I have been traveling to San Francisco for work for probably 15 years, maybe more. But, over the last year, I've seen things I've never seen before. And, I used to regularly hang out in NYC in the 80s and 90s, when crime was at its peak, so that's something.<p>Some highlights:<p>- I've had to call the police about people who appeared to be dead sprawled out on the sidewalk of Market.<p>- When stopping at an intersection, a homeless woman laid on the hood of my car until I gave her $10.<p>- My wife had 'sticky stuff' thrown at the back of her head as she walked near the Tenderloin.<p>- I saw a family chased by a homeless guy with his pants down laughing, and yelling, "your kids ever see one of these?"<p>- I've seen several people defecating on the street, with really no shame or attempt to hide it.<p>- Both of my kids have been physically touched and yelled at (like, in their face) by homeless.<p>- I've lost count of the number of people I've seen shooting up or smoking crack.<p>I unfortunately know very little about homelessness. I donate money to shelters and programs because ... I don't know what else to do. I've tried talking to them to learn more, but everyone has been incomprehensible.<p>All that I know is that it makes me very sad to travel here. This city, which used to be one of my favorites, is in a sick state and at war with itself.
The article starts off sounding compassionate for the homeless, then quickly pivots to characterize them as cyclist hazards. Odd how SF has so many people living on the streets and yet so many vacant homes,<p><a href="https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2015/01/30/18767847.php" rel="nofollow">https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2015/01/30/18767847.php</a><p>It's like the system is broken and nobody there has the humanity to bother trying to fix it.
That article is incredible. I'm almost waiting for a "Onion"-esque quote of "Families with no homes and no opportunity are inconvenience to bikers."<p>"Man, I used to really enjoy my morning bike ride, and it was nice the way the highway gave gave me cover from the elements when it rains - but with all these poor people seeking shelter here is a really downer. Not a great way to start of the morning. Can't we make them move into the field or out of the way or something? It's kinda selfish of them to set up right here in my bike lane. My tax dollars paid for this highway - I bet they don't even pay taxes... And what if someone runs into one of them and gets hurt? You can't sue them for the bike repairs, they don't even have any money. They're like someone driving without car insurance, totally irresponsible! The city needs to do something about this."<p>While clearly satire, It's amazing how much the focus really seems to be on the perception of people being homeless, or the chance of a biker being hurt, rather than actually on any of the people living there.