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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’

#81

Post by forgottenpass »

randomname2 wrote: post #30

What is a "SF tech bro"? In this context it seems to be intended as some kind of slur, or there is at least some negative connotation here. It's a man who works in tech who... what exactly?

What is a "SF tech bro"?

It's a scapegoat boogieman. A tool of techies in SF to manage their cognitive dissonance.

There are things everyone else in the city hates the startup/tech scene at large for. There are also people progressives hate for their not-progressive-enough views, and some of them have the gall to work in tech. When either of those (or any other number of criticisms) are stereotypically "bro" (or close enough), the people within startups/tech can blame it on the "tech bros."

It is meant as a slur. But bros are just a convenient and useful stereotype to blame. If it wasn't them, it'd be something else. "Tech bros" just happens to be OK to openly deride, because the identity has no social power within "tech" (whatever that means).

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

#82

Post by monkmartinez »

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).

Nope, no data other than comparing the money being spent on the problem with my perception from the trenches. This is a human problem. That is, generally speaking the person in reception of help needs to work just as hard as the agency providing help for it to WORK.

911, in my area, is used for a lot more than "emergencies" unfortunately... we are the ultimate real-time problem solvers. "Man down" & "sick person" calls are generally not emergencies and they tend to be our regulars, which are generally homeless.

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

#83

Post by jerf »

alistproducer2 wrote: post #51

I recently quit Facebook because I wanted avoid the state of permanent outrage that platform has come to feed off. Some random guy says something reprehensible and we're all suppose apply their comment to an entire group and get into a discussion about said generalized group. Rinse and repeat. It's old and pointless. HN is way better than this.

I've flagged this for the low quality of the discussion it is engendering.

Relevant: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11110271

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

#84

Post by knowaveragejoe »

sandworm101 wrote: post #41
m1sta_ wrote: post #37

Earlier 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.

I hate that gentrification has become this bogeyman. It is the effects of gentrification that can sometimes be negative.

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

#85

Post by mmmlll »

exhilaration wrote: post #36
Andrex wrote: post #14

Getting 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.

I'm here for this ^

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

#86

Post by shopkins »

sleepychu wrote: post #33
shopkins wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Yes it's great for complaining to companies (except maybe Google), but the guy put a '.' before each tweet so that all his followers would see his complaints too. That's the type of person that would see a homeless person and say I need to tell everyone about the 'riff-raff' I just saw in an American urban center.

(And to your point, I personally haven't had that issue with transferring my accounts on Authenticator, but maybe it's different on iOS.)

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

#88

Post by tim333 »

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…

The issue my be complex but you don't see the same thing in most of Europe or Canada which suggests it's not immune to government action.

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

#89

Post by SomeStupidPoint »

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…

In my city, most of the programs to help homeless people have waitlists on the order of years.

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

#90

Post by wlesieutre »

StavrosK wrote: post #22
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…

I visited SF a few times, and I was always horrified to see how such a wealthy city leaves its homeless people to wander around, sleep in the cold and generally live in inhuman conditions. I won't claim I know enough about the city from two visits to propose any solutions, but I know that the fact that there are hundreds or thousands of people living like that is inexcusable. I've never seen this before to such exten…

> sleep in the cold

Are we talking about the same city here? I'd call SF "occasionally chilly" at best. That's part of why so many homeless people gravitate to CA; if you're sleeping outdoors there are many, many worse climates for it.

> The coldest day of the year is December 26, with an average low of 44°F and high of 55°F.

https://weatherspark.com/averages/31587/San-Francisco-Califo...

Related: did you know that windows can crack from thermal stress like cookware that you cool too rapidly? I learned that last weekend! Windchill -30F, fun times here in New England.

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