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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’

#61

Post by monkmartinez »

lhnz wrote: post #25

Certainly not very compassionate, but is it true that the homeless in San Francisco have a drug problem that is making the area unsafe? Is nobody trying to treat or house these people? Shouldn't people take this piece and use it as further evidence that there is a problem that needs to be fixed, rather than merely a culture war they can take part in? As usual, everybody want's to talk about how much of a 'bro' this g…

The "homeless" must want and work (mentally and emotionally) for help in order for it to work. fullstop.

In my experience, most do not want to put in the effort to kick the habits, contribute to society in a meaningful way, or tell you it is too late. The reality is a lot of them prefer the "lifestyle" and "freedom" to do whatever the hell they want whenever the hell they want to do it. They have a completely different take on life than "most" people.

Re: SF tech bro: ‘I shouldn’t have to see the pain, struggle, despair of homeless’

#62

Post by HelpingHand30 »

Our startup (launching this spring) helps struggling homeless relocate to SF. We charter buses and assist homeless men & women in moving out of terrible conditions (often colder cities) so they can start fresh in the Bay Area. Our goal is to transplant 100 homeless by the end of this year!

We think SF is ideal due to the culture, weather, and resources. We also believe that an influx of homeless can assist in lowering property value/home prices which is much necessary in SF.

Re: SF tech bro: ‘I shouldn’t have to see the pain, struggle, despair of homeless’

#63

Post by joosters »

Afforess wrote: post #9

To 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…

So how many people are going to pay more taxes to raise the money for the government to do all these things?

In the end, it still comes back to the people. It's not the government's fault.

Re: SF tech bro: ‘I shouldn’t have to see the pain, struggle, despair of homeless’

#64

Post by hencq »

Spooky23 wrote: post #13

Homeless activists are the most annoying do-gooders of them all. Let's fight for the right of people, who are mostly struggling with mental illness and addiction to live in the street. That sure feels noble I guess. How about making appropriate institutional care available so these folks wouldn't have to sleep in the streets? In my town, there's an article in the paper today decrying the fact that a local institution…

Yeah, it's sad that it's apparently impossible to have a serious discussion around this topic without getting vilified. It seems that a lot of people like to pat themselves on the back for how compassionate they are because they are fine with homeless people on the streets. That seems the opposite of compassionate to me. True compassion would be, as you say, making care available so these people wouldn't have to sleep in the streets. I'll include mental care in that, since many homeless seem to suffer from mental illnesses as well.

Re: SF tech bro: ‘I shouldn’t have to see the pain, struggle, despair of homeless’

#66

Post by creshal »

monkmartinez wrote: post #45
Afforess wrote: post #9

To 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…

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"... we try very hard to help the people that want help. Most don't.

A lot of them are mentally handicapped or dealing with acquired mental illnesses. Even under good conditions, treating either is hard. Of course EMS/fire fighters/volunteers working in shelters aren't able to do that.

Re: SF tech bro: ‘I shouldn’t have to see the pain, struggle, despair of homeless’

#68

Post by joosters »

at-fates-hands wrote: post #59
Afforess wrote: post #9

To 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…

Not sure what kind of solution the government should have. There's already a myriad of local, state and federal housing programs already in place. Whether its temporary emergency housing, eviction protection, child care services, or in some cases, low income housing and federal subsidies for permanent housing. There's plenty of safety nets in California, let alone the SF area. If people want to get off the streets, t…

How many of these myriad services are already running at full capacity? Just because there are homelessness support groups out there doesn't magically mean that there is enough support.

Re: SF tech bro: ‘I shouldn’t have to see the pain, struggle, despair of homeless’

#69

Post by marbletiles »

StavrosK wrote: post #27
Fede_V wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I completely believe in being the charity principle ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principle_of_charity ) when interpreting what someone said, but in this case, I think you are being too generous. He was not complaining about the suffering of those people and the lack of government intervention on their behalf - he was unhappy because poor people made his own personal life marginally worse by subjecting him to unple…

The GP didn't say the letter meant it that way, he said the letter is right in that there shouldn't be homeless people living in the streets, they should be taken care of by a stronger safety net.

I'm going to be pedantic, but only because I think that's how the letter guy is going to try and get out of this too. The letter did not say that "there shouldn't be homeless people living in the streets".

Both it and GP said he shouldn't have to see homeless people. The letter writer certainly wouldn't care if the homeless people were still homeless, so long as they were bussed somewhere he didn't have to gaze upon their poor faces.

Re: SF tech bro: ‘I shouldn’t have to see the pain, struggle, despair of homeless’

#70

Post by maratd »

pj_mukh wrote: post #53

Any data to back this up? Can't really go on anecdotal stories or EMS accounts (who only see emergency situations by design).

Why does every comment on here need to be cited? Nobody is writing a research paper through HN comments. We're just having a conversation.
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