I've lived on the sidewalk and dealt with the dehumanization involved in that. It's certainly ugly. But I've also seen people who are legitimately terrifying for good reason. Like, randomly pulling a knife in a Starbucks while arguing with someone who isn't there terrifying. Both of those situations require empathy, but the latter maybe also requires someone with a taser in case guy decides to get stabby. Personally, I'd rather that someone not be a cop, but the options are kind of slim in that department.
It's not all one or the other.
Pointing fingers at one another in outrage on the internet probably won't be the thing that helps though. Go buy somebody lunch.
Maybe I’m special but I can tell the difference between “dude who is in a bad mood or maybe needs meds they can’t afford and so they’re yelling” and “guy who is actually threatening me with harm.”
I think there should be better social services and shelter accessibility for homeless people. But let's not pretend that we can always tell who an intruder is by how they look. There is no universal 'look' to them because they aren't cartoon characters. Intruder and robbers could easily pretend to be a homeless person and prey on unsuspecting people like you.
I think it's true that a lot of people call the police because they are racist or just hate homeless people. But let's not treat this like a black and white issue and dismiss the legitimate concerns of safety that some people have. I've lived in my fair share of shitty neighborhoods and was broken in twice before. I have also called the police on someone who was yelling at me while I pulled up at home with my bike. Maybe they were only homeless or were mentally ill and wasn't a threat, but I'm choosing between being rude to this person and potentially being robbed, raped or killed. Most people, especially women and elderly, don't have the luxury to not call the police.
Yes, the system is fucked up. But don't blame everyone people at home for trying to keep themselves safe, blame the NIMBYs, the lack of social safety nets, the regressive social policies that target homeless people, the lack of fucks given by politicians, and the fucked up medical system that puts people one hospital visit away from homelessness. It's fucked up, but that doesn't it make it less fucked up for victims of break ins and assault.
It's not just the cops. When I was full time as a paramedic, we got called for "man down" or "cardiac arrest" or "sick person" or whatever on homeless people all the time. So now, we have to go and wake this person up who just wants to be left tf alone and make sure they aren't actually dead or dying because they had the absolute gall to lie down where some dingus with a cell phone could see them. If you don't think the emergency healthcare system isn't also weaponized against the poor, you've got another think coming, it's just not nearly as overt as with the cops.
So one time I was homeless during the winter and it was below zero while I was stuck outside. I stuffed my jacket full of newspaper and hid out in a breezeway, but I wasn't sure I was going to make it through the night. It was really, really cold.
The first business that opened was a bagel shop, and it was still subzero when it did. I went in, sat down, and refused to leave. They threatened to call the cops, I told them to go ahead and threatened suicide so they'd PC me and bring me to the hospital. That happened. The ER gave me a warm bed for a few hours and fed me; probably saved my life, certainly my sanity.
I hope the last part of that story isn't a complete fluke. Getting warm shouldn't require a morbidly clever exploitation of the emergency medical system for the sake of survival. I certainly would have welcomed someone showing up hours earlier and offering me a warm bed.
Also the cop who kicked me out of the ATM I'd taken shelter in could have just, you know.. not.
