On The "Crazy Homeless People"
A progressive’s moral dilemma.
The other night I overheard a snippet of a couple’s conversation as I walked by. The man was talking about how there are all these “crazy homeless people” on public transit now. He said his friend’s solution was to start carrying a baton on him whenever he rides, like the kind police officers carry.
The post-pandemic rise in population of unhoused people—and the associated sense of unrest in public spaces due to crimes committed by unhoused folks struggling with mental illness—is not unique to Toronto. It’s a pressing issue in major cities throughout the U.S. and Canada.
I first noticed the extent of how bad its gotten when staying in downtown L.A. this time last year. I was trying to walk the short distance from central downtown to the Arts District (to eat Korean food at Yangban Society, of course). But to get there I had to walk through Skid Row. Every street I turned back because I didn’t feel safe. This wasn’t just 5 or 10 tents like you might see in…