Poll of the Day > LA Mayor to 'Criminalize' Homeless Behavior/Habits...

(+) Yeah! (+)

homeless people are cool

---

Krazy_Kirby posted...

let them camp on your lawn then.

I used to live in DC during the crack epidemic, dude. I'm pretty used to homeless people.

---

I've mentioned on here before, but I graduated on my 16th birthday. My present from my mom was to be kicked out so she could rent my room to someone (which she got from section 8 based on both me and my brother living there (my brother had been in foster care for years by then).

Anyway I was...a bit traumatized....at the time, and due to living briefly with my aunt and uncle while my mom was in a mental institution, then being kicked out because my brother broke things, I didn't trust taking anything from other people. I never used a shelter or anything like that.

I lived on rooftops for a year till I turned 17 and could join the Air Force. I barely interacted with anyone at all. I read books, played nintendo at the kiosks at the mall, stayed up all night in dunkin donuts to read etc. I rented a storage locker for $50 a month to keep my clothes in etc. I used pools to swim/bath in and public restrooms.

It would have been very easy for me to keep that up, but my uncle (different one) got married and I forced myself to go to the wedding, which started me interacting with people again (even though the other uncle called me "roof boy" there in front of everyone which was not fun...he was a serious jerk back then).

Point is, once you get into that life, it can be REALLY hard to get out, even if your still young with tons of energy and many things in life to look forward to etc.

I can't even image being homeless after the age of 30 or 40.....and by my age or older, you probably just die eventually.

There are solutions that could work for everyone, and a positive solution that improves the homeless populations standard of living seems like a WAY better idea then just saying what they are doing is illegal and shooing them off.

This country shouldn't just be better than that, but it is criminal in my opinion that a land with so many resources treats it's citizens this way. We don't have to go full communism, or even socialism, but we should have a baseline of support for every citizen. Motivation to work and be productive can come in many other forms other than basic needs for survival, and that would drastically reduce our crime rates, number of people incarcerated, suicide rates etc.

How we just ignore these problems and live our lives like nobody is suffering, I honestly don't understand, but it seems to be an ability human beings have had throughout history.

---

That mayor is not someone I'd enjoy a fine beer and smoke with.

wolfy42 posted...

I've mentioned on here before, but I graduated on my 16th birthday. My present from my mom was to be kicked out so she could rent my room to someone (which she got from section 8 based on both me and my brother living there (my brother had been in foster care for years by then).

Anyway I was...a bit traumatized....at the time, and due to living briefly with my aunt and uncle while my mom was in a mental institution, then being kicked out because my brother broke things, I didn't trust taking anything from other people. I never used a shelter or anything like that.

I lived on rooftops for a year till I turned 17 and could join the Air Force. I barely interacted with anyone at all. I read books, played nintendo at the kiosks at the mall, stayed up all night in dunkin donuts to read etc. I rented a storage locker for $50 a month to keep my clothes in etc. I used pools to swim/bath in and public restrooms.

It would have been very easy for me to keep that up, but my uncle (different one) got married and I forced myself to go to the wedding, which started me interacting with people again (even though the other uncle called me "roof boy" there in front of everyone which was not fun...he was a serious jerk back then).

Point is, once you get into that life, it can be REALLY hard to get out, even if your still young with tons of energy and many things in life to look forward to etc.

I can't even image being homeless after the age of 30 or 40.....and by my age or older, you probably just die eventually.

There are solutions that could work for everyone, and a positive solution that improves the homeless populations standard of living seems like a WAY better idea then just saying what they are doing is illegal and shooing them off.

This country shouldn't just be better than that, but it is criminal in my opinion that a land with so many resources treats it's citizens this way. We don't have to go full communism, or even socialism, but we should have a baseline of support for every citizen. Motivation to work and be productive can come in many other forms other than basic needs for survival, and that would drastically reduce our crime rates, number of people incarcerated, suicide rates etc.

How we just ignore these problems and live our lives like nobody is suffering, I honestly don't understand, but it seems to be an ability human beings have had throughout history.

