Homeless America by Chris Hedges

[Ted Striker]

Yep. It's also true because politicians. And nimbys

[Toadman]

Your old school RC is showing. One huge unsolvable problem with taking on the issue of masses of hurting people living on the streets is the way we fund programs with short term grants to non profits.

At least tell us you have more than one pair of skis that you bought from a ski swap.

[hatchgreenchile]

They only care because they don’t like to see it

There are only so many underpasses to camp under.
When homelessness causes the Citizen family to lose safe access to public parks, sidewalks, libraries, public transit, they care. Slowly at first, then all at once.

[riser4]

The RV dwellers linked up thread is a perfect example that not all homeless people are deadbeats or whatever you want to call them. For those people, it's an affordability issue.

[I Skied Bandini Mountain]

I lived in Santa Cruz for 10 years. Huge homeless issue then, huge issue now. Why?

Homeless services. A fraction of the homeless there are local sourced. But when you have a very large network of homeless services - food handouts, soup kitchens, needle exchange, homeless centers, word gets out. It's a lot easier to be homeless in Santa Cruz than just about anywhere else. Then you have other cities shipping problem homeless to Santa Cruz. Sacramento handed out one way tickets to Santa Cruz for years. They weren't the only city.

Why don't all homeless go into shelters? Many don't want to follow the (sometimes draconian) rules. Many have dogs for camp security and they're not allowed in shelters. Many shelters require people to be clean, and many obviously aren't. Some shelters are unsafe where people get robbed, raped, and their possessions stolen. Sometimes by the people running the shelters

What about organized camps and public washrooms/restrooms? Many get taken over by criminal elements who charge people to use them to turn tricks or shoot up. Rules lead to broken rules and conflict. Public health conditions can become problematic.

If this were an easy problem, it would have been solved a long time ago.

[splitter]

Edit: Posted in the wrong thread

[Peruvian]

He lives way below his means, for real. He’s just a regular guy.

That’s what happens when you buy your daughter a $3mil place in NYC.

[KQ]

I've been thinking and while I'm not entirely sure how to tie these thoughts into this discussion on homelessness I believe that what we are dealing with in this country is a breakdown of society in general.

Go on to FB and scroll through the reels for a while. There you will see vid after vid of people who can no longer behave politely in society. Everywhere you see Karens screaming about things that don't matter. Racists yelling because someone is speaking a language they don't understand. People claiming to be Christians espousing hate and telling people who they can and can love. Snobs judging those who they deem to be lesser and condemning them without any understanding.

I think there are millions teetering on the edge mentally and financially and it's breaking society. Couple that with the apparent fact that people have lost all understanding and compassion and we end up with a world where compromise is a dirty word and no one helps anyone.

I find myself asking "How did we get here?" Time is marching on, innovations are being made but the enlightenment of society is stalled.

Is it a "I've got mine to hell with you" attitude?

Is it fueled by social media and the desire for "likes" and potential fame?

Is it the breakdown of communities and people too busy to know their neighbors?

They say it takes a village but where are those villages these days? Isn't it time to use those pitchforks for work that will better society rather than use them against one another?

/end kumbaya

[KQ]

oh... and ....




Insanity laughs under pressure we're cracking
Can't we give ourselves one more chance
Why can't we give love one more chance
Why can't we give love
Cause love's such an old fashioned word
And love dares you to care for
The people on the edge of the night
And love dares you to change our way of
Caring about ourselves
This is our last dance
This is our last dance
This is ourselves
Under pressure
Under pressure
Pressure

[AK47bp]

I can’t recommend enough to get the fuck off Facebook.

It gives the extremist minority a megaphone to amplify their message and make it seem like they are the majority. It’s a cancer

“But it’s how I stay connected to my friend and family!?!?” Well,fuck off with that shit and deal with it.


Sorry KQ, not aimed at you specifically but social medial is destroying the world and people aren’t willing to make simple changes to give those fucks less relevancy and attention.

[KQ]

I can’t recommend enough to get the fuck off Facebook.

It gives the extremist minority a megaphone to amplify their message and make it seem like they are the majority. It’s a cancer

“But it’s how I stay connected to my friend and family!?!?” Well,fuck off with that shit and deal with it.


Sorry KQ, not aimed at you specifically but social medial is destroying the world and people aren’t willing to make simple changes to give those fucks less relevancy and attention.

No I agree about FB in general esp when it comes to family & friends using it as a substitute for real social interaction and as a measure of their lives against others. That said I use it to connect to my artist community and for that esp, during Covid it has been amazing. I'm able to connect with and disscuss materials and methods with artists all around the world. I also use Zoom and What's App but being able to have a FB group dedicated (and heavily moderated) to a specific art medium (in my case, textile art) is invaluable.


Edit/Add: I want to add that I think FB is esp. damaging for children.

[jackstraw]

Mental illnesses do not fit into a square box. The spectrum may be infinite.

My BIL has an incredibly low IQ which has led to drinking issues to hide from his insecurities and failures. He cannot hold down a job and would be homeless without family support. He's lived with us for months and we've done everything possible to coach him in life, but he's truly not capable.

