Maxwell's Silver Hammer

[H2O Man]

15. Thank you!

Heather Cox Richardson is among the most brilliant minds of this era. So to even have her name mentioned on this OP/thread is an honor!

I was talking earlier today with a friend of an old friend. He is a teacher at an upstate university, and seems to be a thoughtful, decent man. He was debating my old grade school friend about the felon's advocating incarcerating the homeless. He thought it was a good idea.

I noted that the issue had roots in the Reagan era's booting people out of long-term psychiatric facilities in the 1980s. Now, obviously, not all homeless people suffer from mental illness. Today's economy renders people homeless. I don't think poverty should be treated like a crime. Also, teen run-aways make up a fair percentage of the homeless. I'm not use that jailing kids for attempting to escape from horrible home lifes is a good answer.

Likewise, though there can be overlap between mental health services and law enforcement when it comes to "community crises" involving a mentally ill individual, many states have cut programs that formerly addressed problems before they reached the crisis stage. Thus, police are now tasked with dealing with issues that could have been avoided -- at a much cheaper price to tax-payers.

There are better ways for society to function. We need to bring them into being. And we will. It is a tough fight, but they are the only ones worth winning.