---

There are so many sympathetic people on this board it brings a tear to my eye. I'm sure all of you would be happy to let some homeless people camp in your yard or even move into your home with you. At the very least I'm sure you donate plenty of your extra money and possessions to those less fortunate than you and you aren't just saying things because they "feel" right without actually thinking them through.

they are even throwing shit at people....

just let them be!!
---

Reigning_King posted...

There are so many sympathetic people on this board it brings a tear to my eye. I'm sure all of you would be happy to let some homeless people camp in your yard or even move into your home with you. At the very least I'm sure you donate plenty of your extra money and possessions to those less fortunate than you and you aren't just saying things because they "feel" right without actually thinking them through.

Why do NIMBYs act like "do you invite the homeless into your home?" is the NIMBY silver bullet for any argument on homelessness? It's such a dumb fucking thing to say I'm surprised you can rub two brain cells together to actually get the words out.

---

Reigning_King posted...

There are so many sympathetic people on this board it brings a tear to my eye. I'm sure all of you would be happy to let some homeless people camp in your yard or even move into your home with you. At the very least I'm sure you donate plenty of your extra money and possessions to those less fortunate than you and you aren't just saying things because they "feel" right without actually thinking them through.

Yes, some of us care about others and try to help them. You're right.

---

Reigning_King posted...

because they "feel" right without actually thinking them through.

eat shit

---

I hate the homeless...

...ness problem that plagues our country.
---

adjl posted...

There's a very widespread attitude that anyone that is homeless is homeless entirely because of their own failures, and therefore they deserve whatever suffering they're experiencing. There's also a widespread attitude that they should experience that suffering somewhere where people who aren't homeless don't have to see, because being reminded that people are on the streets is upsetting to people that would prefer to ignore society's problems. Punishing them for being homeless is just a part of that attitude. People would rather see homeless people suffer for daring to tarnish their view of the world around them than actually solve the problems.

Sounds like those sorts of people need a karmic kick up the ass, and perhaps they won't be so quick to be nasty.

---

Reigning_King posted...

There are so many sympathetic people on this board it brings a tear to my eye. I'm sure all of you would be happy to let some homeless people camp in your yard or even move into your home with you. At the very least I'm sure you donate plenty of your extra money and possessions to those less fortunate than you and you aren't just saying things because they "feel" right without actually thinking them through.

This is not the own you think it is for so, so many reasons. This is a self-report.

My family has sheltered multiple homeless people through my life. Most of them were underage- victims of child abuse. I remember one year, we deliberately kept a window open so that a boy could come in at night in case of emergencies. Sometimes they only stayed for a day or two, but we did have two noteworthy long-term guests; a man, who I think had trouble with mental illness that interfered with his ability to keep a job (and obviously he couldn't afford treatment, so he was stuck in a loop), and a teenage girl who had been kicked out of her home for having the audacity to, I shit you not, wear pants instead of full-length skirts (we also think her parents murdered her cat, because they threatened to do so and the cat did go missing).

It was never a problem. Every single person under our roof was kind and respectful and we brought mutual joy into each other's lives, and it was a great privilege to help people in need. Even the ones I can barely remember, I have only fondness for. I just wish it hadn't been necessary.

This attitude yours, which many share, is proof enough that the charity of individuals like that which my family offers is no substitute for systemic solutions, and speaks volumes about your own nature, not that of others; you projecting your own selfishness onto everyone around you and while simultaneously turning up your nose and properly solving this problem speaks volumes about you and no one else.

Much like medical bankruptcy, this is a problem that doesn't have to exist. We know what needs to be done to fix this, but so long as people like you fearmonger and demonize victims of extreme poverty for no goddamn reason, systemic solutions to homelessness will not gain sufficient public support. It literally costs you nothing to stop being an impediment to making the world a better place. Try to grow up, please.

---

Didnt this happen in Futurama?

---

Reigning_King posted...

There are so many sympathetic people on this board it brings a tear to my eye. I'm sure all of you would be happy to let some homeless people camp in your yard or even move into your home with you. At the very least I'm sure you donate plenty of your extra money and possessions to those less fortunate than you and you aren't just saying things because they "feel" right without actually thinking them through.

get off your damn high horse dude

youre in no position to judge anyone else for what they care about

just get lost cause youve made this entire board sick of your pissy little manifestos

---

Gaawa_chan posted...