Some people are just not capable of surviving on their own in our society for a multitude of reasons. There's no one fix all solution, but to KQ point, compassion as a society would go a long way.

[Dantheman]

Some people are just not capable of surviving on their own in our society for a multitude of reasons. There's no one fix all solution, but to KQ point, compassion as a society would go a long way.

This is very much a symptom of America having a poor social safety net. Prevention is worth a metric fuckton of cure here.

[AK47bp]

No I agree about FB in general esp when it comes to family & friends using it as a substitute for real social interaction and as a measure of their lives against others. That said I use it to connect to my artist community and for that esp, during Covid it has been amazing. I'm able to connect with and disscuss materials and methods with artists all around the world. I also use Zoom and What's App but being able to have a FB group dedicated (and heavily moderated) to a specific art medium (in my case, textile art) is invaluable.

Is there a way to filter out all the other garbage that you’re getting from Facebook?

The problem is Facebook is designed to keep you enraged and engaged, it’s good for business. As long as you know you’re dancing with the devil to maintain your connection with the artist community.

[KQ]

Is there a way to filter out all the other garbage that you’re getting from Facebook?

The problem is Facebook is designed to keep you enraged and engaged, it’s good for business. As long as you know you’re dancing with the devil to maintain your connection with the artist community.

Well all my FB friends are either other artist save for a handful of friends from college and/or horse showing so that cuts down on a lot of non-specific BS.

Also, the only pages I follow are art, equine or cooking related. Oh yeah a couple of local emergency management/weather/business pages and one pun page 'cuz laughter is good.

On the local pages I stay away from the comments and if I slip and read one I'm generally reminded of why I don't and that acts as a slap in the face to not do it again.


I think you need a strong sense of self to use FB successfully.

[Cisco Kid]

People who don't use FB lecturing people who do about FB is amusing. I won't say that AK is totally wrong but other than posts from the Groups that I follow I get ads pushing shoes and eBikes and requests from Pager U to answer a loaded survey like Which flag is more inclusive? American flag or Pride flag? And a lot of FIM Speedway short videos. Four lap races on a 1/4 mile track are short.

But I get Ak's point. A lot of people fall for pure right wing bullshit and FB feeds it to them.

[skaredshtles]

Is there a way to filter out all the other garbage that you’re getting from Facebook?

Sure there is: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/d...hkohdgbb?hl=en

[AK47bp]

I guess my point is if using Facebook is causing you anxiety because the algorithm has you pegged on outrage, don’t use it.

Easier said than done I know.

And I do use Marketplace to try and sell my wife’s card crafts and my old ski gear. As soon as I sell what I need I delete the app and then reinstall next time I need to sell. Occasionally I stray and start scrolling before I delete, it tries to keep me engaged with extreme ski videos and ads for cool gear and then peppers in some outrage porn.

Dangerous. Like Keyser Soze level evil.

[mcski]

What about Keyser Soze’s side? Both sides

[CarlMega]

This is very much a symptom of America having a poor social safety net. Prevention is worth a metric fuckton of cure here.

100%

[Ted Striker]

Sure there is: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/d...hkohdgbb?hl=en

"filter your news feed, hide things you don't want to see"

"let you just pick a filter and use it without knowing how it works"

That's funny on a lot of levels. Most obvious would be 'help me not see any round earth propaganda' (or really anything that doesn't reinforce my foregone conclusions)

[east or bust]

It's crazy how much anger is out there and encountered on a daily basis. I mean, when was the last time anybody has gone about their day without seeing at least 1 agro person.

More often than not it's on the road, but look closer... It's at restaurants, it's at sporting events, it's literally everywhere. People get completely outraged over the most minor inconveniences. What's up with that?

[KQ]

“I Got You”: A Homeless Man Rescues Family As They Jump From A Burning Building

[Cisco Kid]

It's crazy how much anger is out there and encountered on a daily basis. I mean, when was the last time anybody has gone about their day without seeing at least 1 agro person.

More often than not it's on the road, but look closer... It's at restaurants, it's at sporting events, it's literally everywhere. People get completely outraged over the most minor inconveniences. What's up with that?

IMO, it's partly the product of decades of bing driven to enhance shareholder value at the expense of employee satisfaction. As I've been saying about what I've been seeing, decades ago it was only teenage boys, traveling salesmen and drunks that drove like a bat out of hell. Now it's soccer moms and anyone with a job. Yesterday I was passed by 3 different cars going 15 over in a 60 on a crowded 5 lane highway. The played frogger across all lanes to pass cars. One guy went onto an off ramp and back to the highway to make a pass.

When I worked for Xerox in the 70's I was just a clerk and they flew me first class on business trips. And the CEO had only 2 houses. One in Roch and one at the lake.

[mcski]

That and CEO pay going from ~17x too 400x average worker salary. CEOs are replaceable cogs too and don’t deserve anywhere near that amounts they are making - at the expense of the worker bees

The Grapes of Wrath could use a reboot as well for the people that still don’t get the reality out there

Under pressure was great in the 80s and sad that it’s just as if not more accurate now