Posted on 05/20/2019 3:22:30 AM PDT by Kaslin
A recent business trip to the liberal-run capital city of Texas left me impressed with the food, music, and overall quirky “weirdness” that is Austin, but it also left me generally disenchanted at the difficulty its working citizens must have in enjoying ANY of it. Why? Just take a walk, anywhere, and you can’t miss them - sleeping in the streets, sitting on sidewalks and benches or wandering aimlessly about. Stop for a second and, like clockwork, one will probably approach you, begging for some “spare change” or “a couple bucks” to “get home” or “buy something to eat.” If you’re in a vehicle, one might come at you with a squeegee and a nasty rag, then get angry when you try to wave them off or, worse, refuse to pay the obligatory two dollars for a window “wash” you never asked for. No, it doesn’t take very much time at all to figure out that Austin, Texas has a severe homeless problem.
But it’s not just Austin. Visit any city, especially a liberal-run one, and you’ll likely be approached multiple times anytime you venture downtown. These drug-addled denizens literally litter the streets of most of America’s major cities and plenty of its minor ones, and even the ones that aren’t shoplifting, pickpocketing, or smashing car windows are generally making as much of a nuisance of themselves as they’re legally allowed, up to and including defecating on the streets (looking at you, San Francisco).
If you’re naively thinking you’ll visit a restaurant and a few shops for a fun night on the town, think again. They know what you’re up to because they’ve got nothing else to do but watch, and they’ve got no issues with invading YOUR personal space to coerce or steal what they consider rightfully theirs.
Even if you’re a first-time visitor to a place homeless people frequent, it won’t take you long to learn to quickly distinguish between the homeless and everyone else, not just by the noxious, overpowering stench and disgusting filth permeating from every inch of their skin and clothing, but also the hollow, empty looks in the eyes of people living for nothing except their next hit, and striving at nothing except how to find it by doing absolutely no meaningful work whatsoever.
For the record, while I give to church and charities, I have a personal policy against giving one red cent to any panhandler who approaches me, and there are no exceptions to this rule. In fact, it’s so hard and fast that I would shout it to anyone who approaches me were it not for the possibility of violence when dealing with volatile people in today’s world. So instead, I do what everyone else in America’s big cities has learned to do - I ignore them, like they’re not even there, like they’re ghosts or gnats or mere obstructions on the way to where I’m headed. And if I accidentally give them a first look, I certainly don’t give them a second. It's actually a tragedy that normal folks have literally been forced by these people to keep walking, heads down, instead of enjoying the view, enjoying life, and interacting with their community. But that's what it's come to for many.
So yeah, if you’ve made it this far you’ve probably figured out that I don’t have a lot of patience for homeless people. I just don’t. Call me heartless, mean, or even deserving of some real karma - I don’t care, and I’m not apologizing for it. Sure, I understand the “there but for the grace of God go I” concept, and sure, that could be me, wandering aimlessly around town, pitching a tent under a bridge, bothering good citizens for my next meth hit. But probably not, because I also know that, by and large, the choices we make lead us to where we want to be. I also know that giving someone a handout isn’t good for anyone in the long run and only perpetuates a vicious cycle.
Also, as someone who has sat behind a desk literally begging people to go to work for seemingly always-hiring clients, I don’t have much sympathy for someone with their hand out when I know good and well there are jobs out there. I also know that panhandling IS a job for many, as John Stossel adeptly documented in this MUST WATCH video. Sure, maybe the real jobs don’t all start out at CEO, but most jobs can lead to a good life for anyone willing to work hard and work their way up from the bottom, as most of us have.
open, and refill its mental asylums. Instead of allowing them to roam our streets, mentally ill people should be in an institution getting treatment, whether they want to or not. Maybe that sounds uncompassionate, but is it any more “compassionate” when a mentally ill person doubles the victimhood by committing a crime against someone else, then gets sent to prison where treatment is inadequate or nonexistent?
It’s beyond time we start making our cities great again, and that starts by outlawing homelessness.
works for me, but the Democrat party hand wringers will do their best to see it doesn’t happen. You can’t have personal responsibility - goes against their whole imaginary worldview.
I think by individually categorizing people in this situation...you’d get a handle on the ‘right’ method to use. For example, if you have 100,000 people across the US in this situation but who are addicts...it’d be best to just round them up and put them into a permanent federally-run facility with fences. Just accept the fact that they can’t be productive members of society, so you will provide a cot and three meals a day.
For those who are mentally challenged to the degree that they can’t live a normal life or be productive....same deal, a fenced-in compound.