This is not the own you think it is for so, so many reasons. This is a self-report.

My family has sheltered multiple homeless people through my life. Most of them were underage- victims of child abuse. I remember one year, we deliberately kept a window open so that a boy could come in at night in case of emergencies. Sometimes they only stayed for a day or two, but we did have two noteworthy long-term guests; a man, who I think had trouble with mental illness that interfered with his ability to keep a job (and obviously he couldn't afford treatment, so he was stuck in a loop), and a teenage girl who had been kicked out of her home for having the audacity to, I shit you not, wear pants instead of full-length skirts (we also think her parents murdered her cat, because they threatened to do so and the cat did go missing).

It was never a problem. Every single person under our roof was kind and respectful and we brought mutual joy into each other's lives, and it was a great privilege to help people in need. Even the ones I can barely remember, I have only fondness for. I just wish it hadn't been necessary.

This attitude yours, which many share, is proof enough that the charity of individuals like that which my family offers is no substitute for systemic solutions, and speaks volumes about your own nature, not that of others; you projecting your own selfishness onto everyone around you and while simultaneously turning up your nose and properly solving this problem speaks volumes about you and no one else.

Much like medical bankruptcy, this is a problem that doesn't have to exist. We know what needs to be done to fix this, but so long as people like you fearmonger and demonize victims of extreme poverty for no goddamn reason, systemic solutions to homelessness will not gain sufficient public support. It literally costs you nothing to stop being an impediment to making the world a better place. Try to grow up, please.

---

Gaawa_chan posted...

This is not the own you think it is for so, so many reasons. This is a self-report.

My family has sheltered multiple homeless people through my life. Most of them were underage- victims of child abuse. I remember one year, we deliberately kept a window open so that a boy could come in at night in case of emergencies. Sometimes they only stayed for a day or two, but we did have two noteworthy long-term guests; a man, who I think had trouble with mental illness that interfered with his ability to keep a job (and obviously he couldn't afford treatment, so he was stuck in a loop), and a teenage girl who had been kicked out of her home for having the audacity to, I shit you not, wear pants instead of full-length skirts (we also think her parents murdered her cat, because they threatened to do so and the cat did go missing).

It was never a problem. Every single person under our roof was kind and respectful and we brought mutual joy into each other's lives, and it was a great privilege to help people in need. Even the ones I can barely remember, I have only fondness for. I just wish it hadn't been necessary.

This attitude yours, which many share, is proof enough that the charity of individuals like that which my family offers is no substitute for systemic solutions, and speaks volumes about your own nature, not that of others; you projecting your own selfishness onto everyone around you and while simultaneously turning up your nose and properly solving this problem speaks volumes about you and no one else.

Much like medical bankruptcy, this is a problem that doesn't have to exist. We know what needs to be done to fix this, but so long as people like you fearmonger and demonize victims of extreme poverty for no goddamn reason, systemic solutions to homelessness will not gain sufficient public support. It literally costs you nothing to stop being an impediment to making the world a better place. Try to grow up, please.

hey @Reigning_King can you address this post please


---

If there was a homeless shelter near my place I'd make giant vats of soup for them

---

BlackScythe0 posted...

There isn't anything fundamentally wrong with that.

If there's a reasonable alternative, no. If not, you're just making the problem worse.

Kyuubi4269 posted...

It explicitly says "public right of way", which is the paths the public take, not just any public land i.e. if you're out of the way as you're supposed to be, there's no problem.

The ordinance restricts "sitting, lying, or sleeping or storing, using, maintaining, or placing personal property in the public right-of-way." The measure makes it illegal to sit, lie, sleep, or set up encampments within 500 feet from "sensitive use" properties, such as schools, parks, and libraries, and other areas such as "overpasses, underpasses, freeway ramps, tunnels, bridges, pedestrian bridges, subways, washes, spreading grounds, or active railways."

