holy crap, san fran has so many hobos!

[JamesV]

Strange Obama care would come up... in the Cleveland Plain Dealer today, there is an article stating that the costs (Oct. 1) will actually be 16% less than predicted.

It's okay, I'll give you a minute to figure out how to spin that as a detriment.

And that woman on TV wondering how her care will be affected by Washington bureaucrats; well just don't buy that policy. I'll stick with my current plan, silly tea party fear monger.

 

[shortylickens]

Thats why I like Minneapolis. They either freeze or move away.

 

[child of wonder]

I was just in San Fran a month ago and had the same experiences.

Sitting in a restaurant a homeless guy walks in and goes table to table begging for money. None of the employees kicked him out.

Here are some of the things I got to cross off on my San Francisco bums bingo card:

1. pile of human feces on the sidewalk
2. dude passed out on the sidewalk
3. guy pissing on a tree on the sidewalk in broad daylight
4. guy asking me for money because he just got out of jail
5. homeless person smoking cigarettes talking on a cell phone
6. homeless guy jumping out of nowhere at night begging for money
7. dude walking around talking and swearing to himself
8. homeless guy trying to shine my shoes
9. being asked for money 5 times in the span of a single block
10. seeing about 5 homeless guys just passed out in the grass in a park

I am never, ever going back to the stinking shithole again.

 

[Mxylplyx]

I got out of the Army in 1992, and was sent to SF for out-processing.

Due to my circumstances, I had about $10, and couldn't draw from my pay, including the nearly 60 days of leave I never used (they pay you for you days you do not use).

So I'm walking off base, and a bum comes up and asks me for money, and I reply "I'm just getting out of the Army, I don't have any money man," and I laughed.

He replied something like "no shit? I was in Vietnam" and we got talking. Dude took me along and showed me how to bum money off people, including getting into a cab and asking the cab driver for a buck... never asked anyone for anything, and this guy kinda took me under his wing.

We gathered about $60 and ate well, had a few drinks, and it is something I'll never forget. One of those defining moments in life that made me a believer in good human decency, even if it was at the expense of a dollar or two from some entitled rich wanker.

Learned a good lesson that day. Looks can be deceiving, and every bum/hobo/homeless person isn't just out there to take money for themselves.

Cool story. Thanks for sharing.

 

[RabidMongoose]

San Francisco only has homeless people who live there. That's why it's so expensive.

 

[thaugen]

Thanks to CONSERVATIVE Governor Ronny Reagan for closing most of the mental hospitals in California thereby dramatically increasing the number of homeless defectives on the streets. Thanks to the conservative federal government for filling the streets with homeless defective Vietnam veterans. Thanks to the conservative federal government for underfunding veterans medical treatments thereby bringing another generation of homeless defective Middle East veterans along to Panhandle us for drug money. Don't blame liberals for what you conservatives caused.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

Houston is the best. Downtown they built an underground tunnel system between the buildings in an effort to keep all begging hobos out.

 

[Brainonska511]

I was just in San Fran a month ago and had the same experiences.

Sitting in a restaurant a homeless guy walks in and goes table to table begging for money. None of the employees kicked him out.

Here are some of the things I got to cross off on my San Francisco bums bingo card:

1. pile of human feces on the sidewalk
2. dude passed out on the sidewalk
3. guy pissing on a tree on the sidewalk in broad daylight
4. guy asking me for money because he just got out of jail
5. homeless person smoking cigarettes talking on a cell phone
6. homeless guy jumping out of nowhere at night begging for money
7. dude walking around talking and swearing to himself
8. homeless guy trying to shine my shoes
9. being asked for money 5 times in the span of a single block
10. seeing about 5 homeless guys just passed out in the grass in a park

I am never, ever going back to the stinking shithole again.

LOL. Don't ever come to NYC then.

 

[zinfamous]

I got out of the Army in 1992, and was sent to SF for out-processing.

