Wow, I really thought Aram was going in another direction with that letter....but, yea, wow. That's all. Yes, that is SO what the homeless need--tough love! Oh, if only we could show them the error of their ways, if only we could shake our finger at them and take away the meagre supports they have now--that would totally be the answer. Wow.

Aram is a dickhead. Chris is a dumbass.

overrun with acceptance? I mean, seriously? Yes, the problem with the world is that it is absofuckinglutly OVERRUN with acceptance. Wow.

Yes, we could cut off services for the homeless and see:

homeless camps such as in Los Angeles
homeless people stealing to get money and/or food
more homeless people dying in the streets

Great solution there.

How many services does Seattle provide to the homeless vs. San Francisco? Despite the lip service paid to the problem in SF, it seems as though they're seriously short on services.

Services? NYC and Chicago are COLD. If we could just invent some kind of citywide air conditioning system, we'd fix that homelessness problem right quick!

:-s

"One day all of the denying you people are doing is going to hit you like a ton of bricks. Or maybe gnashing of teeth."

Why is it that this letter made me laugh? It would have been perfect if he'd added that we'd be thrown in a lake of hell fire.

I gnashed my teeth all the way through that dreadful Transformers movie and I never once saw G-O-D, so sorry Chris, but your hypothesis is incorrect.

Perhaps Aram would like to round up all the homeless and you know.... final solution them? I mean that is the ULTIMATE in tough love.

And yes, God is going to smite us all.. yeah yeah... I am so scared.... And how does Chris Maye know God does not find it cute? God told me she finds it totally hillarious!

If NYC and Chicago handle their homeless problems so much better, why doesn't Aram just take his cold, hard ass out there?

@6 I don't know, but it made me laugh, too. Really hard. It must be the uproarious laughter of the hellbound.

Cato @7 - that would sure fuck up every Ride Free commute.

@10, but you would no longer smell the piss,shit, and puke everyday. And sit by the guy tweeking. But the tweeker usually gets off by the Stranger offices...

I encourage jumping jacks for the homeless. 10 jumping jacks for a quarter. Sadly, there are very few takers on this. They've given me dirty looks and cusses. They could have spent the effort on some exercise and received a shiny new quarter. They could eventually collect all the fifty states quarters, then turn 'em in for $12.50 worth of Steel Reserve. So, on second thought, just don't give them anything, just like that one South Park.

Uhm... I spent about 8 years homeless since being kicked out of my parents house at age 17. And you know what? I agree. Tough love should be implemented. It destroys me seeing the same people on the street that I used to scrounge with. Most of those programs don't work. The fact is, some of those people get *far* too comfortable guilt-tripping, and mooching off others. Most of those people have their pleas perfected to a sympathy-inducing science. What we *really* need is more programs that deal with substance abuse.

Hello Seattle Editor: Seattle needs to admit that it has a serious homeless problem. One day all of the denying you people are doing is going to hit you like a ton of bricks. As a community we continually turn our eyes and cheeks to the human melodrama that is the homeless. Or maybe gnashing of teeth. We avert our eyes in public when we are being repeatedly begged for change or subject to harassing comments. That’s what happens to you when you deny GOD. Seattle-ites talk about compassionate and caring responses to homeless: more shelters, more beds, more food and on and on but is that really the best and kindest response? You might think it is cute but He doesn’t. I propose that the problem is not a lack of services but an overabundance of them. This city should consider tough love. I pray He has mercy on us all.

Sorry, lefty assholes, but I agree with Aram completely. You'd end up screwing some good people but there are a lot of deadbeat drug/alcohol addicted assholes out there taking advantage of the gullibility of passers by.

And no, I'm not going to argue this point with anyone. I already know what pre-programmed bleeding-heart responses most of you are going to say.