The ordinance also makes it illegal to sit, lie, sleep, or set up encampments within 1,000 feet of or on a "street, sidewalk, or other public right-of-way."

You seem to be approaching this as though all they're asking is for homeless people not to leave their crap in the middle of the road. That would be pretty reasonable. Stuff in the middle of the road is potentially hazardous and just gets in everyone's way. It goes far beyond that, though. Not being allowed to be within 1000 feet of any sidewalk or public path or in any park basically means they aren't allowed on public land in any capacity. Heck, that even rules out a solid chunk of private land, given that many lots don't even extend 1000 feet from the sidewalk. This is unambiguously a matter of making it illegal for homeless people to dwell within LA city limits.

Kyuubi4269 posted...

It's as though distasteful things don't need to be on display.

They do need to be on display, though. They don't have anything in which to hide so they aren't displayed (or if they do have a tent or something, that's treated the same way as if they were unsheltered). That's what makes them homeless. The fact that people would rather pretend they don't exist doesn't change that need.

Reigning_King posted...

There are so many sympathetic people on this board it brings a tear to my eye. I'm sure all of you would be happy to let some homeless people camp in your yard or even move into your home with you. At the very least I'm sure you donate plenty of your extra money and possessions to those less fortunate than you and you aren't just saying things because they "feel" right without actually thinking them through.

Given that you've personally shared tales of you effectively becoming homeless due to a series of poor decisions and unfortunate accidents, then taking advantage of the charity of strangers that helped you in your time of need, I'm really not sure you should be so smug.

Regardless of that, though, this is a systemic problem that cannot be solved by the actions of a few charitable individuals (at least, not anyone normal, since most of the 1% could all but single-handedly house most of their cities' homeless population without seeing any change in their quality of life, but that's largely a separate issue). At best, I've got room here to house one person and have two camp in my back yard (not that my lease would allow it). That's not going to make an appreciable dent in the local homelessness problem, especially considering that I can't afford to feed an extra three adults, nor can I do anything to provide any of the additional services (counselling, rehab, professional training, etc.) they may need to get back on their feet.

This is a problem that needs systemic solutions, not individual charity. One does not in any way need to exhaust their personal charitable resources before being "allowed" to advocate for those systemic solutions. That would be stupid. There is absolutely no logical basis to gatekeep like that. So stop it.

---

DirtBasedSoap posted...

hey @Reigning_King can you address this post please

Don't @ me over something of that caliber. Just because a post is long doesn't mean it's good but I guess you still found it impressive. For one there is no way to verify the account as described and even if it was completely true it is merely anecdotal and not at all the norm. Once you get past all that self congratulatory gloating is a denial of common sense and reality by doing things like implying it isn't the norm to be selfish or that something like homelessness can just be solved the same way one would a math problem. It's childish naivete and will forever be nothing more than powerless words because it denies human nature. I wouldn't be surprised if that poster was a wannabe communist for similar ideological reasons, a chaser of pipe dreams that is to say.

Go draw some swords dumbass

---

@Reigning_King youre the last person who should be calling anyone childish

---

Reigning_King posted...

Don't @ me over something of that caliber. Just because a post is long doesn't mean it's good but I guess you still found it impressive. For one there is no way to verify the account as described and even if it was completely true it is merely anecdotal and not at all the norm. Once you get past all that self congratulatory gloating is a denial of common sense and reality by doing things like implying it isn't the norm to be selfish or that something like homelessness can just be solved the same way one would a math problem. It's childish naivete and will forever be nothing more than powerless words because it denies human nature. I wouldn't be surprised if that poster was a wannabe communist for similar ideological reasons, a chaser of pipe dreams that is to say.

are you trolling or are you actually like this? if youre so smart why dont you have any friends BOOM REKT

but for real, have you ever checked out r/iamverysmart?

@Reigning_King

---

Mead posted...

@Reigning_King youre the last person who should be calling anyone childish

Says the person trying to agitate me for no reason by doing something I just told someone else not to do.

you can turn the @ feature off

---

Frankly it's appalling how cities treat homeless populations; if governments treated any ethnic, sexual or religious group the way they generally treat the homeless, human rights groups would call it an ethnic cleansing.

