Are we losing our humanity?

[Uncensored2008]

One can't help but wonder if Luddly invites homeless people to sleep on his sofa.

He believes that charity starts in the pocket of his neighbor...

 

[Uncensored2008]

Conservatives really don't have humanity. And they are proud of it. They regard themselves as without emotion. Sort of like reptiles or insects.

A perfect example is the old Scorpion on the Frog story. The scorpion of course..being the Conservative.

Of course Comrade, therefore you are justified in killing them.

You used the same terms regarding the Jews

 

[MikeK]

Then it begs the question: was it more humane for mentally ill to be "put to sleep" under Nazi German policy, or is it better to have them lie on the cold streets in puddles of their own excrement?

While the Nazi genocides were hardly motivated by altruistic purpose I believe examples of hopeless, unconscious, total incapacitation are legitimate cause for humane euthanasia. But certainly not in examples of treatable mental disorder in which the subject's personality is active and viable.

 

[Statistikhengst]

So people do not want drug addicts and nut cases sleeping on their doorstep. So whats the newsflash here? What do you expect people to do when they see a homeless guy lying on the sidewalk? Give him a hundred dollars and a hand job? Be real.

WTF is this totally bizarre Right-Wing obsession with gay sex?

Damn, that is just plain old weird.

 

[MikeK]

The critical point most seem to miss when contemplating this increasingly serious social problem is all of these examples of impoverishment are not drug addicts and "nut cases." Many of them are other humans who for one reason or other have fallen through the cracks in our defective social order.

Most of whom are substance abusers, mentally ill or handicapped based on the statistics I have seen (In the US at least)

Most. Not all. And it is important for the sake of our own humanity that the distinctions are made and are properly and appropriately dealt with.

There needs to be some effective, socially implemented means of providing for basic human needs in a civilized manner. To begin with the "War On Drugs" is not the way to deal with the problem of drug addiction. There are better, more effective, and less costly ways. And you should understand that those whom you refer to as "nut cases" are other humans whose brains are not functioning normally and who need help.[/quote]

So you support institutionalizing them instead or just letting them run the streets with their abnormal brains?

Absolutely.

We have too many prisons and not enough institutions for those among us who need to be cared for in a civilized and humane manner. And I'm talking about well-managed mental institutions, not Bedlams.

As for the drug addicts, there is a far more realistic and effective way to deal with that problem than the utterly counterproductive and wasteful "War On Drugs." The situation we are dealing with now is both the drug war and the prison industry exist for the express purpose of generating profit, which is a clear example of capitalism having reached its ultimate stage -- that of its supportive culture feeding on itself.

In simple terms, the money needed to provide a civilized solution to the homeless problem is available. The problem is it's being wasted, stolen, and misused.

 

[sameech]

So people do not want drug addicts and nut cases sleeping on their doorstep. So whats the newsflash here? What do you expect people to do when they see a homeless guy lying on the sidewalk? Give him a hundred dollars and a hand job? Be real.

WTF is this totally bizarre Right-Wing obsession with gay sex?

Damn, that is just plain old weird.

I think according to right winger Bill Clinton, hand jobs aren't sex. They certainly shouldn't be if blow jobs aren't counted either.

 

[Shaitra]

One thing many people don't understand is there is a percentage of the population where homelessness is a way of life. They choose to be homeless. Even if we find a place for every homeless person to live, there is a percentage that would refuse to take advantage of that shelter.

 

[Asclepias]

^^^That right there. People drop out of the rat race because of a variety of conditions. They dont want to be bothered with the grind.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

How 100,000 Homeless People Found A Place To Live | ThinkProgress

The 100,000 Homes Campaign was founded with a deliberately lofty goal: get 100,000 homeless people off the streets within four years.

What’s more, the organization wasn’t focused on homeless people who were most likely to get themselves off the street. Rather, 100,000 Homes worked with communities to target the people in the most dire need of help: those who were chronically homeless or who had severe medical conditions.

On Wednesday, just under four years after 100,000 Homes launched, the group surpassed its goal, helping communities secure housing for 101,628 homeless people as of press time. This figure includes 31,171 homeless veterans.

The announcement came at a press conference featuring former Army Private First Class Alvin Hill. Despite serving his country in the military, Hill fell on tough times and has endured homelessness for the past 20 years. In April, Hill became the 100,000th homeless person housed as A-SPAN, a local organization in Arlington, Virginia, helped secure him a permanent apartment.

This isn’t simply a humanitarian achievement, but a financial one as well. Doing nothing about homelessness is extraordinarily expensive. As a result, 100,000 Homes estimates that the nationwide effort to house 100,000 homeless people will save taxpayers $1.3 billion annually.

100,000 Homes, a project of the Community Solutions non-profit organization, doesn’t house homeless people itself. Instead, its 13 staffers work with local community groups ranging from housing authorities to the Veterans Administration to improve the way they’re tackling homelessness. The campaign’s partners ranged from large metropolitan cities like New Orleans and Phoenix to smaller areas like Omaha and the state of West Virginia.

 

[whitehall]

The typical liberal establishment solution to any problem is to throw federal dollars at and hope the drones and dunces in the federal bureaucracy can fix it when the only thing on their agenda is to fix their own situation. When the problem doesn't get fixed they can blame republicans for trying to save taxpayer dollars. Didn't the tens of billions invested and lost in LBJ's "war on poverty" teach the libs anything?

