# Detroit, Homeless People and Reflective Vests **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 10, 2020, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-homeless-people-and-reflective-vests/927800 "2020-12-10T21:48:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2020, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-homeless-people-and-reflective-vests/927800/1 "2020-12-10T21:48:20Z")
I don’t know what it’s like in your city. But where I live, Detroit, all the homeless people are suddenly wearing yellow, reflective vests. Yes, I know what they’re for. So they don’t get hit by cars. But why _ALL_ of them (and I do mean _all_ of them)? Who gave them to them all? It obviously must be some concerted effort, no? And my real question: did the police have something to do it? And is it a conspiracy (_yikes!_) of sorts? And I also just have to ask: are they doing it in your city too (ditto for all the questions)? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2020, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-homeless-people-and-reflective-vests/927800/2 "2020-12-10T23:05:12Z")
I’ve not seen this in my area and haven’t seen anything online about it, but I would certainly be willing to donate money to a program to give safety gear to homeless people. It sounds like a great idea. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2020, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-homeless-people-and-reflective-vests/927800/3 "2020-12-11T02:05:36Z")
My evening commute has me pass some intersections where people are begging and I’ve never seen a safety vest. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2020, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-homeless-people-and-reflective-vests/927800/4 "2020-12-11T02:35:03Z")
@jnglmassiv Do you live in Detroit? BTW I live on the west side, and do all my business on that side. I rarely ever go to the east side, except to see my gastroenterologist. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2020, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-homeless-people-and-reflective-vests/927800/5 "2020-12-11T03:13:54Z")
I’m really sorry, I totally blanked on the regional aspect of the questions. I’m in Chicago. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2020, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-homeless-people-and-reflective-vests/927800/6 "2020-12-11T03:29:07Z")
Demonstrators in Paris wore high-visibility yellow vests in 2018 and 2020. They were protesting about poverty, among other things. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2020, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-homeless-people-and-reflective-vests/927800/7 "2020-12-11T06:51:21Z")
> **[Detroit Yellow Vest Movement](https://m.facebook.com/DetroitYellowVests/about/?ref=page_internal&mt_nav=0&refsrc=https%3A%2F%2Fm.facebook.com%2Fpg%2FDetroitYellowVests%2Fposts%25)** > > Detroit Yellow Vest Movement. 106 likes. Detroit's local Yellow Vest Movement - we act in solidarity on all fronts of systemic oppression of the people! It's not ONE thing, it is EVERYthing #DYVM... ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2020, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-homeless-people-and-reflective-vests/927800/8 "2020-12-11T08:16:29Z")
They ran out of puffy shirts. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2020, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-homeless-people-and-reflective-vests/927800/9 "2020-12-11T09:18:31Z")
I’m not sure how that relates to this question. The Yellow Vest protests in France was/is a grassroots protest against rising costs of living, sparked primarily by rising fuel prices - by law, all car drivers have to carry a yellow vest in their car for accident/breakdown use (along with a bunch of other stuff). Nowt to do with homeless people. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2020, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-homeless-people-and-reflective-vests/927800/10 "2020-12-11T09:28:03Z")
I imagine it makes it easier to see(and thus avoid all contact with) homeless people. ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2020, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-homeless-people-and-reflective-vests/927800/11 "2020-12-11T12:53:49Z")
I saw a pair of homeless people yesterday, for the first time in months. I don’t go to areas where I’m likely to be accosted, so just seeing them is unusual. I was waiting in my car and watched them for 10 minutes or so. It appeared they were arguing over an old grocery cart, and one ended up getting punched in the face 3-4 times. I guess that resolved the issue because they wandered off together. No vests though. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2020, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-homeless-people-and-reflective-vests/927800/12 "2020-12-11T16:14:57Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > Nowt to do with homeless people. “It’s not ONE thing, it is EVERYthing” Read my posted link above; you don’t even need to click on it. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2020, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-homeless-people-and-reflective-vests/927800/13 "2020-12-11T16:21:40Z")
I clicked on your link, and I’m none the wiser. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2020, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-homeless-people-and-reflective-vests/927800/14 "2020-12-11T16:24:17Z")
Simply: there is a yellow vest movement in Detroit whose stated goal is to represent oppressed people. It’s no stretch to assume that that would include the homeless. ---
**Author:** ![Orville\_mogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/aeb1de/32.png) [@Orville\_mogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orville_mogul)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2021, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detroit-homeless-people-and-reflective-vests/927800/15 "2021-05-18T11:41:21Z")
On a kind of related point, in the village where I lived until three years ago we hosted about 50 asylum seekers in the village bomb shelter. During the day the inhabitants were expected to leave the shelter and go (on foot) about two kilometers to a larger neighboring town for various organised activities. To do this, they had to walk along a winding secondary road with little shoulder and no sidewalk. I would pass them in the dusk/early evening making the return trip in very low light. It is a wonder they didn’t get hit by a car. I suggested to the charity that looked after them that we give them reflective gear or flashlights, but got nothing for my suggestion but a blank look 🙄