other people who could use some respect and human dignity. My impact is minim…
a huge number of homeless are mentally ill and/or have serious substance abuse problems. re-acclimating can be very difficult. (and NO, i'm not suggesting we not try)
Re: SF tech bro: ‘I shouldn’t have to see the pain, struggle, despair of homeless’
#296Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is a complex issue... but in my experience, most of the homeless are not looking for help to find jobs and/or contribute to society in manner that will lead them out of "homelessness." A lot of them prefer this "lifestyle"... we try very hard to help the people that want help. Most don't. Go talk to your local EMS/Fire department personnel and most of them will have similar stories. I know the homeless people in…
>A lot of them prefer this "lifestyle" I used to also think that many homeless "preferred the lifestyle of homelessness" but I recently learned of a town in Canada (Medicine Hat) that found it more cost effective to house the homeless. This myth that people prefer to be homeless was shattered and this town found that nearly all homeless were able to reintegrated back into having their own places. The mayor was skepti…
Well, I think we might mean different things by "homeless". The kind of people who prefer homelessness (and I know a couple, even in my small town) don't prefer it because they don't have a house. If someone were to just provide them a house, they'd be perfectly happy with that. No, they prefer their lifestyle to the available alternatives because it frees them of any responsibility for themselves.
Naturally, though, not all homeless should be categorized this way. A great many of them surely have serious psychological disorders that prevent them from living normal independent lives. Surely many of them have suffered in many ways, and many of them are surely in the circumstances they're in due to factors they couldn't control. These are the ones that really do need help of _some_ kind.
I sympathize with people like the mayor of the town you use as an example, but he's wrong: you don't give people dignity by giving them a place to live. Housing isn't the source of human dignity. When you give people with no dignity things of value, they don't value those things, and then eventually they become valueless through abuse and neglect. That's why homeless shelters have to have volunteers to monitor when they house the homeless. That's why simply building a big apartment complex and giving keys to the homeless isn't a long-term solution and in all likelihood a fast-track to a destroyed property and a bunch of people spending some time in the clink.
Outside of personal interventions and great investment of resources into individuals, I'm not sure there are really any great solutions. It makes me sad, but I don't have any great ideas for how to help them better (writ large), than try to meet some basic material needs (food pantries, temporary shelters) and keep them safe.
Re: SF tech bro: ‘I shouldn’t have to see the pain, struggle, despair of homeless’
#297My wife is a social worker for the VA. Her job is housing homeless vets. From what I hear, clients typically struggle with mental illness, PTSD, military sexual trauma, and more. Some have what they need to get back on their feet and some are probably never going to because of mental illness. Yes some, and it sounds like a minority, have learned to manipulate the system as part of their survival strategy.
There are also some who just want to be left alone. Around here they live in the National Forests up in the Cascade Mountains. The problem for them is age. Right now the reclusive Vietnam Vets are coming out of the woods. They are just too old to survive out there on their own out there.
On the whole safe housing is showing to be very important first step. Homeless life does include a community on the street. It is typically a community that is not going to be supportive of positive change. Each member is experiencing their own untreated issues.
Removing the negative social elements and temptations first appears to be one of the important benefits. If you're an addict having friends offering you a hit is not very helpful.
Thus, for my wife, building relationships with housing agencies and businesses is a big deal. The landlords/managers with endless patience, understanding, and strong boundaries seem to do best.
Re: SF tech bro: ‘I shouldn’t have to see the pain, struggle, despair of homeless’
#298Earlier quoted context omitted.
Well, that's great, then. It seems like a liberal calling card but appeals to everyone's desire to save money while providing actually useful social services. So what's the political argument against it?
"We don't want to give people free houses just because they're too lazy to work" or some shit.
...or why should I work so hard to pay SF rent when I can be homeless and get free housing?
Re: SF tech bro: ‘I shouldn’t have to see the pain, struggle, despair of homeless’
#299Earlier quoted context omitted.
Part of the solution will be a realisation that not everyone has a right to live in SF. Just like not everyone has a right to live in Newport. A part, but not a big part :)
Or the solution may be to accept that the city owes a duty to everyone in it's boarders and cannot deport human beings based on circumstance. The city could tax the rich heavily, to the point that a balance is struck that both shelters the poor and dissuades further gentrification.
>owes a duty to everyone in its borders
No. A local government owes a duty to tax-paying citizens who legally inhabit it.
>tax the rich heavily Yes, drive out the people who are capable of starting and maintaining businesses, investing in area improvements, and spending money. That's a good idea. /s
Re: SF tech bro: ‘I shouldn’t have to see the pain, struggle, despair of homeless’
#300To play devil's advocate, he's right. He shouldn't have to see the pain, struggle, and despair of homeless - the city government should be providing affordable housing and shelters for the homeless. That it hasn't is a failure of the local government, and should be addressed. Much of the reason that affordable housing is out of reach of many in San Francisco is due to government regulation, not market capitalism. Ext…
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