He did say it was “basically a concentration camp”. The goal with concentration camps isn’t to rehabilitate people - it’s to get rid of them, permanently. Off the streets and out of sight does appear to be his explicit goal.
I chose the phrase “concentration camp” because I cant find a better phrase.
People have the right to a community standard. Thats why they enforce things like anti-noise laws, laws against public drinking, laws against using public areas as your toilet, laws against walking around naked, etc…
Does this make the homeless person feel uncomfortable? Sure does. As I said on a previous thread homeless tend to congregate where they can 1. get good handouts, 2. good weather. 3. no hassle from police.
Look, I’m ok with providing some low income housing and other programs to help people to be able to afford a home. But right now in some areas the numbers are such a crisis we need a quicker solution. LA is in such a problem and they have a special tax just to build more public housing.
I believe you. Problem is that particular phrase strongly suggests that you hope the people who go in will die there.
Hell, “internment camp” means “place we semi-legally imprison people without trial in inhumane conditions with no path to escape” - but it lacks that critical element of murderous intent.
Yeah, I went to school too. By the way, it’s WPA (Works Progress Administration), not WCA.
The CCC and WPA were voluntary programs. Nobody was “rounded up” and put in a concentration camp where they couldn’t leave until they had a job (which is exactly what you said earlier, although you’re denying it now).
What would be the nature of this “encouragement”?
Would the camps be located close to potential jobs, transportation, and so forth or would they be way the hell in the middle of nowhere, with no transportation and nothing around, effectively hiding/trapping those who went to them?
What is the security in such places? There are men and women who yes, WOULD rather dumpster dive and live in a cardboard box than risk being raped or beaten up or robbed nightly at an official shelter.
There’s a lot more to housing than just “lock ‘em all up!"
[ul]
[li]It is possible to create supportive housing even for high-needs populations such as homeless mentally ill seniors. You need social services onsite and maybe not too huge a building. A hundred units rather than 10,000.[/li][li]People don’t like shelters because they often get victimized there.[/li][li]I would question the statistic that ALL homeless people are drug-addicted and mentally ill. [/li][li]Gentrification didn’t create homelessness. Blockbusting and “urban cleansing” did far more damage.[/li][li]In the 2008 meltdown, the bankers who wrecked our economy with predatory loans all got golden parachutes, while everyone else got foreclosures and robo-evictions.[/li][/ul]
It seems to me that most people that are on this board talking about fighting homelessness are in no position to truly help other than being keyboard justice warriors that feel better for saying they care. Those that truly have the money to help and set up training programs, shelters, keep the food banks stocked, free addiction centers…etc, those people are busy spending their millions helping other country’s problems by adopting their children and providing them with all of these necessary services that should be kept at home until we don’t have needy people. Namely, Hollywood and politicians. Many other folks like Nascar drivers seem to be trying to do their part at home where they feel they can do the most good but it’s kind of sickening that so many millions are being sent over seas just so these people can feel relevant.
“Authoritarian” is far too generous a description of you.
I worked in rental property management for 26 years, and you would not believe the stories I have. We would accept government subsidy people who had to pay maybe $50 a month, and they would not pay it and offer up the simplest excuse “You’re getting most of it. Why should I pay more?” They can and did move in people and pets, despite the fact their leases listed exactly who was living there, and no pets. The leases also stated that any illegal activity was grounds for immediate eviction, yet they had every excuse in the book for their activities. They would totally wrect the apartment, and then call the city inspectors in and have it condemned.
All in all, it’s a nice idea, but I’m convinced about 80% of homeless people believe “Yeah, but the rules don’t apply to me.”
I would add to that tech bros who want to send everybody to Mars. I wish they would quit building a better tomorrow and build a better today instead.
Tomorrow’s policy proposal: send the homeless to Mars!
Mars: the new Australia!
If enough “keyboard justice warriors” change enough people’s minds, and if those changed minds translate into votes for “Housing First” policies, then I wouldn’t call those efforts entirely wasted.
If you’re upset that rich people are sending too much money on charity overseas, wouldn’t the solution be to tax them to spend it on domestic programs?
You are making broad generalizations here. Do you have any statistics to back this up?
In the World Wars, a Interment camp was where you put Enemy Aliens. Such as a German citizen who was in America during the war. They weren’t horrible places, and you could be exchanged. This was normal and legit. However, for a mostly racist reason, we also “interned” American citizens who happened to be of Japanese descent.
Yeah, that was the sort of internment camp I was talking about. It’s my impression that the term “internment camp” has a negative connotation in the states now pretty much entirely because of those camps for the internment of Japanese-Americans.
Still better than a concentration camp, of course.
My city set up a program where the homeless would be given a room in a licensed rooming house if they worked 40 hours a month for the city. Yes, 40 hours a MONTH. Our licensed rooming house was part of the project.
You would not believe the trouble we had getting these people to work 40 hours a month. The project used to call me 10 days before the end of the month, and we’d have to get the people to do the work. Some didn’t like doing the work. Some claimed they could do it. Mostly it was cleaning up public areas and doing simple office work.
Unless people are willing to work and pay for shelter, homelessness will exist.
This is partly why I have my “concentration camp” idea because quite frankly, alot, maybe the majority of “homeless” are truly just lazy, maybe crazy people I really have little sympathy for. Now I fully support the person down on their luck who just needs a break but I cannot stand these lazy assholes who wont put out an effort and just expect to live off the public dole. I think if you trash a government provided apartment your done.
I say the people who work and pay taxes have the right to walk down the street and not have to step over persons sleeping on and aggressively panhandling on it. They have the right to enjoy beautiful parks and trails and not see persons camped out on it.
You know, people who are genuinely crazy, that is, mentally ill, aren’t “lazy assholes”, they’re people whose brains don’t work properly. Do you yell at paralyzed people for not being able to walk? Do you scream at deaf people because they’re not listening to you?
Right, Og forbid the homeless enjoy anything, they should just crawl off the local dump and die so you aren’t inconvenienced, right? :rolleyes:
I don’t care for the aggressive panhandlers, but honestly, when I see someone sleeping on a sidewalk or whatever I feel sorry for them, not contempt.
So your ok with what BobLibDem and Annie Xmas said above about how the homeless will trash housing given to them and will not work even minimal jobs?