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Where people think Margaret Thatcher, God bless her soul, was doing a noble and righteous thing by destroying industry, up-heaving communities, obliterating trade unions, and causing mass unemployment in the process.
(June 10, 2014 at 1:12 pm)Welsh cake Wrote: Welcome to the UK.
Where people think Margaret Thatcher, God bless her soul, was doing a noble and righteous thing by destroying industry, up-heaving communities, obliterating trade unions, and causing mass unemployment in the process.
(June 10, 2014 at 11:43 am)Minimalist Wrote: Well, in the US they would have bribed, uh, excuse me "campaign contributed" one of their wholly-owned subsidiaries on the local municipal government to have passed a law granting immunity to anyone who puts out such stakes.
The super rich can't stand the sight of the poor. Spoils their view of the landscape that they are polluting.
And the bitch of it is, they don't care about spending the money. They'll spend it to put down spikes. But, spend that money to actually help the homeless? Perish the thought.
June 10, 2014 at 3:29 pm (This post was last modified: June 10, 2014 at 3:30 pm by Godscreated.)
(June 10, 2014 at 8:26 am)Fidel_Castronaut Wrote: This comment on there I think sums up my attitude:
Quote:I can't help but feel that the outrage is misplaced. Someone will probably remove the spikes, the news media will forget about it and people will carry on being homeless.
Inhumane as the spikes are, they are not the cause of homelessness but another symptom of it.
Truth is, nobody really cares about the homeless when they walk past. I shamefully admit that I haven't offered to buy someone a coffee or some food in a very long time. Maybe I will today. It won't solve the problem, but maybe it'll make someone's life a bit better.
As I would have to question myself in an action such as you suggest, who will it really make feel better. The one who can go on living a good productive life or the one who's reality for tomorrow is no better than today or even worse because he knows tomorrow no one will be there to buy that cup of coffee. Just a thought not trying to be critical of anyone. If the haves are not willing to give to the homeless they will never have hope.
GC
God loves those who believe and those who do not and the same goes for me, you have no choice in this matter. That puts the matter of total free will to rest.
Quote:Boris Johnson has called for anti-homeless spikes outside a luxury block of London flats to be removed immediately, describing them as "ugly, self-defeating and stupid".
I actually cannot believe anyone would think this is a good idea. How callous and cold hearted can you be, to think that the best way to prevent homeless people from sleeping on the street is to put spikes on the floor.
Thank fuck the Great British public are doing something about it.
Wow, that's ridiculous. We should give every homeless person a house.
Even in the 12 Steppers orbit, I've had offers of my help not turn out well, and I've seen others get into messes with the best of intentions.
And sometimes it works, hell if I know even a few answers some of the time. I haven't been homeless, but I lived over a year in a motel, I don't think there were too many steps between where I was, and life on the street.
A friend at 12 steppers received a $40,000 settlement a few years ago, and for someone at his level, it meant he was literally set for life. He pissed it away in just a few months, and has been homeless or with the Salvation Army program (which he HATES) off and on since. Tough being around him, there seems to be no level of self inflicted discomfort that makes him want anything better for himself. He has exhausted his family for support, his friends, and most social service agencies. He can say everything you want to hear him say at meetings, but 5 minutes afterwards, he's out effing up some more.
I contrast 'Al' with 'Caril', Al simply lacks an once of motivation to better his situation; he can read, he is not disabled, has no medical issues. But Caril, she has PTSD and a serious medical issue and is skirting homelessness. Her family NEEDS to have her declared incompetent and have a guardian appointed to look out for her, but they won't. She will not pursue SS disability, even though she clearly is disabled, and has been for years. She is unemployed, unemployable, and has no income at all. She mooches off relatives and friends, and whines and complains bitterly about all the crap she's been through (and, indeed, she has been through a lot). She has had several attorneys over the years, she always drops the ball, looses the paperwork, forgets to show up for hearings, and refuses to sign anything. Her family has made a tentative step or 2 to have her declared incompetent, but then she has a meltdown, threatens to kill herself, and they drop the matter. Hello! That is why they should continue!!
It's always easy to see and diagnose other peoples problems, I guess, but Caril is a total disaster. Multiply her by a few hundred thousand or a million, and it isn't that hard to realize the nation's homeless problem is going to far, far, far harder to solve than many of the advocates can imagine.
Quote:Boris Johnson has called for anti-homeless spikes outside a luxury block of London flats to be removed immediately, describing them as "ugly, self-defeating and stupid".
I actually cannot believe anyone would think this is a good idea. How callous and cold hearted can you be, to think that the best way to prevent homeless people from sleeping on the street is to put spikes on the floor.
Thank fuck the Great British public are doing something about it.
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