Eventually, you will come to those who simply need help with job training, placement, and maybe a trailer-park establishment to get them on their feet, working, and being productive members of society. My guess is that maybe a third of these people can be helped and improve....the rest need to be locked away.
Amen.
I don’t see the problem expecting people who are going camping to leave town first.
Back to the days of debtors prison? let’s not go there in a free republic.
The homeless population poses a particular challenge, as film crews arrive and film thousands of transient camps then go over and talk to the mother of three who had a baby daddy who wrecked their Section 8 home and they got evicted after he was hauled to jail and since her name was on the eviction, they can't rent pretty much anywhere.
This sob story will be then editorialized as a call to do something about the homeless population. Maybe to demonstrate how critical it is, they'll also have something about how the baby (4 year old) found a used needle right outside their tent...
But imprison the drug population. You don't even have to do it for the ‘crime of homelessness’, simply do it for the long long string of crimes they've been charged with but had the charges dropped because ‘they're homeless.’ Nope, stick them in jail to detox. Then take them outside each morning at 6am (after they have their breakfast and showers at 5am) to start working on cleaning up the disaster they created.
Clean the streets, remove graffiti, mow lawns, clear brush, etc with a brief break at noon for a quick box lunch, followed by more work until they head back to jail at 6pm for dinner and bed. Repeat, daily, with a break on Sunday (with group counseling to work on their criminal issues.)
Trust me when I say that you do this, you'll see repeat visits to the jail plunge. Maybe some of these people will get the idea that it's less work to get a job than it is to go through that again, maybe some people treatment will take for their addiction. But they'll learn instantly that the people have had enough, time to get off your drug addicted asses and rejoin society.
Doubt if they are homelesss, but stoplight-intersection-begging has become a lucrative racket in the liberal Democrat run city I live in thanks to idiot liberals running the city who recently legalized panhandling.
Although, I am in a liberal blue city, I am in a deep red state that proudly respects and exhalts 2nd amendment rights. I am actually surprised one of these beggars haven’t already gotten a little too bold and thus received a few lead rounds center mass. I am guessing just a matter of time.
I don't get it...
Actual Conservatism, throughout all of the world’s cities, is what’s needed, asap.
Homeless by choice or homeless by circumstance. Major difference.
By choice = Tramps, Hobos, Bums and Lazy.
By Circumstance = Laid off and no money coming in. Evicted because you don’t know how to manage money. Evicted because spouse/other is a doosch. Lost house because you lost your job and can’t find another one.
Nice misstatement. Illegal to panhandle, illegal to squat on property you don't own, illegal to relieve oneself in public, etc.
I don't think it's just the fact that they're homeless that's an issue. I'm a firm believer in the saying "Your right to swing your arms stops at my nose..".
It's the harassment of taxpayers, criminal mischief against their property, public defecation and generally lowering the quality of life that's an issue.
Gourd head and be homeless, just don't chit on my life in the process. d:^)
Further, homelessness is the inevitable conclusion of liberalism. When people don't have to work, many of them will not work. They would rather live in tents, stay stoned, and "bum" money. And, liberals enable it because of their insistence we legalize narcotics such as pot.
Liberals should be forced to work and live in Seattle metro to see the insanity of their politics.
You need God in your life to keep your life becoming so bad you have to live on the streets. The people on the streets and in the bushes are on drugs and alcohol and are lazy bums. I’m not criticising cause anyone can fall into that situation if you don’t have enough faith in the Lord. That’s where it starts. Bad things happen in life to everybody. You have to shake it off. Believe me. Unfortunately these folks have lost their way. Some will see the light. Others will stay in the pit and never get out. That’s just the way it goes. But tolerating this social decay is not healthy for anybody and radical steps need to be taken. The left has let this situation get out of control like everything they touch turns to poop. Jesus said that the poor would always be around but this is ridiculous.
:: mentally ill people should be in an institution getting treatment, ::
And, according to the American Psychiatric Association, “gender dysphoria” is still a recognized mental condition with a specified route to cure.
Our son lives in Seattle.
He’s getting out...
Agree. But that's already illegal. Why isn't the law being enforced? Liberals! A lot of those people used to be in mental wards, but liberals said it was too cruel.
Someone mentioned rounding them up and putting them to cleaning the streets, parks, etc. That's a good idea...
Both your head and heart are in the right place. Unfortunately during the 1960’s and 1970’s the lawyers ( ACLU, Urban League “ etc. got loose and litigated this all away under the false compassion of “individual rights “.
Or because every dime is spent on drugs
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