Comments

1
Sorry there's not a better word than "sweep", but seriously, "displaced"? "Displaced" from a public sidewalk or plaza they "claimed"? You don't "claim" land in America anymore. It isn't the 19th Century.

Everyone has to pay for everything everywhere. Even camping in the woods.
2
Jeff Bezos doesn't want to pay taxes? Wow, who would've thought?

(fuck him)
3
Sweeps can be good as there are places in seattle where homeless camp that dangerous to the people sleeping there, such as along the i-5.
4
Will the fucking ducks be made to adhere to existing city noise ordinances? Please?? That shitty music and faux-enthusiastic lobotomy narration can be heard for blocks. 🙉🙉💩
5
When I heard there was a state of emergency in regards to homelessness I thought that meant we would deal with the social aspects of it not take it on as a bad landscaping problem.
6
The sweeps are absolutely necessary because the camps are absolutely filthy. They are a public health hazard and the homeless benefit from a cleaner, safer space to re-"claim" as soon as the city workers finish.
8
I would absolutely expect conflicting reports from the homeless camps, hard to pass out social services information when people are already cussing you out. I would totally be cussing them out if it were me. Anybody knows the services are already stretched thin.
@7 That's actually a pretty good point. As much as I am a bleeding heart it does make sense to pick up the garbage at some point. I would like to see this done as kindly as possible. Maybe with bags to pack belongings into, enough warning to take down the tent, a bag lunch, a kind word. I often think about offering homeless people a lightweight waterproof pack when I see them struggling with garbage bags. If only I were rich I would totally design one made with a built in emergency-blanket bivouac that rolls out.
9
does anyone else remember the post-punk Delta 5? Mind Your Own Business?

good times. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_5
10
@6!
11
@10: You fulfilled his greatest dream - someone giving him validation by agreeing with him - then snatched it away minutes later. How tragic.
12
@1: Well said Max. But if I were to have written the same comment, Herr Sausage and his ilk would call me all sorts of mean and nasty things.
13
What @2 said. I'm eagerly waiting for Bezos's gigantic retail Ponzi scheme to come crashing down on his head. He's a danger to the economy, a destructive force as ravenous as a commercial black hole. Let him pay the damn taxes or wave bye-bye.
14
@6: I passed one of those recently and thought, "I bet this is what lots of alleys around here would look like if garbage pickup was cancelled for a couple weeks." Have you seen how people with permanent homes pile up their trash during even a brief collection outage?

Simple solution: provide dumpsters at the encampments.
15
@6: Many, many, people with housing are filthy. They, unlike people who are unhoused, have the advantage not only of focusing on things other than, say how to avoid dying of hypothermia or having their belongings stolen by city staff, but also of hiding most details of their lives behind walls.

You're effectively looking into people's very difficult lives with x-ray vision. It is, indeed, a messy sight.
17
@15 Right but I don't have to pass through other people's houses on my way to work so idgaf. I'm not trying to make some value judgment about homeless people's tidiness. I'm objecting to the repeated insinuation that there is some sinister motive behind cleaning trash up from public spaces.

@14 Agreed that dumpsters are a simple solution; it would have to be more cost effective than paying people to pick it all up by hand. It's got to be right up there with JUST PUT A COUPLE OF FUCKING PORTAPOTTIES IN PIONEER SQUARE ALREADY in terms of easiest / cheapest solutions to help the situation.
18
why not get a bum to clean up the trash and pay him for it? oh, thats so offensive to expect a bum to do that work! that's why we have Mexicans! But could a Mexican bum do the job?
no, that's offensive too. Get social workers to do it.
19
@18, unfortunately if the trash even makes it to the dumpster, it'll all be cleared out and tossed onto the ground so someone can sleep in it.
20
oops, meant @17

Please wait...

Comments are closed.

Commenting on this item is available only to members of the site. You can sign in here or create an account here.


Add a comment
Preview

By posting this comment, you are agreeing to our Terms of Use.