It seems to me I heard somewhere that jenn wrote in article
:
>eric h wrote:
>> In article ,
>> Lou Minatti wrote:
>>>I have only one complaint about San Francisco, and I believe it could
>>>have a serious impact on tourism if it's not addressed. That's the
>>>very aggressive panhandlers that have shown up during the past few
>>>years. I know this problem exists everywhere, but I believe it is MUCH
>>>worse in San Francisco than it has been in the past. I have only
>>>anecdotal evidence of this and haven't seen any studies, but I am
>>>confident of my opinion.
>> Actually, I've found the panhandling in SF to have decreased in the past
>> few years. There's still a bit of a gauntlet to run around Powell and
>> Market, but there's not much reason to linger there anyways, unless you're
>> waiting in the cable car queue, and they're easily ignored there.
>It has been a few years, but last time I was there some officious twit
>stopped me for 'jaywalking' near the waterfront and as she filled out
>the ticket, it became apparent that this was a panhandle bid --
>The romanticization of alcoholic bums in the US has had a significant
>impact on quality of life in major cities
>and of course it hasn't helped that the airhead left and the greedhead
>right have combined to deprive the mentally ill of adequate care so they
>are also dumped onto the streets
In the case of California that is part of the legacy of the most
recently deceased US president, who effectively put the hospitalized
mentally ill back on their own resources sans funding or treatment.
Others amended the laws to prevent involuntary institutionalization
unless the patient is a clear and present danger to others or himself,
and the result is history.
--
Don
donkirk@covad.net |