\How shitty are they? Just ask Rob Vertigo, who has some great stories about actually being attacked while walking to work during his days at Amoeba. I even have my own stories, including one where I watched a chain fight between a crusty and a random dude in a brown leather jacket from the '80s while I ate my sandwich at Intermezzo. Fucking dumb.
You know it's a problem when you can't walk on the sidewalk because some jackass has set up a "slackline" and is practicing in front of a cafe. And guess what? In Berkeley, the cops do have something better to do.
Also, it's not like Berkeley abuses the homeless -- as a matter of fact, you'll see police speaking to them all the time. They're not arresting them. They're actually taking down all the vagrant's information for the city's ongoing homeless survey, because the city cares about conditions for the homeless and if they need to increase funding to meet their needs.
It's the fucking dumb crusties/wannabe homeless and the scene they create on Telegraph, just like the bullshit you run into on University Ave in Seattle. Fuck those lame-os, especially since they get violent (one day I will sit down and write my epic tale about being randomly attacked by a humongous piece of shit with dreads, who actually chased me into my apartment building.)
I was accosted/chased by one of the crazier homeless in Berkeley a month or two ago. First time I've been in a situation with one of them where I thought I was going to have to shove the bitch under a car. Five seconds before she came after me, I was treated to a view of her bare ass... I think this is the crazy woman on Shattuck who I often see with her pants around her ankles)
That said, I have TONS of empathy for the homeless, and try to give food whenever I can. I won't give anyone money, and maybe if we could get the tourists and other bleeding hearts to quit handing over change to every sad face, fewer of them would hang out.
What I really can't stand is the suburban kids that sprawl on the sidewalk like they own the place (sorry crusties, but you're the main problem), and demand change like you owe them a living (of course we do of course we do).
I know the midwest has their own homeless problems (especially college towns) but I think the shitty winters forces many homeless to live in their cars, or on friends couches instead of on the streets. Since the weather around here is nice the majority of the time, our homeless population grows and grows.
I'd like to know how many who oppose this law actually have businesses / live or shop in the affected area. It's easy to cry about how awful these laws are if you don't have to deal with the problem firsthand.
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