[AKN #129] Something which pissed me off
Sup homies?
I missed last week. Sorry.
Admittedly, I had just come back from a bachelor party and my fratteries were completely discharged.
But even more admittedly, I’ve been finding it difficult to get back to the keyboard and write.
So to get back into the groove of it, I’m going to tell you a story about something which recently pissed me off — an infinite wellspring of inspiration for me.
I live in San Francisco.
Which is the thing I need to say so the next statement makes more sense.
About a month ago, a homeless encampment moved in three blocks away from my home.
It was quite interesting to watch it develop.
You see, first there was only one tent.
That’s how all cities began, I guess.
A trailblazer with a dream.
A visionary with a twinkle in their eye.
A maverick with an REI tent given to him by a guilt ridden SF resident.
But like they say “if you build it, they will come.”
So within a couple of weeks, five more tents popped up.
I must admit, this had me quite peeved.
I’m all for increasing housing inside of SF, but not like this.
Any sane person would be against this.
But in San Francisco, we sometimes don’t select for sane.
So instead we end up with people like the guy in the pickup who I saw delivering a truck full of wooden pallets to help fortify the walls on the tents in the new “city.”
Because compassion is doing your best Property Brothers impression and helping someone half ass a makeshift home renovation.
As a devout member of the Church of Karen, this whole saga really irritated me.
And the only thing that burned hotter than my rage was the open fire one of the citizens of this new complex had started in the middle of the sidewalk.
This rage got to the point where I decided to call the police since I — a law-abiding citizen and self-proclaimed good boy — know you are not allowed to block the side walk.
So I call the non-emergency police line and I said “hey there’s a group of people blocking the side walk. One has an open flame fire he’s burning right now.”
And do you know what the dispatcher said to me?
She said “before we send someone out there, do you know if they were blocking 100% of the sidewalk? Or 75%?”
I DON’T KNOW LADY! I NO LONGER USE THAT SIDEWALK!
So yea. They still live there. Nothing happened.
Except she was very insistent about getting my name written down. I was probably added to the “privileged people who we hang up on” list.
Who knows. Not going to call again though.
All I do now is just watch as evidence of other crimes pop up and I rationalize them away as OK.
Like “oh man that guy left his syringe on the ground! Bet he was probably just getting a botox injection for his migraines.”
Or “well I bet they have a really good reason to have those three dogs chained to that fence in the middle of a generational rain storm.”
Or “oh yea that guy has two children’s bicycles. Makes sense. Probably saves money on gas by using the smaller version.”
I love this city, but I don’t love the dystopian novel parts of it are becoming.
Parts of SF are legit uninhabitable. Designated by the city as parts of town where we just all decide to not walk through anymore.
If you want to visualize what these areas look like, look no further than the hit HBO show “The Last Of Us.” Because just like that show, these areas are only inhabited by humanlike figures who can only communicate by snarling and clicking. The only difference from the show is that rather than being infected by Cordyceps mushrooms, these people are pumped full of meth and fentanyl.
Because, again, we are compassionate. And compassion is about allowing everyone to do what they love…even if those things are hard drugs which hijack your neuronal reward circuits and guarantee that you will “die doing what you loved.”
And just like “The Last of Us”, another affliction is burning through the rest of the population: apathy towards a cure.
It’s hard to be optimistic that this will ever change given the ardent push back from the “compassionate” part of the SF population.
And without someone who believes a cure is possible, then I’m doubtful one will ever show up.
I don’t really have a point to this story or a call to action.
Like I’m not about to hit you with my 5 point plan to end homelessness.
I don’t know the answer.
I’m just a resident who thinks it sucks.
CLOSING TIME
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Disclaimer: Opinions expressed are strictly my own. Who else’s would they be?
Always Angry,
K.Rapp
I'm an old SF resident, Seattle area now. I know what's like to worry about what's happening in my neighborhood, in front of my house, in my town. I'm also a father with a child fighting addiction. I've been down the rabbit hole of using personal and public resources to try and help him find housing, stay in treatment, work a job, and preserve a little dignity as a human being. I don't have any easy answers either. I understand the discomfort people have looking at the insanity that is living on the street. It is very hard to watch, to navigate it on your very own sidewalk, and to maintain compassion. Unfortunately we want quick solutions. Our own version of "a fix."
After decades of marginalizing the poor and the sick (drug sick, mentally ill, chronically unwell, financially disadvantaged) we think that a couple cycles of increased city budgets for homelessness "mitigation" is going to solve the problem. We agonize over the cost of addressing homelessness while we float bonds for billions for stadium construction or other "improvements" that enhance the wealth of those already holding wealth. There is a fundamental disconnect between what we say we want (people to be well and housed) and what we do. This is a chronic problem, that needs a chronic solution. We will need decades of prioritizing health over wealth to see real improvement. Are we willing to make that fundamental shift?
As with so many other things in life, our aggravation with someone or something usually reflects a failing we recognize in ourselves. I'm glad that homelessness is aggravating. Let's stop blaming the poor and sick, and start looking at the failure within ourselves to prioritize and value people and health (wellness, housing, livable incomes) instead of worshipping wealth. Do we really want change or do we do we just want a fix?