 

[TemplarKormac]

We lose our humanity the moment we get suckered into this type of partisan politics. Should we ever wish to regain our humanity, we should actually begin caring about these people, not using them to gain a political advantage on our opponents. If you care so much about homeless people, house them. The hungry? Feed them. The needy? Clothe them. The catch? You do so on your own dime. Not mine. I'll be happy to do it alongside you, on my own accord, and without forcible coercion. Should we care about these people, should we ever think to regain what humanity we have left, we put these poor and less fortunate masses to work. We don't give them stuff. We give them the tools to succeed. These people, my friends, are human beings, not parasites.

 

[MikeK]

One thing many people don't understand is there is a percentage of the population where homelessness is a way of life. They choose to be homeless. Even if we find a place for every homeless person to live, there is a percentage that would refuse to take advantage of that shelter.

I must admit I'm among those who do not understand why any mentally stable individual would choose to endure the discomforts, the humiliation, and probably the miseries of being without a reasonably comfortable and safe place to retreat to.

How did you learn about this category of homeless people? Have you met any of them? If so, do you consider them mentally stable? Is it possible they choose living on the street rather than living in what today are typical shelters because of the general quality of those places? Based on what I've learned most of these so-called shelters are in some ways worse than living on the street. They are sparsely funded and have been described as "prisons without guards" where peaceful residents are abused by assaultive, predatory residents.

 

[sameech]

The typical liberal establishment solution to any problem is to throw federal dollars at and hope the drones and dunces in the federal bureaucracy can fix it when the only thing on their agenda is to fix their own situation. When the problem doesn't get fixed they can blame republicans for trying to save taxpayer dollars. Didn't the tens of billions invested and lost in LBJ's "war on poverty" teach the libs anything?

Billions? Try Trillions.

Robert Rector: How the War on Poverty Was Lost - WSJ

I support the war on poverty concept--just not the unwillingness to try new programs and end old ones as needs change.

 

[MikeK]

I can remember a time in New York City when it was against the law to be homeless. It was called vagrancy.

There was a section in New York City (the Bowery) where several blocks were lined with very cheap hotels ("flop houses") in which one could rent a grubby room with a cot, a sink, a door, and toilet in the hall, for as little as a quarter a night (the better ones cost as much as a dollar). Some of these "flops" were subsidized by the City for the express purpose of keeping the homeless off the streets.

Those "flops" collectively paid for a pair of armed guards to be present in the area and on call 24 hours a day. Most were retired cops and correction officers and were known as the "goon squad." They tolerated no nonsense from the hotels' "guests" and anyone misbehaving was promptly ejected (called "blackjack checkout") as roughly as necessary.

Every morning the NYPD made a sweep of the Bowery ("skid row") and anyone found sleeping or lounging on the street, usually drunks, would be arrested and typically sent to the Hart Island workhouse for ten days to clean up and dry out.

As crudely expedient as that situation was there was a positive aspect to it, because a safe and relatively comfortable place to rest was available to anyone who had a dollar -- or a quarter. And there was no homeless problem in New York City.

The Civil Rights laws of the 1960s put an end to that era.

 

[Gracie]

I went to Burger King last night to get hubby a burger that he was craving. While I waited in the drive thru, there was a gal about 30 years old across the street..panhandling. She had a sign attached to her bike..that had a kiddie cart attached to that. So..she has a 500 buck kiddie cart attached to her really nice bike...panhandling. She was in front of McD's...which is always located across the street from a BK it seems. I wanted to roll down my window and ask why she did not bother to apply within cuz there was a sign on the window of McD's...NOW HIRING. But I didn't.

 

[S.J.]

I went to Burger King last night to get hubby a burger that he was craving. While I waited in the drive thru, there was a gal about 30 years old across the street..panhandling. She had a sign attached to her bike..that had a kiddie cart attached to that. So..she has a 500 buck kiddie cart attached to her really nice bike...panhandling. She was in front of McD's...which is always located across the street from a BK it seems. I wanted to roll down my window and ask why she did not bother to apply within cuz there was a sign on the window of McD's...NOW HIRING. But I didn't.

She probably makes more money panhandling, plus, you don't have to pay taxes.

 

[skye]

The typical liberal establishment solution to any problem is to throw federal dollars at and hope the drones and dunces in the federal bureaucracy can fix it when the only thing on their agenda is to fix their own situation. When the problem doesn't get fixed they can blame republicans for trying to save taxpayer dollars. Didn't the tens of billions invested and lost in LBJ's "war on poverty" teach the libs anything?

Billions? Try Trillions.

sure trillions, why not? fourllions too...is there such a word?

it's ok, no biggie...meh

 

[Stephanie]

one story and that means we are losing our humanity

good grief

 

[I.P.Freely]

I went to Burger King last night to get hubby a burger that he was craving. While I waited in the drive thru, there was a gal about 30 years old across the street..panhandling. She had a sign attached to her bike..that had a kiddie cart attached to that. So..she has a 500 buck kiddie cart attached to her really nice bike...panhandling. She was in front of McD's...which is always located across the street from a BK it seems. I wanted to roll down my window and ask why she did not bother to apply within cuz there was a sign on the window of McD's...NOW HIRING. But I didn't.

was that because your husband would have been pissed with you for being late back with the garbage?

 

[I.P.Freely]

one story and that means we are losing our humanity

good grief

one in ten of our homeless are ex forces, what is the ratio in the US?
If you think this is the only story you are delusional.



9,000 ex-service personnel homeless after leaving the military - Mirror Online