• atrielienz@lemmy.world
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    5 months ago

    He should have opened a soup kitchen if he wanted to help. He can’t appoint himself sheriff (and it’s a bad idea anyway considering how police were basically created to keep the poors in their place, which would make homeless people naturally distrustful of them), and more importantly the idea that they have to “gain approval” to be worth helping is a red flag. I’m not saying it’s okay that he died. But he put himself in harms way and I cannot say I’m surprised.

    • Maalus@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      It’s always easy to talk about this shit when it’s not your street that’s sieged by countless people, some of them aggressive, some of them with severe mental illness and a danger to society and themselves. You say the homeless were “naturally distrustful” and yet through reading the article, the reaction among them was “he’s hitting Kenny, what the fuck?” and to get them off him ASAP. You know jack shit about the person or the situation yet you immediately judge them through a lens of your own imagination of the situation.

      • atrielienz@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        It’s been my street. Literally I grew up in Germantown PA, and have lived in Seattle long enough to have had a whole ass homeless encampment living outside my apartment building and going through our dumpsters. Breaking into the building in order to have somewhere warm and dry to sleep. You don’t get to pretend I don’t know what I’m talking about just because you’re mad that I don’t have sympathy for a man who literally put himself in harms way using untried methods to make himself judge and jury over vulnerable people.

        I’ve walked past people in the goddamn hallway with needles in their arms. I’ve literally had to interact with people who are high out of their minds, their speech completely unintelligible because they can’t get meds they need and they’re using street drugs to self medicate. Homeless people are vulnerable people with a whole host of problems including having the live outdoors. Making them “pass tests to gain the approval” of a man with literally no authority over anyone just because he caged the wording to say he wanted to “help” doesn’t change the fact that he did something dangerous and he paid for it with his life.

        • jpreston2005@lemmy.world
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          5 months ago

          I don’t have sympathy for a man who literally put himself in harms way using untried methods to make himself judge and jury over vulnerable people.

          he did something dangerous and he paid for it with his life.

          He tried to help keep his community safe by treating poor, disadvantaged folks like human beings.

          Hey but you had to walk past addicts, so we all know you had it worse, and clearly have the moral high ground 🙄

          • atrielienz@lemmy.world
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            5 months ago

            You’re missing the part where it was only the ones that met his approval that he was willing to help. I don’t agree with it when actual aid nonprofits do the same and I don’t agree with it when some random does it either. If you want to help the homeless you take the good with the bad. Drugged out people need food and water too. If they’re a danger to themselves or others that doesn’t fall under the jurisdiction of one random guy.

            • jpreston2005@lemmy.world
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              5 months ago

              Ok, so you’re not allowed to try to help people unless you help everyone. And if you’re just a regular person doing what you can, you’re actually in the wrong and deserve to be stabbed whilst trying to break up a fight. Gotcha. Great point, dude.

              • atrielienz@lemmy.world
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                5 months ago

                Did I say that? Where did I say that he deserved anything. Your whole argument is predicated on my having said something that I very explicitly did not say. If you’re upset that I don’t feel sorry for him, I’m gonna direct you to the loads of people out there living on the street who I do actually feel sorry for because that is a failing of our society. This guy though? I don’t have any bad feeling towards him. I’m just not surprised.

                If anyone wants to help there are dozens of organizations out there with the benefit of checks and balances to make sure people get a fair shot at help and they need volunteers and paid workers all the time. Instead, this man chose to be a homeless camp’s HOA. You have a good day though.