Kensington, Philadelphia
Pretty shocking footage. Apparently, it's not uncommon for major cities in the US to have dystopian, zombie neighbourhoods.
Why the people of one of the most affluent countries in the world are ok with a large proportion of the population being homeless and desperate is beyond me.
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Tusk knows where you live, Sun 22 Aug 2021, 21:49,
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That's certainly a part of it.
That, and the lack of decent social security.
My theory is that the root cause is the basic American christian believe that the poor didn't pray hard enough.
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Tusk knows where you live, Sun 22 Aug 2021, 22:29,
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Not really the answer as Universal Health Care has to deal with the outcome rather than being the solution
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spazzcaptain Misses Valin @, Sun 22 Aug 2021, 22:30,
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Not really. NHS Doctors are very good at not just dishing out painkillers willy nilly.
Combined with a health strategy that focuses on prevention and proactive health messaging, as well as a stronger societal safety net, we have fewer people left to get into these situations.
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rjmrjm, Sun 22 Aug 2021, 22:36,
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Far fewer mainly because we have a much smaller population.
After years of SNP rule Scottish drug deaths have been increasing year on year and are now the highest in Europe, so I respectfully disagree with what you say. In Portugal, where drugs have been decriminalised, they have far fewer deaths, despite having more addicts.
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Prufrock Lucifer, son of the morning!, Sun 22 Aug 2021, 22:45,
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Still, it's unlikely the Gorbals will end up looking like this, though.
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Tusk knows where you live, Sun 22 Aug 2021, 23:12,
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I think that's got more to do with the climate than anything else.
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Prufrock Lucifer, son of the morning!, Sun 22 Aug 2021, 23:14,
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Maybe the SNP/Green not-coalition will do something about it when they realise that most of them support independence.
I was working in a particularly drug-prone pharmacy on referendum day in 2014, and two methadone clients stood out. There was the guy who'd put all the Yes posters up on his window, but when the day came "nobody told me you've got to register to vote!" Then there was the one who'd been to vote, but was irate that he'd been given a pencil to do so. "I've never voted with a pencil in my life!" he exclaimed. "You know who that is? The English."
Yes, the English rigged the vote by altering the slips with a giant rubber. You heard it here first.
(, Mon 23 Aug 2021, 9:55, Reply)
The law isn't helping here.
www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/police-scotland-defend-decision-charge-22900959
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FeralCatMan Long ads need comments sections, Sun 22 Aug 2021, 23:08,
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FFS
Give the guy a government grant, don't prosecute him.
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Prufrock Lucifer, son of the morning!, Sun 22 Aug 2021, 23:13,
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If he tried selling smack from it, local dealers would shut him down anyway.
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FeralCatMan Long ads need comments sections, Sun 22 Aug 2021, 23:41,
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He could always get an ice cream van.
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Prufrock Lucifer, son of the morning!, Sun 22 Aug 2021, 23:52,
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I'll bet the permits are very expensive.
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FeralCatMan Long ads need comments sections, Sun 22 Aug 2021, 23:58,
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That cost could easily covered if he had a deep fat fryer fitted.
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Prufrock Lucifer, son of the morning!, Mon 23 Aug 2021, 0:35,
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Lots of people in the US lose everything due to medical bills.
GoFundMe is littered with pleas for help with medical bills.
Do a search on 'medical bankruptcy'
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Tusk knows where you live, Sun 22 Aug 2021, 22:44,
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and crack is pretty more-ish
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cumquat may will not be commenting further on the allegations, Sun 22 Aug 2021, 23:53,
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People without capital or work are no use to the system.
I could have been one of those people.
It might look worse than it is because it is safer to sleep in the day.
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FeralCatMan Long ads need comments sections, Sun 22 Aug 2021, 23:31,
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on the bright side, you can get a blowjob for a fiver
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cumquat may will not be commenting further on the allegations, Sun 22 Aug 2021, 23:37,
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And the obesity rates amongst them are a lot lower than the national average, so it's not all bad news.
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Tusk knows where you live, Sun 22 Aug 2021, 23:55,
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*throws money at screen*
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FeralCatMan Long ads need comments sections, Sun 22 Aug 2021, 23:55,
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You have to contact cumquat may directly for one of his blow jobs.
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Tusk knows where you live, Mon 23 Aug 2021, 11:11,
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eye contact costs extra
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cumquat may will not be commenting further on the allegations, Mon 23 Aug 2021, 23:09,
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These new Resident Evil graphics are realistic.
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FeralCatMan Long ads need comments sections, Sun 22 Aug 2021, 23:38,
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in Sao Paolo, there was an inner-city zone called cracolandia (crack land)
There was a few clubs nearby and walking through it was like a zombie game set on easy mode (shuffle speed). They cleared it out with baton-wielding riot police for the world cup in typical brasilian overkill style, so the tourists wouldn't get freaked out, as it's quite close to some historic zones and easy to stray into by mistake
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cumquat may will not be commenting further on the allegations, Mon 23 Aug 2021, 0:02,
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My first trip to the US was to San Francisco about 15 years ago and I could not believe the amount of homeless people.
I can only liken them to pigeons, they were all pretty harmless and moved out of the way when you walked past, but they were just everywhere. I was pretty shocked.
(, Mon 23 Aug 2021, 10:02, Reply)
SF filled up when they closed the mental hospitals
It's also a pretty nice climate if you're sleeping outdoors.
(Well, nice is not the word but you get me).
I stayed downtown for a conference several years on the trot and it didn't get any better. The American political system breeds fear and short-sighted selfishness, in my opinion.
(, Mon 23 Aug 2021, 11:36, Reply)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsrBlKpbBS8
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cumquat may will not be commenting further on the allegations, Mon 23 Aug 2021, 13:30,
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Prisons are the new mental hospitals.
Politics feeds on greed and fear, the homeless are part of the fear.
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FeralCatMan Long ads need comments sections, Mon 23 Aug 2021, 14:28,
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It isn't just confined to the US either. The Mrs is from Vancouver, and I've had extended stays over there a few times over the last decade. I'm no expert, but the way it appears is that in the late 90s a particularly hawkish local government closed all the asylums and instituted a 'care in the community' type policy, booted the inmates out and tossed them a monthly stipend. That did not go well. So despite a more UK-like universal healthcare system, Canada is more apt to wash its hands of undesirables in a US-like fashion by tweaking the system away from direct accountability.
Which is why, now, we have areas like East Hastings (immortalised by the Godspeed You Black Emperor track of the same name) which are aglomerations of addicts, the mentally ill, veterans and the general dispossessed - with a roaming tent city on its general periphery.
Your experience of SF matches mine of Seattle and Portland as well. I'm not so well-versed on the socio-economics of the Western US, but it seems to be an endemic problem there too. Certainly as a first-time visitor it's shocking. But 95% of the time, you learn, they aren't that interested in you and you can more or less travel unmolested. I just kept half an eye out, and ladies, do not ever walk barefoot.
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Quiver Search for FATALISTS on Spotify, Amazon, Apple, &c, Tue 24 Aug 2021, 10:18,
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