r/NoStupidQuestions • u/Garey_Coleman • 9d ago

Where are the homeless supposed to go?

Cities have been cracking down on homeless people so they can’t have encampments or stay on sidewalks. At the same time usually the shelters are full. So those who are unable to get into a shelter, where are they supposed to go?

8.2k Upvotes

91% Upvoted

4.0k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

325

u/PaisleyLeopard 9d ago

This highlights a really good point. The situation we put people in causes crime, not the other way around as is generally assumed. Basically, we want to think that homeless people ‘deserve’ their situation because they’re all druggies and/or criminals—that way we don’t have to feel bad for the inhumane ways we deal with them. In reality, the majority of criminals and addicts started doing those things out of desperation, because they didn’t have better options. When we take care of people, they’re a helluva lot less likely to turn to crime or self medication.

126

u/HeKis4 9d ago

The situation we put people in causes crime

Society is nothing but a set of rules we impose to live together in peace. If you give people no reason to live as a society (or worse, actively push them away), surprise, they stop following the rules. Insane, I know.

2

u/Impressive_Ice6970 9d ago

This is way too intelligent for modern discourse! 😅😉🤗

Excellent point!

2

u/HeKis4 8d ago

Nah, it's just too left-wing. It's based off the idea of social contract which the far right doesn't like because the right in general is very attached to the idea of unrestricted personal freedoms and preserving a more "organic" state closer to the law of nature, and the social contract is, well, saying we should do the opposite actually.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_contract