Why is San Francisco ... covered in human feces?

[defcrew]

Do you guys realize this photo was taken in 1936 of a migrant with her kids?

Oklahoma dust bowl, isn't it?

 

[Brians Evil Twin]

Do you guys realize this photo was taken in 1936 of a migrant with her kids?

Yes, that was sort of the point. Poverty, homelessness, and desperation isn't new.

"Florence Owens Thompson and her children in a camp filled with field workers whose livelihoods were devastated by the failure of the pea crops. Recalling her encounter with Thompson years later, she said, “I saw and approached the hungry and desperate mother, as if drawn by a magnet. I do not remember how I explained my presence or my camera to her, but I do remember she asked me no questions. I made five exposures, working closer and closer from the same direction.” One photograph from that shoot, now known as Migrant Mother, was widely circulated to magazines and newspapers and became a symbol of the plight of migrant farm workers during the Great Depression."

Now, are aggressive, drug addicted, panhandling, thieves the same as Florence? Of course not, but not everyone who's homeless is a criminal. If you knew the housing situation in SF, it might warrant a little more sympathy. It's beyond ridiculous, and borders on criminal in the sense that corporations have driven housing pricing beyond what the average worker can afford anywhere near the Bay Area.

 

[defcrew]

Yes, that was sort of the point. Poverty, homelessness, and desperation isn't new.

"Florence Owens Thompson and her children in a camp filled with field workers whose livelihoods were devastated by the failure of the pea crops. Recalling her encounter with Thompson years later, she said, “I saw and approached the hungry and desperate mother, as if drawn by a magnet. I do not remember how I explained my presence or my camera to her, but I do remember she asked me no questions. I made five exposures, working closer and closer from the same direction.” One photograph from that shoot, now known as Migrant Mother, was widely circulated to magazines and newspapers and became a symbol of the plight of migrant farm workers during the Great Depression."

Now, are aggressive, drug addicted, panhandling, thieves the same as Florence? Of course not, but not everyone who's homeless is a criminal. If you knew the housing situation in SF, it might warrant a little more sympathy. It's beyond ridiculous, and borders on criminal in the sense that corporations have driven housing pricing beyond what the average worker can afford anywhere near the Bay Area.

How'd they do that?

 

[Brians Evil Twin]

How'd they do that?

They bid up the prices of apartments and roll them into the contract packages to attract talent. The average renter can't compete with an HR department with a massive bankroll. In other words, when you put an offer in on an apartment in SF, you're not competing with other renters, you're competing with corporations trying to attract employees at whatever cost. Ask me how I know...

 

[defcrew]

They bid up the prices of apartments and roll them into the contract packages to attract talent. The average renter can't compete with an HR department with a massive bankroll. In other words, when you put an offer in on an apartment in SF, you're not competing with other renters, you're competing with corporations trying to attract employees at whatever cost. Ask me how I know...

how do you know?

 

[danohat]

He stayed at a Holiday Inn.

 

[lunchbox]

They bid up the prices of apartments and roll them into the contract packages to attract talent. The average renter can't compete with an HR department with a massive bankroll. In other words, when you put an offer in on an apartment in SF, you're not competing with other renters, you're competing with corporations trying to attract employees at whatever cost. Ask me how I know...

Are you really trying to convince us that the majority of homeless folks in SF a) have jobs, and b) would be paying rent if only they could find an affordable apartment?

lol

 

[James Carney]

Are you really trying to convince us that the majority of homeless folks in SF a) have jobs, and b) would be paying rent if only they could find an affordable apartment?

lol

I dunno about San Francisco, but close by in Silicon Valley there is a huge amount of people homeless people who are working for tech companies, but can't afford to rent anywhere.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/11/07/in-shadow-of-tech-boom-the-working-homeless-sleep-in-cars/

https://www.businessinsider.com/photos-of-silicon-valley-homeless-population-2017-12

Welcome to the new world.

 

[lunchbox]

I dunno about San Francisco, but close by in Silicon Valley there is a huge amount of people homeless people who are working for tech companies, but can't afford to rent anywhere.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/11/07/in-shadow-of-tech-boom-the-working-homeless-sleep-in-cars/

https://www.businessinsider.com/photos-of-silicon-valley-homeless-population-2017-12

Welcome to the new world.

Those aren’t the people that are shitting on the sidewalk and nodding off on bus benches with needles sticking out from their arms.

 

[James Carney]

Those aren’t the people that are shitting on the sidewalk and nodding off on bus benches with needles sticking out from their arms.

Nor did I say that.
I was agreeing with @Brians Evil Twin over denoting how the SF rent got so high and how everyone who's homeless is not the colorful characters you just painted.

 

[Marshall & Moonshine]

If housing in my town got so expensive that i couldn’t afford it, I’d move to where i could afford it.
It’s exaclt the reason why i live in Santa Maria instead of Arroyo Grande, where i lived since 6mo until boot camp. If my house was in my parents’ neighborhood, it would be an $800k house. I could probably sell it tomorrow for $350k.
It’s a 15min drive south, on the 101.
I guess i could just be homeless in AG, right??

 

[James Carney]

it's what I've been saying for years. It's a new world. You either learn tech or you starve.

construction trades will probably be ok too, but that's a career that beats the shit out of you. And you're screwed if you get hurt. But 'regular' work? ….. that wont cut it.

My, how four short years changes things:

Stupid Muse,...why couldn't she make me a computer programmer? Those guys GET PAID for their talents!

