Open Thread Wednesday

Re #1: Yes, I have been harassed by that man. I was walking towards my building around 7PM one weekend and he walked pointedly towards me, clearly wanting to get in my face while swinging his arms. He got so close to me that I veered. When i did that he spat at me while mumbling incoherent words.
Also on a couple of occasions, walking by with my husband, he has tried to taunt us saying things like ‘my, my there goes another rich couple… why don’t we go Tahiti’… etc.

Everyone affected by this ridiculous practice needs to bombard our representatives and the mayors office with complaints.

My experience has been different; I walk past him once or twice a day. I have not detected any change in the size or state of his encampment over the last several weeks. As to the liquid, I have seen him using bottled water to rinse his hands. To also reply to Mimi’s comment earlier, it seems obvious that like many non-domiciled people, this guy is dealing with some psychological issues, which I referred to earlier, and which I hope the city handles in a way that doesn’t involve aggression and harassment.

Every single negative anecdotal interaction people have posted about here screams “schizophrenia”, and the reality is that he is statistically and medically very unlikely to be a real threat to anyone in the neighborhood. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3935671/)

I sensed the general tone that kicked off this discussion was hostile toward him, as an aggressor or intruder, and perhaps in the minds of some of our neighbors, as a black man. I don’t know what happens on Sundays at the church but I think his situation warrants our compassion and concern, infinitely more so than whether the well clothed and fed, brownstone-dwelling churchgoers in the neighborhood have to catch sight of him on their way in to services. Anyone—let alone anyone who makes it a weekly habit to visit a house of worship—should be able to see the irony in complaining that a homeless man might be blocking one entrance to a church.

I believe I was pretty clear that the attitudes I was perceiving (and yes, with regard to some extremes, speculating on) pertain to this whole thread and to a greater extent, to the community as a whole. I apologize if you my remarks appeared to single out your comments; that was not my intention.

That leaves us with two different personal experiences with the guy. I hope he is able to get whatever help he needs, and of course that nobody’s interactions with him are unpleasant.

I’ll try the link again: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3935671/

I’m just back from a 2-week trip to California via Amtrak, and there are homeless encampments everywhere along the tracks, in numerous California cities.