Due to my circumstances, I had about $10, and couldn't draw from my pay, including the nearly 60 days of leave I never used (they pay you for you days you do not use).

So I'm walking off base, and a bum comes up and asks me for money, and I reply "I'm just getting out of the Army, I don't have any money man," and I laughed.

He replied something like "no shit? I was in Vietnam" and we got talking. Dude took me along and showed me how to bum money off people, including getting into a cab and asking the cab driver for a buck... never asked anyone for anything, and this guy kinda took me under his wing.

We gathered about $60 and ate well, had a few drinks, and it is something I'll never forget. One of those defining moments in life that made me a believer in good human decency, even if it was at the expense of a dollar or two from some entitled rich wanker.

Learned a good lesson that day. Looks can be deceiving, and every bum/hobo/homeless person isn't just out there to take money for themselves.

You sir, are a real American and a human being, unlike the various poseurs in this thread and elsewhere.

It's as if modern internet tough guys forgot that we all evolved from a relatively humanistic culture.

so hilarious...


....by the way, when are we going camping?

 

[Pacfanweb]

Thanks to CONSERVATIVE Governor Ronny Reagan for closing most of the mental hospitals in California thereby dramatically increasing the number of homeless defectives on the streets. Thanks to the conservative federal government for filling the streets with homeless defective Vietnam veterans. Thanks to the conservative federal government for underfunding veterans medical treatments thereby bringing another generation of homeless defective Middle East veterans along to Panhandle us for drug money. Don't blame liberals for what you conservatives caused.

Um, Reagan hasn't been governor of Cali since 1975. I don't think you can blame any of the bum problems on him...that was almost 40 years ago, if what he did was so bad there has been PLENTY of time to fix that.

And "conservative federal gov't"? LOL.

 

[K1052]

Generally the highest concentration is in the heavily tourist areas along Market and Union Square. You'll see a ton around Civic Center/Tenderloin too but that has been changing some as the area is getting redeveloped. I've never been approached in any of the other neighborhoods and I've been visiting 3-4 times a year for the last 4 years.

 

[KeithTalent]

Not sure where you guys are going in San Francisco. I've been there many times and never once had a bum bug me at a restaurant, or even on the street there really aside from the normal asking for change.

Up here I get bothered on occasion if I am on the patio, but never really inside a restaurant.

KT

 

[zinfamous]

Not sure where you guys are going in San Francisco. I've been there many times and never once had a bum bug me at a restaurant, or even on the street there really aside from the normal asking for change.

Up here I get bothered on occasion if I am on the patio, but never really inside a restaurant.

KT

They are in concentrated areas, as mentioned: Civic Center and Tenderloin. Get Stroll along Market and Powell and it's littered with them (lots of halfway houses if you walk far enough on that stretch).

Here in Berkeley, you can't really escape them in the downtown area. They line up along the BART station and hang out all day. Along Telegraph and Durant, as well. If you are sitting in a restaurant with outdoor seating in those areas, they will come and sit next to you, yell at you and generally harass you. The majority of them are clearly off meds, too.

 

[KeithTalent]

They are in concentrated areas, as mentioned: Civic Center and Tenderloin. Get Stroll along Market and Powell and it's littered with them (lots of halfway houses if you walk far enough on that stretch).

Here in Berkeley, you can't really escape them in the downtown area. They line up along the BART station and hang out all day. Along Telegraph and Durant, as well. If you are sitting in a restaurant with outdoor seating in those areas, they will come and sit next to you, yell at you and generally harass you. The majority of them are clearly off meds, too.

Fair enough, I don't think I really went through the Tenderloin area, but I've been to the others and don't remember any major problems.

I pretty much live in bum town here and walk through throngs of them on a daily basis, but most of them are on meth so if they got near me I could essentially push them over and they would just lie there on their backs flailing like turtles.

KT

 

[BUTCH1]

Fair enough, I don't think I really went through the Tenderloin area, but I've been to the others and don't remember any major problems.

