The death of tech idealism and rise of the homeless in Northern California
78 points by pseudolus
by jb_rad
5 subcomments
Well written, but it says nothing. No real breakdown of the problem, certainly no solution. Just generic hatred for the rich and empathy for the poor. Like most people who use the word "unhoused," it's performative. If you want to help, volunteer. I have. It's heartbreaking. You realize how dehumanizing it is to try to help someone who is unstable. Mental health, addiction, and deep trauma cannot be solved with money, or shelter, or food. Real treatment is necessary. A modern asylum, crushing drug markets, and taking responsibility for those who cannot take responsibility for themselves needs to be seriously considered. We did this poorly in the past, but the current paradigm clearly is not working, and it might be time to try again. Hard problems need hard solutions, not soft words.
by Gimpei
7 subcomments
I don’t understand who commissions and who reads pieces like this. Here is a person with no expertise in housing policy, no expertise in homelessness, and no expertise in tech. The only thing he’s bringing to the table is an opinion, which, as the saying goes, are like assholes. Blame inequality and tech and libertarians all you want, but it won’t do a damn thing to solve the homelessness crisis, which is fundamentally a housing supply issue. But I suppose that doesn’t lend itself to the kind of uninformed moralizing that apparently brings such delight to the hearts of lithub readers.
by carabiner
0 subcomment
In san jose, I stayed at an airbnb in a home located inside a trailer park (though a nice trailer park). The owner went to stanford.
by zer00eyz
1 subcomments
Go back to the 1990's, Gibson publishes Virtual Light that predicts that the bay bridge would be one massive homeless encampment.
It was clear 30 ish years ago to him how it would turn out.
It might be appalling but it should not be shocking.
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