DirtBasedSoap posted...

if youre so smart why dont you have any friends

Do you really want to know? It's a complicated topic and I don't want to derail this important thread. Who knows, more people who have never done anything meaningful to solve the problem and just sit around and agree with other people in an echo chamber might be just what we need to end this scourge once and for all. Wouldn't want to get in the way of that.

DirtBasedSoap posted...

you can turn the @ feature off

I don't have a problem with the feature, it's pretty cool actually. I just don't like getting excited that something cool happened and then being disappointed when I find out it's something like that.

Reigning_King posted...

Says the person trying to agitate me for no reason by doing something I just told someone else not to do.

its a feature of the site I dont need to read every post before using it

and you obviously dont need any stimulus from me to go and get agitated and insufferable

---

Whether or not he has friends depends on what your definition of "friends" is. By some people's definition, he might have no friends.

---

Reigning_King posted...

Do you really want to know? It's a complicated topic and I don't want to derail this important thread. Who knows, more people who have never done anything meaningful to solve the problem and just sit around and agree with other people in an echo chamber might be just what we need to end this scourge once and for all. Wouldn't want to get in the way of that.

wow this really is classic r/iamverysmart material

most guys grow out of this shit by their early 20s or so

---

lmao was a fuckin moron

imagine being so butthurt about the most vulnerable people in society that you spend your time on a video game message board for teenagers shitting on the homeless

i wonder what that must be like

---

wolfy42 posted...

I'd expand on the above btw. Perhaps give EVERY tenant 6 free months, homless or not, which they can use at will (either at start, or later in case they loose a job/get sick etc) that way they are not kicked out on the street if something happens.

Also not all need to be that extreme, build those first, so EVERYONE can have a place, so focus on making as many as you can, until you start seeing vacancies, so some rooms are not being used.

THEN start building more full sized apartment complexes but still at affordable prices. Upgrades from the base units above (similar to some in Japan) but still extremely cheap to rent. These would have their own bathrooms (biggest deal) and possibly a small kitchen, similar to Studio apartments.

If you look for studio apartments in most areas you'll see there are almost none available, too much demand for them. So make a bunch in each area and rent em for double the other cost (so about $400 a month). With utilities/internet bringing that up to $500, that is STILL way within the means of someone on base SSI (which is around $1000 a month btw).

Not only would this save money on tons of other resources that are being used right now (jail, medical expenses for people using ER due to being homeless, police efforts and city efforts to clean up after homlessness etc), but it would, eventually, MAKE money for the government because they don't have to pay taxes etc, so all the "rent" is pure profit (other then maintanence). It may take a few years to pay for the initial cost of building it, but after that, it would actually generate a profit.

That would solve the homeless problem (also offer tons of jobs while doing it), possibly within the next 3-5 years.

Solutions could include multiple options, but the single biggest one is: Homestead laws

Tax the ever loving fucking shit out of residential property to a disgustingly massive amount. But then exempt those taxes from anyone's home if it's their primary residence (spend majority of the year there, can only have one registered as such). Severely puts the screws to anyone buying up houses as an investment and helps out people that just want a place to live.

But that will never happen. Governments LIKE the status quo. If they did the above, property values would plummet and a far higher percentage of homes would be owned by the primary residents, so overall tax revenue would decrease. The politicians in those governments also get hefty brib-- err... campaign contributions from the lobbying and special interest groups that benefit from the inflating housing prices (the realtors, the banks, the investment firms, etc...).
They'd rather tolerate a massive homeless population and a middle class perpetually sliding closer and closer to poverty if it means more money for them, than to actually fix the problem.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/los-angeles-mayors-home-vandalized-over-new-homeless-ordinance

Welp, that went well

The **** happened to LA.. it was absolutely beautiful a decade ago.

---

JixHedgehog posted...

The **** happened to LA.. it was absolutely beautiful a decade ago.

It actually wasn't. Our eyes just opened further to its hideousness.