I pretty much live in bum town here and walk through throngs of them on a daily basis, but most of them are on meth so if they got near me I could essentially push them over and they would just lie there on their backs flailing like turtles.

KT

I've never tried meth (and have no desire to do so) but way back in the '70's and early '80's I would on occasion get some "white crosses" or "Black beauties"(amphetamines) from truck drivers, you got hyper energy for 8-10 hours until they wore off then you felt like shit for an entire day. I wouldn't necessarily label meth addicts as weak and harmless as methamphetamine is WAY stronger than the "whites" or "blacks" I used to play with. It all depends on how long they've been using, if it's been for a few years then their bodies are probably depleted enough so that even if high they would lack sufficient strength to be much of a threat, if however they are relatively "fresh" addicts they may indeed be dangerous people..

 

[Dirigible]

Fair enough, I don't think I really went through the Tenderloin area, but I've been to the others and don't remember any major problems.

I pretty much live in bum town here and walk through throngs of them on a daily basis, but most of them are on meth so if they got near me I could essentially push them over and they would just lie there on their backs flailing like turtles.

KT

I support the "push 'em over so they are helpless on their backs like turtles" plan.

I also propose an additional step of putting them on the decks of ships as a food source for long journeys.

 

[BUTCH1]

I support the "push 'em over so they are helpless on their backs like turtles" plan.

I also propose an additional step of putting them on the decks of ships as a food source for long journeys.

FYI addiction is a disease and a treatable one in most cases. Yea, even trying something like meth is a really, really, stupid idea but those who wound up with wrecked lives and wrecked bodies would probably have chosen to not even "try" meth if they knew the final outcome. I'm not a shrink so I can't say what it is about people that they want to "alter" their reality and some live an entire life without even trying a single beer and could care less, in any event treatment is a better alternative then letting people get to the point where they start stealing or selling their bodies to avoid running out, that's just my opinion anyway..

 

[IGBT]

has a cleansing effect on the rest of the country. SF / Calif are open aire insane asylums. Go west human trash..Go West!!

 

[Dirigible]

FYI addiction is a disease and a treatable one in most cases. Yea, even trying something like meth is a really, really, stupid idea but those who wound up with wrecked lives and wrecked bodies would probably have chosen to not even "try" meth if they knew the final outcome. I'm not a shrink so I can't say what it is about people that they want to "alter" their reality and some live an entire life without even trying a single beer and could care less, in any event treatment is a better alternative then letting people get to the point where they start stealing or selling their bodies to avoid running out, that's just my opinion anyway..

Very rarely are my posts serious. Proposing using meth addled turtle people as food sources for cannibalistic sailors was indeed one of the exceptions when I was completely serious. 100%.

 

[gevorg]

SF bums can be entertaining, like on the parking lot right in front of City Hall. They'll jump in and show you where to park and then hassle you for change to watch the parking meter for you.

 

[mrkun]

This reminds me of Peter Shih's 10 Things I Hate About You: San Francisco Edition.

 

[skim milk]

This reminds me of Peter Shih's 10 Things I Hate About You: San Francisco Edition.

I agree with his points. SF is an overrated shitty city all around. I moved down to LA and couldn't be happier. When people tell me they are moving to SF, I laugh at them and tell them to have fun.

 

[BUTCH1]

Very rarely are my posts serious. Proposing using meth addled turtle people as food sources for cannibalistic sailors was indeed one of the exceptions when I was completely serious. 100%.

I get it, people seem to crap on the down-and-out folks a lot around here so my bad..

 

[Dirigible]

I get it, people seem to crap on the down-and-out folks a lot around here so my bad..

My apologies. I agree with your post that people crap on the down and out and I was unkindly doing the same. I have a brain-damaged and sometimes meth-using sister, and I tend to cope by joking. The reality sucks.

 

[SSSnail]

What hobos? I don't see any hobos... I haven't seen them for about 2 years now... :sneaky: