@BBigford said in Is Texas Next?:
@thwr said in Is Texas Next?:
@BBigford said in Is Texas Next?:
@Dashrender said in Is Texas Next?:
How's the advertising over there compared to over here, Scott? I think of of the things that drives the crime sprees here is that our advertising drives people to think they don't have enough, they aren't good enough where they are. That whole thing where companies are trying to squeeze every last cent out of the spending public.
Is that the case there?
What kind of people do you think are committing crimes? It's not middle class workers that want a new materialistic thing that they can't afford. It's people who got addicted to drugs and are feeding their demons with every item they can pawn for cash to score more drugs. Along with people who are homeless and can't even beg for enough money to pay for stuff. Push someone to the edge of desperation; have them question if they'll survive unless they harm you, and you'll see the animal inside of them.
I've noticed you mentioning homeless people before. Is that really that big of a problem over at your place? Can't really imagine that, because we have a rather powerful social system. Everyone, virtually everyone, will get some place to sleep or even some small apartment, at least the most important things (very basic things like a toothbrush, soap, towels, something to eat, clothes, ...), healthcare (or help on getting away from drugs) and this way a real chance to get back into "normal" life.
Yeah it's pretty bad on the west coast. I haven't been on the east coast or the south very much but it is extremely problematic. When you get that many homeless in an area, especially around middle and upper class citizens, there is a kind of resentment when you interact with many of them. Also the "steal from the rich and give to the poor" mentality comes out, where people who wouldn't normally steal, start to do so because they think the middle and upper class can afford to lose certain things off their property.
Homeless people as a social behavior aren't the problem, it's when you put a desperate person in a situation where they can take what they need, because to them it is a life or death situation. If they don't assault you and take material items that they can sell for money to buy food and water (anything else like drugs or alcohol aside), then that is survival. It's the wildly aggressive homeless that are a problem, and it becomes more of a problem if you run across some that are high or intoxicated, especially at night in dimly lit areas that should be avoided.
There are shelters and programs, especially in really big places like Seattle. But they often get overrun and people stand in lines for many blocks. A lot of them don't get in, or can't get fed because there simply aren't enough supplies or beds available for the night. To rotate people, they will kick you out for the day to stand in line for another bed. You might not get one the next night.
There are some other REALLY great programs to help people find work, get them into affordable housing, and help rehabilitate them from drugs and alcohol, but it's a societal struggle because when you help 1,000 people, you may have another 1,000 that are newly addicted, unemployed, and their house foreclosed so they're on the streets.
Thanks for getting back. I was afraid a bit that you could take that personally what I wrote. Anyway.
I knew that the USA got a next to non-existing social system and that there are at least 633,782 homeless people and probably many, many more. That's completely different here in good ol' Germany: "Hinz & Kunzt" (1) - an INSP (International Network of Street Papers) newspaper sold by homeless with the idea behind to get them some (extra) income - stated back in 02/2013 that there are at least 1,029 Homeless people in Germany's second largest City of Hamburg (estimated 1,77 Mio ppl, 5,05 Mio with surrounding areas according to Wikipedia).
What's the point of all those numbers? Maybe we care about others. Sure, there are still people who are homeless, but I guess that's more kind of a lifestyle or to "fight the system". Anyway, if you take a look at the German constitution, you'll find this in the very first article:
Article 1
[Human dignity – Human rights – Legally binding force of basic rights]
Human dignity shall be inviolable. To respect and protect it shall be the duty of all state authority.
The German people therefore acknowledge inviolable and inalienable human rights as the basis of every community, of peace and of justice in the world.
The following basic rights shall bind the legislature, the executive and the judiciary as directly applicable law.
Source: https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/englisch_gg/englisch_gg.html#p0015
There are more detailled laws that define what that means, for example the amount of money you'll get per month or what "dignity" means in detail (a roof over your head, for example). Here's some good post about that: https://www.quora.com/How-does-Germany-deal-with-the-homeless-and-the-poor
From what I've been reading in this thread, the system itself seems to be failing over at your place. Or it doesn't exist at all. That isn't something new, I was just shocked by the sheer numbers. We got our own problems here, sure, but nothing compareable to homeless people raiding your home to get some food, out of desperation.