Do both. I'm a software engineer and it funds my musical pursuits.
While I love technology, I only see it as a day job to fund my artistic endeavors.

believe me if I were smart enough I would.
math+computers,...just not my thing no matter how much I try.
I'm a very mechanical person, good with my hands and good with puzzles/problem solving and pattern finding,...but that's about it...
..the irony is I love working. ...just,..mechanical work,..that makes you sweat.
Sitting at a desk for 8 hours or a cubicle just seems hellish and unnatural. But I guess that's the way things are going.

Adapt.

To adapt I have to pretend to be what I'm not,..which leads to pure misery.
that's like me telling someone to, "just play better."
People can only do what they're truly capable of and built for doing.
A man can't serve 2 Masters,.... my Master claimed me a long time ago,..and it wasn't Google.

I'm proud of you Mal, you adapted.
And you chose to do the work to get you where you are, even though it seemed insurmountable. Most don't.
Now stop wasting your free time in VR, and write some songs on that new gold top Traditional!

The irony is, after 15 years, I got burned out in late 2016 and would rather put a bullet in my head than ever go back to software engineering. The circle of life!

 

[Kamen_Kaiju]

Thanks DI. I haven't talked too much about it on the board but I am doing A LOT better now.

and I have been writing songs the past couple years, I have a bunch of new ones. I guess I'm just not really doing anything with them. I keep a Tele next to my desk and every night or so I pull it over and run through some of the new songs and work on other ideas I'm kicking around. I get the Les Pauls and amps out on the weekends (because I still give lessons too).

I keep meaning to record some of them but when I finally get some free time I usually want to relax and read, go for a walk, or play some video games.

and VR is AWESOME! I set up Virtual desktops so I can work in VR if I want.

...but yeah I decided to take my own advice. "Learn tech or starve". So I locked myself in a small room for two years with a lot of books.


...annnnd, almost 9oclock. Time to log in to the servers.

 

[lunchbox]

No I didn't. But Dachau Prison was first inhabited by--I cannot recall the German word for it--the shiftless, ne'er do wells, the lazy. They were rounded up and put on public work details, i.e., re-educated, which is exactly what lunchbox is describing, isn't it? I recall when I visited Dachau w my son and read that saying that there are a lot of folks who probably don't think that would be a bad idea. And maybe it isn't. I was really just stating a fact.

My post was partially satirical. I deleted it anyway so’s to avoid any unneeded controversy.

But honestly, beyond rounding up and housing people that want to leech off society and never contribute to it, there’s no other viable solution that I can think of. Enabling them by giving them endless, free handouts and shooting galleries for ‘safe’ injection of illegal, deadly drugs obviously isn’t working. Whod’a thunk it?

But that’s typical of a certain breed of people these days. They completely ignore all historical, psychological, moral, ethical, statistical and empirical evidence that stands in opposition to their ideology and narratives because it makes them feel virtuous among their peers. They allow for a tyranny of the minority so that they can feel good about themselves. This inevitably comes at the expense of, and to the detriment of, the law abiding, tax paying majority and their rights, comfort, wishes, and needs.

And THAT is what SF is all about today.

 

[lunchbox]

Oklahoma dust bowl, isn't it?

Nipomo, CA. About 1/2 - 1 mile from my old house.

 

[lunchbox]

it's what I've been saying for years. It's a new world. You either learn tech or you starve.

construction trades will probably be ok too, but that's a career that beats the shit out of you. And you're screwed if you get hurt. But 'regular' work? ….. that wont cut it.

Speaking of construction trades...

Building Inspector and Plans Examiner positions with city and county jurisdictions are commonly remaining un-fillable because there's just not many people coming up from the trades to fill the positions. They're positions that transfer across the country to every state and pay well, with full benefits and retirement packages.

Here in CA it has a lot to do with the labor pool. In the areas that I've worked it's probably 80% foreign labor on construction sites. Most of them don't speak any English and are here illegally. They've taken the jobs from US citizens because they'll work for pennies on the dollar and be thankful for it. They also have no desire or ability to enter the municipal inspection trade, due to various reasons (don't speak English, here illegally, no education, don't know how to study and take tests, etc.).

 

[pnuggett]

 

[Caleb]

If housing in my town got so expensive that i couldn’t afford it, I’d move to where i could afford it.
It’s exaclt the reason why i live in Santa Maria instead of Arroyo Grande, where i lived since 6mo until boot camp. If my house was in my parents’ neighborhood, it would be an $800k house. I could probably sell it tomorrow for $350k.
It’s a 15min drive south, on the 101.
I guess i could just be homeless in AG, right??

The only way I could afford to live in Georgetown is to be homeless there. Maybe I should just do that. I mean, I have as much right to live in Georgetown as everyone who already lives there don't I?

 

[Caleb]

I dunno about San Francisco, but close by in Silicon Valley there is a huge amount of people homeless people who are working for tech companies, but can't afford to rent anywhere.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/11/07/in-shadow-of-tech-boom-the-working-homeless-sleep-in-cars/

https://www.businessinsider.com/photos-of-silicon-valley-homeless-population-2017-12

Welcome to the new world.

Prominently profiled is a woman living in a camper with her three grown sons. No details on what the men folk are doing to earn, although the nice lady says she likes to take her "kids" to the movies or out to eat now and then and wishes she made more money to do it.

The story is absurd. There's plenty of areas I can't afford to live in. It'd be pretty stupid of me to move there, live with three adult dependents in what is probably a 60K camper for three years, and then have the gall to call myself homeless. I don't live on the Upper West Side, the Gold Coast of Chicago, Aspen, Miami Beach, San Francisco, or Beverly Hills. Because I can't freaking afford to. If I were to show up at one of these places and not be able to afford rent, would that make me one of the "working homeless?" Or just an idiot?

 

[Dun Ringill]

There is talk around these parts about building a small house village for the homeless. Sounds like a great idea!