---

JixHedgehog posted...

https://www.foxnews.com/us/los-angeles-mayors-home-vandalized-over-new-homeless-ordinance

Welp, that went well

The **** happened to LA.. it was absolutely beautiful a decade ago.

yeah some trees getting TPd and a couple windows getting broken could only happen in a real shithole

---

JixHedgehog posted...

https://www.foxnews.com/us/los-angeles-mayors-home-vandalized-over-new-homeless-ordinance

Welp, that went well

The **** happened to LA.. it was absolutely beautiful a decade ago.

Er, no it wasn't. My brother has been dead almost a decade now but before he croaked he was homeless most of his life in LA and Reno. In fact, LA's solution back then was to bus the homeless away (sent my brother to reno). They did give housing to some, and my brother eventually got on permanent disability and they paid for a place for him to live (after loosing some toes to frostbite, and developing elephantitice due to bad circulation).

Homelessness is certainly not a new problem, but it has increased and of course there is now the internet and better media coverage etc. Also your homeless population has probably evolved and now includes many people who have gone to college etc (which is sad all by itself).

Eventually they are probably going to start locking up the homeless to prevent them from vandalizing etc, which, if the numbers are still the same, is CRAZY cause it costs so much more to incarcerate someone then it would to just pay for them to have an apartment and food.

---

adjl posted...

Why fix homelessness when you can just make it illegal instead?

Poverty is a crime dude, being poor is a crime. Capitalism baby!

Mead posted...

yeah some trees getting TPd and a couple windows getting broken could only happen in a real shithole

Didn't you hear? The BLM riots last year literally set the entire country on fire. We're still cleaning up all the ashes.

---

We still living in the dark ages, and us common citizens... no I mean us peasants have no rights at all, our only role is to be milked and exploited by the rich(read lords, bourgeois and nobility) so that they can amass more wealth at our expense.

Every time you pay your exorbitant rent to your landlord... Land-LORD... just know that while you struggle to barely make ends meet, that Mo-fo is living it up in a castle somewhere surrounded by opulence. Capitalism Baby

Zareth posted...

Didn't you hear? The BLM riots last year literally set the entire country on fire. We're still cleaning up all the ashes.

Well I'd call that hyperbole but there was still plenty of damage to be seen a year later in several of the cities I passed through recently. Cities specifically like Chicago, Minneapolis, and Seattle. Most of the small towns I went through in states like Wisconsin, North Dakota, and Montana were completely untouched and peaceful and had been at the time.

woah, woah, woah, and again.... woah.

they were protesters!!!
---

i just want to publicly apologize

i got a message from a moderator telling me i hurt a crybaby's feefees for calling him a moron

i was also told in great detail that this crybaby has enough to deal with as he sits in his air conditioned home with running water and looks outside to see a homeless person push their entire life in a shopping cart with one of those locked wheels.

i cannot imagine how difficult i made your life with my insensitive comment of calling you a moron. i sincerely apologize, and i will go punch 3 homeless people in the face as penance.

my bad, everyone. i will try to be a better person in the future. i appreciate your anticipated patience and support as i improve my character.

---

I've not read the article but surely this is a good thing right, because it'll mean they will be helping those who are homeless find some form of accommodation right ? seems like a dick move if not.

jkdarlow posted...

it'll mean they will be helping those who are homeless find some form of accommodation right ?

nope theyre just gonna arrest or fine any homeless seen in those areas

---

GanonsSpirit posted...

I hate the homeless...

...ness problem that plagues our country.

You look Horribly familiar

---

Mead posted...

nope theyre just gonna arrest or fine any homeless seen in those areas

as is tradition

---

Entity13 posted...

It actually wasn't. Our eyes just opened further to its hideousness.

Huh.. we went to E3 a couple of times and had a great time, downtown LA and one of the beaches too

Kinda heart breaking to hear that :(

---

Mead posted...

nope theyre just gonna arrest or fine any homeless seen in those areas

Have you ever heard the expression "three hots and a cot"?

Reigning_King posted...

Have you ever heard the expression "three hots and a cot"?

please explain in the most derogatory way

---

Reigning_King posted...

Have you ever heard the expression "three hots and a cot"?

nope

---