| > What we're NOT willing to do, at least not yet, is to slam those people with more arrests and more trips through the criminal enforcement system prior to having services in place that will cover a high percentage of needs. Frankly, you just sound uninformed here. Look at the Northgate encampment — 100% were offered services, 90% rejected them to remain dangerous vagrants spreading disease. Until you accept that a component here is willful vagrancy and criminality, the problem will get worse. No amount of money can fix your denial of the problem, and your position isn’t one of compassion — it’s an abdication of any responsibility: in blindly throwing money while abandoning the rule of law, you’re not helping the vagrants, you’re not helping the non-vagrant homeless the vagrants prey on, and you’re not helping the regular citizens that are getting assaulted or stuck with needles (such as that lady at a Northgate). You’re the problem. I want you to answer me honestly: when I was homeless, did I deserve to be assaulted by other homeless people while the police refused to do anything because you personally feel bad a vagrant might get arrested? That’s the system you’re advocating for. And it’s the definition of immoral baizuo policy. |
LA has the same problem -- for a lot of the homeless, it's a wilful choice to remain on the streets.