Quote:
Originally Posted by Daveography
All will be right in the world once more now that the bums are back on the streets.
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Look. I don't care where they are - in the mall, on the street, at a bus stop. It doesn't matter.
What DOES matter is that they recognize that there is an expectation that they don't drink in public, don't defecate/urinate outside of toilets, don't bother random people for money, don't wander randomly into traffic, don't spit all over the sidewalks, and don't litter. Is asking people to follow these basic rules and having some reinforcement too much to ask? Right now they have free reign.
Yes, there is poverty. Yes, there is homelessness. Yes, there are addiction and mental health issues. Yes, vulnerable people require better help. Nobody is disputing any of that. However, everybody is capable of making their own decisions, and there are very few people who do not make make better decisions when taken to task.
Turning a blind eye to all of the bylaws that many people in central neighborhoods break on a minute-to-minute basis does not benefit them and it does not help our city be a better place. In fact, I think that trying to solve social problems while ignoring the bylaws and social decorum that these people are choosing to break is far less effective than asking (demanding) them to behave and act more like the rest of society while they are in public. If we can help teach them how to act like normal people, maybe everyone will treat them like normal people instead of pests.