I agree with godsactionfigure. I too was homeless for a time, and was able to pull myself out of it. The services available are great for people who want to get out of it. Some feel it is a lifestyle choice (yes, they do.) I also think that it is a chicken or egg issue in regards to substance abuse. There is a huge population of homeless that are mentally ill (Uh, thanks to Reagan for that one.) Some of them are hiding from the law or child support enforcement. Some are just, well, ill-equiped to take care of themselves on a day to day basis. Throwing money at the problem is not a solution. Supporting the programs that work and demanding in-patient care for those that are mentally ill, would be a great start.

Wow, it sure is a good thing we have Gomez to tell us everything that's wrong with us, especially how us lefties are assholes (for giving a damn about someone besides ourselves? But then he knew I was going to say that).

Gomez,

Why do you bother posting anything?

I know it was 6 years ago, but I don't think the Stranger ever apologized for publishing an I Anonymous that proposed a "final solution" of rouding up homeless people and killing them all.

http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=6697

Here was Real Change's response:

http://www.realchangenews.org/2001/2001_03_22/features/best_preys.html

Oh, you're so right, Andrew v1.0. I'll totally never post again!

...

Wow, Godwin's Law in 7 posts.

I'm not saying you're wrong, Gomez. I'm just saying your post makes yourself look like an asshole.

I'm not saying you're wrong, Gomez. I'm just saying your post makes yourself look like an asshole.

I vote San Francisco. I love that city!

The question is not giving it is when and how to give.

Less we make the "homeless"
the wards of a belief that they have no personal
responsibility or obligation to, at the very least, an attempt to live an useful and valued existence.

Many homeless are the denizens of a world of their own self center making. Whether it be because of the serious side effects of addition, alcoholism or plain old sloth. Perhaps they never reached a level of maturity where it becomes necessary to reconcile their victimization at the hands of others. Instead they continue to use it as a excuse for continuing bad behavior.

Negative "liberal" kneejerk reactions to observations that maybe many of the homeless are in fact responsible for their situations and plight only enable the bad behavior.

Arams observation that endless enabling maybe part of the problem is a rather unique position in this overly PC
milk toast town.

Another more serious proplem esist with a class of homeless with severe mental illness. Created long ago when the "institutions" were closed and these people were turned loose with a prescription for the latest phycotropic drug of the day that none of the patients continued taking once they were dump in the street. Without monitoring or the basic necessities. This class does need help. But I think they make up a minority of the total.

It's easy to think that homeless people are all on the streets because they want to be. How comforting, how easy it must be for those who take that view, to be able to idly dismiss their plight. It's all their own fault. Every last one of them. All they have to do is take a bath and get a damn job.

Yeah, right. Sure.

The truth is, its really a mixed bag. I can't speak specifically for you folks in Seattle, but in Toronto, it consists of the mentally ill, the lazy, the down-on-their-luck, and young runaways... the latter of which, unsurprisingly, all but disappear when winter hits. In terms of which kind there is most of, it seems pretty evenly mixed, to me.

Because people are homeless for different reasons, there is no single approach that is effective for all. And for some, nothing is effective.

I tend to give spare change to them (the ones that actually look like they aren't just on the street for the hell of it) in the winter, because I'm not especially fond of leaving them to freeze to death on a street corner. $1.00 will buy them several hours in a warm coffee shop.

Toby...you're from Toronto? Me too! Oh, and I agree...

@26
Yup, and some crummy weather we're having here in Toronto, too. :P

Criteria for giving money to the homeless:

1. The homeless person is obviously physically or mentally disabled.

2. The homeless person entertains you (I saw a guy do standing backflips off the curb into traffic in New Orleans once. Gave him five bucks.) Musicians do not get money if they are out of tune.

3. Related to 2. above, the 'homeless' person lies so well that you respect their sheer pathology.

Criteria for not giving money to the homeless:

1. Good clothes. Get a job!

2. No obvious physical/mental deficiency. Get a job!

3. Annoying/impolite behavior. If you are going to beg for money, then beg. Otherwise, rob, or... Get a job!

21. Put a useful name on your troll or it means nothing.