Becca, I guess this is a sight to see if you're not used to this. Truly, it should disgust any and everyone, but sadly (many in the USA) are totally desensitized to plight of the homeless, and really couldn't care less about their well-being. Often enough this issue is debated along political lines. Liberal and conservatives generally see the homeless as being in this position for different reasons. Also, there's a divide as to how to tackle the problem of homelessness. Yes, major cities such as NYC, DC, Boston and Chicago will pickup homeless people on nights when the temperatures are expected to be such that folks sleeping outdoors are vulnerable to freezing to death. Many are simply trying to survive and taking it a day at a time. Many homeless people tend to avoid shelters because of the conditions, including robbery/theft and violence. Many would sleep in the subway and/or on trains, in public places such as Penn Station, Grand Central, PABT when they can, but now they're usually put out of those places by police. You and Becca also mentioned panhandling which itself is a different animal. You will see this in most any major city, and they'd definitely approach tourists first. Many are homeless, many are on drugs and such, and many see it as their hustle, so to speak. They've been doing it for decades on NYC subway trains. You'd see the same people and they'd often work the busiest lines like the A, D, E, F, N, R, 1, 2, 4, 6, and 7 lines. They'd often start from the first car, and work their way through the train. Most of these panhandlers will often have a story of sorts to lead up to asking for money. You're so right. It's truly horrible how this country can simply ingore such a problem as if they're subhuman. Agreed, agreed, and agreed! We could talk about this issue all day. No one wants to admit and of fund this, and anyone who needs it is labelled as "looking for a handout", "lazy", etc.
When you have dilapidated homes, like in Detroit, that have been abandoned for a good while, you'd think that we would fill those homes up with families or people living on the streets and provide housing altogether. Not only that, but the very idea of working more than one job is a bit of an overkill, and this is not how anyone should survive, even just enough to barely have your head above the waters. It seems like being a decent human being in a collectivist world is tertiary to maximizing profits and profiting off of the backs of the poor and keeping a clash between classes from the bigger issues we face on a daily basis.
Yes, Detroit is a city sorely in need of revitalization. I've never actually traveled through the city, but a few years ago I had a brief layover at DTW. As my incoming flight was on final approach we passed over an area that seems to be blocks and blocks of home that seemed either abandoned and/or in very bad condition.
Detroit did have an almost citywide sense of blight, but I hear now that it’s had a major turnaround. Has anyone here been within the last couple of years to evaluate the transformation firsthand?
If you’re participating in a thread, I know that all I have to do is sit back and wait for hijinks to ensue. My gut tells me that something similar is afoot here.
