The shame is that this individual is far from unique, and not just in SF. I run into people daily who speak of homelessness as a conscious lifestyle choice. I know of one SF attorney who constantly rants about how the homeless there all earn 50k a year. They build up these fantasy worlds to justify their perception of themselves as moral millionaires. They believe wealth to be the inevitable result of a heightened morality. Anyone without wealth is therefore morally backward and deserving of suffering. Give them a few years. Their bubbles will burst soon enough.
SF tech bro: ‘I shouldn’t have to see the pain, struggle, despair of homeless’
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Re: SF tech bro: ‘I shouldn’t have to see the pain, struggle, despair of homeless’
#32Note that SF already spends a large amount on the homeless http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/S-F-spends-record... and that at least some politicians are starting to take notice http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2016/01/25/s-f-supervisor-scott-wie...
It's not clear what the solution is to this complex problem.
Re: SF tech bro: ‘I shouldn’t have to see the pain, struggle, despair of homeless’
#33I wonder if this was s stunt to get attention on his company? This seems so cartoonish, I mean you could picture wealthy people thinking this way but to me it almost seems too insensitive. Maybe a publicity stunt that backfired a little. On the other hand maybe he is so sheltered as to think this is an actual problem he's helping solve...
He seems to be okay with regularly telling everyone about what he thinks is wrong with the world [0]. It says a lot about you when you need to complain to companies about bugs or whatever and also tell your followers how upset you are [1]. [0] https://twitter.com/johnny5sf [1] https://twitter.com/johnny5sf/status/593965045085700097
One of the things I like about Twitter is that it's much harder for companies to just ignore your complaints about things which, I hope you would agree, are just ridiculous. Google pushes its authenticator app but when I get a new phone, even if I still have the old phone and it's working I can't move it across without some dodgy hack.
Re: SF tech bro: ‘I shouldn’t have to see the pain, struggle, despair of homeless’
#34Is there anyone here who does want a group of homeless persons lining the streets of their commute, or outside their homes and workplaces?
He is being self centred in his viewpoint but he's also not unique. Most people pay extra, and as a result work harder and longer, to live and work in neighbourhoods which allow them to ignore the plight of others.
I do hope the response to this is genuine agreement that things need to change because it benefits everyone, followed by associated action, instead of just hysterical and shallow "omg I can't believe he said that".
Re: SF tech bro: ‘I shouldn’t have to see the pain, struggle, despair of homeless’
#35I think he does have a point... but he could have put it better.
I live in SF too; for ~10 years. I have never seen it this bad. The City passed a "sit/lie" law a couple of years ago.. but it's never enforced. The City is spending $1M/month ... for housing 225 people[1]. Do the math, and you'll see how ridiculous is that. At that rate, how much do you think the City can spend on the homeless? It has 7000 homeless, and counting.
Many of the homeless used to live in City housing, but got kicked out due to drug and alcohol habits. What's the solution here? You can't incarcerate them. You can't force them to use detox clinics, etc.
If the person refuses help, and refuses to follow the rules of whichever shelter they're in, then s/he has no more right to live in SF! As a last resort, the City is within rights to just kick you out. No one is entitled to live in SF. You can't just show up and setup tent in a public space; that public space belongs to the rest of us too!
[1] http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2016/02/10/san-franciscos-p...
Re: SF tech bro: ‘I shouldn’t have to see the pain, struggle, despair of homeless’
#36Getting flashbacks here. http://valleywag.gawker.com/startup-stud-hates-homeless-peop... http://valleywag.gawker.com/happy-holidays-startup-ceo-compl... Semi-surprised to see this crop up again when the outrage over these incidents was pretty severe and infamous.
Bros that don't know bro-history are doomed to repeat it.
Re: SF tech bro: ‘I shouldn’t have to see the pain, struggle, despair of homeless’
#37Note that SF already spends a large amount on the homeless http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/S-F-spends-record... and that at least some politicians are starting to take notice http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2016/01/25/s-f-supervisor-scott-wie... It's not clear what the solution is to this complex problem.
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 :)
Re: SF tech bro: ‘I shouldn’t have to see the pain, struggle, despair of homeless’
#38>> "Move over Martin Shkreli. You now have competition for the title of America’s most reviled millennial." That seems unfair. Shkreli made the news for doing things that would have a tangible effect on peoples lives, and doing those things with a smile. Let's compare Shkreli raising the prices on life-saving drugs to the first paragraph of Keller's blog post: >> "I am writing today, to voice my concern and outrage o…
Also, what on earth are the limits for a millennial? My late-20s self, a 9th grader and a man in his 30s should not all be classified the same...
Re: SF tech bro: ‘I shouldn’t have to see the pain, struggle, despair of homeless’
#39I wonder if this was s stunt to get attention on his company? This seems so cartoonish, I mean you could picture wealthy people thinking this way but to me it almost seems too insensitive. Maybe a publicity stunt that backfired a little. On the other hand maybe he is so sheltered as to think this is an actual problem he's helping solve...
Having read the letter, I can't help but think that this must be some kind of elaborate trolling: That after 2 weeks or so, he'll follow-up with "Thanks for all the attention everyone! My start-up's revenue took a 45% bump from all this publicity!!" This reads like a cartoon caricature of the stereotypical clueless tech bro. No real person could actually think this way.
Re: SF tech bro: ‘I shouldn’t have to see the pain, struggle, despair of homeless’
#40Holy shit.
I saw the quote in the headline and thought, that is some seriously unfortunate wording. I get what they mean, but putting it in the first person like that makes it sound like the problem is the seeing, not the pain, struggle, etc.
Then I read the actual letter. It's not unfortunate wording! They actually intend to say that the problem is the seeing! This person doesn't care in the least about these people, he just wants them out of sight!