Voyage of the Damned

As recently mentioned, I am in San Francisco.  Much about this city is lovely; the gorgeous bays, the dramatic hills, the temperate climes.

Something quite unlovely, though, is the simultaneously heart-breaking and disgusting parade of humanity living on the streets.

I am staying at a modest hotel about four blocks from our playing site.  Though I enjoy a brisk walk prior to playing bridge and to unwind in the evening, my jaunt is restricted in the evening. 

Legions of humans live on the sidewalk.  They range from the vacant-looking people who hold a modest sign:  "Vet; please help" to the amusing "Family abducted by aliens; need money for tae chi" to the grotesque...  filthy, starving humans missing limbs and eyes who haunt you if you forget to keep your eyes focused upward.

The smell of people frequently using the public sidewalks for a restroom adds to the decay of the scene.

My guess is that the vast majority of these people are either seriouslly mentally disturbed, addicted, or both.

What to do about them?

If I were king, one partial solution is to build more hospitals for the mentally ill, and at least keep some of these folks clean and safe.  For the rest?  I'd get them off the sidewalks.  It cannot be right for the general populace to have to be subject to scary, gross people while they walk to stores, work or their bridge tournament.

Would some of these people die if they were removed from this location?  Maybe.  Some; definitely.

I am hard-hearted?  Oh, no.  When I said "heartbreaking" - I meant it.  I think of friends and family I have known throughout my life with horrible challenges.  I look at these shells of humans, and think "for the grace of God, there goes ....fill in the blank." 

If you are looking for simple, straightforward solutions for this snapshot of despair, you will not find it here.  I wish I knew the answers; I do not.

And yes; it makes me long for my own Minnesota city, where frigid winter temperatures makes this social issue rare.  Thank goodness.

Comments

[Greg]

First of all it needs to be noted that a quarter of all homeless people are our vets. I know this does not suit well with the crowd that believes the motto "Support The Troops" goes as far as a bumper sticker. Yet if one looks at any veteran's website, or just read the news in the last few weeks, one can see that this is not a made up fact. What can be done about this? Well, for one we could find ways to take care of our veterans after they leave the service. Things such as funding the VA, helping our vets who suffer from issues such as PSD, or perhaps revamping the GI Bill which served so many vets in the past and allowed them to move ahead in this country could be a good way to start.

"And yes; it makes me long for my own Minnesota city, where frigid winter temperatures makes this social issue rare.

On this issue I am not sure what you are talking about. You might not see them, but they are there. I had posted in the past the increase in numbers of those in severe poverty in your state in the past. Here is just a few clips of information coming from the state of Minnesota.

http://www.mnhomelesscoalition.org/homelessness/facts/

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21681044/

1/3 of Homeless Veterans In Minnesota Served In Combat: http://www.northlandsnewscenter.com/news/local/11099736.html

Surge in Homeless Families Sets Off Debate on Cause: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9803E6DE1538F93AA15755C0A9629C8B63

[Peg]

Greg. You really do have a tough time reading what I write!

I never said that we don't have homeless people. What I said is that they do not, for the most part, live on our sidewalks.

THAT was the content of my post; homeless people living on the sidewalks in the center of the city.

Homeless people in general is another issue - and surely a worthwhile one. It is not the one that I was directly addressing.

[Bill]

My ugly conservative mind wants to ask, "Is there a correlation between the homeless problem and the fact that San Francisco is the ultimate liberal city in the US?"

[Peg]

Bill - I do think so. Call it "ugly" if you wish, but - the fact is that we cannot save all the people in the world.

If people knew they could NOT live on the streets and HAD to get some useful work - you would not see anywhere as many people around. Also; cops should pick them up and remove them somewhere.

That being said - I am quite sure that at least some of these people are seriously mentally ill. IMHO, our society should take those folks and keep them institutionalized. Forget about their "civil liberties". A humane society does not allow those who are incapable of taking care of themselves to wander around the streets, using sidewalks for bathrooms, rummaging through the trash and begging and threatening other citizens for cash.