[salthound]

> it is inconceivable in Western Europe that homelessness would be tolerated near a national monument.

Name the country. I have lived in many cities and towns across Europe. I know that homelessness is tolerated one street down from Edinburgh castle, next to the parliament building in Budapest, in front of the Deutsches Museum in Munich, in the stations of Rome, and don't even get me started on Brussels.

[DanielleMolloy]

So have you been to San Francisco or other big US cities..? A typical discussion you would have with other expats there was right what the post said: That the degree of homelessness and its ignorance are shocking.

These European cities you name are no comparison to SF. Brussels is known to be one of the more shoddy, dangerous places in Europe, I've been there very recently (i.e. even with many refugees who have fallen out of the system on the street) and it still did not compare to the degree of homelessness that can be seen in SF. I have yet to find a whole downtown street full of homeless people in Europe.