Whether you agree or disagree with the policy, this is the direct, predictable and inevitable result of the governments decision to close all the long term mental hospitals and ‘mainstream’ those unfortunate people into the community. We have far better medications now, but the universal common thread among every family member or friend I have known with severe mental illness is that they don’t want to be on meds and the history is in just about every case, a cycling between remission and recurrence secondary to refusal to stay on their meds
And then, you ad in US policy since the latter part of the 20th century to not just decriminalize drugs, but to tacitly encourage their use and you have created the forces that have resulted in what is going on in the streets of so many US cities.
It is a tragedy of epic proportions and there are no solutions available. Current government policy is only going to make matters worse and the hypocrisy of leadership that hides itself behind fences and
Doesn’t truly give a damn smells every bit as bad as the encampments themselves
I grew up middle income and not exposed to all the wrongs of the world. Now at 83 even with the roof over my head and able to put food on the table I think more of what it is like to be elderly. How many are alone, little food, no family, no friends. Even my church friends don't call to see if we need anything. Caring for a husband with dementia I wonder are they afraid to visit? Or is this left over pandemic? I'm wishing I could do more, walker doesn't go far. Wonder how many elderly you run into in these cities with no help?
Years ago the Humane Society had a poster with a child, an elderly person, a puppy. It read "They have no choice they have no voice". True.
This was not an easy article to read, but I appreciate the directness and the lack of sentimentality.
The visibly destitute are a spectacle to keep us all in line. Their degradation is a warning to us all of what will befall any of us if we question the boss, rock the boat or refuse to play the game.
In a thoroughly transactional society there remain people who have nothing to trade. The fate we leave them to says a great deal about what we think of those others like ourselves with whom we do transact business in one way or another.
Thank you for this. I'm from California, but I've lived in Germany for over 20 years. Whenever I go back to visit family I'm truly shocked at the homelessness and people who are obviously suffering from major mental illness and getting no help. You have some homelessness in Berlin and heroin addiction seems to be on the rise in the area where I live, but the issue is no where near as acute as it is in US cities. Very upsetting.
Great post and one that hits home. Sleeping upstairs in our house is Eddie, a friend from my early days in Seattle. He has been homeless the last few months. The pandemic was not kind to him..forced isolation. His mind is active and scrambled at the same time. This in addition to years of guilt he carried around because he was not the “man” his mother wanted him to be. Instead, a brilliant artist, funny as hell and gay gay gay. He’s here with his dog Boomer and I am thankful but know his road ahead long and hard and exhausting. I know him and am in a position to help but my God there are so many like him who are completely lost and in our midst.
Thank you for the Thanksgiving thoughts. Your observations on how women and men (and children) inhabit their geography and culture is wonderful. I believe that every traveler is an outsider. And when the outsider returns home, the outsiders sensitivities remain. A critique of America is not an either/or proposition, but the continuation of the great American opportunity to question and answer the meaning of human freedom. Thank you for your perceptions on being human on planet earth.
The thing that we won't admit is that so many of our friends and neighbors (and even ourselves) are on a razor's edge of keeping their whole lives somewhat straight. As long as we balancing on that edge we can proudly boast we have it all together. Heaven for bid there is a job loss, a family member gets sick, domestic violence or a car accident and it all falls to pieces...just. like. that.
Cormac McCarthy's The Road is not the future, it is simply now presented as the future. Thank you for bearing witness and telling their stories with dignity and compassion.
Brave and true as ever Chris—thank you.
Whether you agree or disagree with the policy, this is the direct, predictable and inevitable result of the governments decision to close all the long term mental hospitals and ‘mainstream’ those unfortunate people into the community. We have far better medications now, but the universal common thread among every family member or friend I have known with severe mental illness is that they don’t want to be on meds and the history is in just about every case, a cycling between remission and recurrence secondary to refusal to stay on their meds
And then, you ad in US policy since the latter part of the 20th century to not just decriminalize drugs, but to tacitly encourage their use and you have created the forces that have resulted in what is going on in the streets of so many US cities.
It is a tragedy of epic proportions and there are no solutions available. Current government policy is only going to make matters worse and the hypocrisy of leadership that hides itself behind fences and
Doesn’t truly give a damn smells every bit as bad as the encampments themselves
I grew up middle income and not exposed to all the wrongs of the world. Now at 83 even with the roof over my head and able to put food on the table I think more of what it is like to be elderly. How many are alone, little food, no family, no friends. Even my church friends don't call to see if we need anything. Caring for a husband with dementia I wonder are they afraid to visit? Or is this left over pandemic? I'm wishing I could do more, walker doesn't go far. Wonder how many elderly you run into in these cities with no help?
Years ago the Humane Society had a poster with a child, an elderly person, a puppy. It read "They have no choice they have no voice". True.
Thank you for that.
This was not an easy article to read, but I appreciate the directness and the lack of sentimentality.
The visibly destitute are a spectacle to keep us all in line. Their degradation is a warning to us all of what will befall any of us if we question the boss, rock the boat or refuse to play the game.
In a thoroughly transactional society there remain people who have nothing to trade. The fate we leave them to says a great deal about what we think of those others like ourselves with whom we do transact business in one way or another.
Thank you for this. I'm from California, but I've lived in Germany for over 20 years. Whenever I go back to visit family I'm truly shocked at the homelessness and people who are obviously suffering from major mental illness and getting no help. You have some homelessness in Berlin and heroin addiction seems to be on the rise in the area where I live, but the issue is no where near as acute as it is in US cities. Very upsetting.
Great post and one that hits home. Sleeping upstairs in our house is Eddie, a friend from my early days in Seattle. He has been homeless the last few months. The pandemic was not kind to him..forced isolation. His mind is active and scrambled at the same time. This in addition to years of guilt he carried around because he was not the “man” his mother wanted him to be. Instead, a brilliant artist, funny as hell and gay gay gay. He’s here with his dog Boomer and I am thankful but know his road ahead long and hard and exhausting. I know him and am in a position to help but my God there are so many like him who are completely lost and in our midst.
😢
Happy thanksgiving. We’re the lucky ones.
As always, thank you for your thoughtful writing and firsthand observations. Travel safe and keep on keeping on.
There is no getting around the fact that being poor in America is extremely, unrelentingly difficult.
Time to drag out the good vibes machine for another toot. I dig this piece.
Thank you for the Thanksgiving thoughts. Your observations on how women and men (and children) inhabit their geography and culture is wonderful. I believe that every traveler is an outsider. And when the outsider returns home, the outsiders sensitivities remain. A critique of America is not an either/or proposition, but the continuation of the great American opportunity to question and answer the meaning of human freedom. Thank you for your perceptions on being human on planet earth.
The thing that we won't admit is that so many of our friends and neighbors (and even ourselves) are on a razor's edge of keeping their whole lives somewhat straight. As long as we balancing on that edge we can proudly boast we have it all together. Heaven for bid there is a job loss, a family member gets sick, domestic violence or a car accident and it all falls to pieces...just. like. that.
Cormac McCarthy's The Road is not the future, it is simply now presented as the future. Thank you for bearing witness and telling their stories with dignity and compassion.
Thankful for you today Chris. Blessings to you and your family.