Morning Brew: February 19th

"Here's to the assholes who says homeless people are lazy."

I'm the asshole who said that addicts are lazy. The homeless are just annoying. I wanted to be sure that I'm credited with the right assholeness.

You gotta love how the article starts:

"he's a 28 year-old homeless man...unable to work because of injuries suffered in a skateboarding accident five years ago..."

Granted, his skateboarding accident was with a car.

But still, what the hell kind of 23 year-old (who happens to have a kid) goes around riding a skateboard in traffic?

Which leads me to ask, how much of this guy's homeless problem is the result of his own inept life decisions?

Beyond welfare payments, homeless shelters, the food bank and free medical care, how much more does society owe this guy?

It's good that he's able to find a way to make an easy $80.

But let's not kid ourselves - this guy only proves the point that some homeless people aren't willing to actually do real work for money.

Put me down as asshole number two.

Today is the first day of the lunar new year. What we need is a public holiday. We should have had second city wide party for Chinese new year. Oh wait, we didn't even have a city wide party for regular calendar new year...

Asshole #3 here: the homeless guy #1 irresponsibly skateboarded in traffic when he had a family to take care of #2 he decided to ditch his wife and kid when life got too tough and run away back east (I wonder who's having a shitty time working two jobs to support the kid now that daddy's a deadbeat?). There're many disabled people far more disabled than this guy who manage to hold down jobs--maybe he needs to grow up and accept some responsibility for his actions?

Let's see. 3 assholes laying blame and espousing their neo-con doctrines. Yep, sounds like Vancouver. Makes me really happy to live here.

Keep these three guys in mind when you're riding your bike to work, kids. If you get hit by a car, you deserve it. What were the circumstances? Did the car run a stop sign? Was the driver on the phone? Doesn't matter. It's irresponsible to be on the road if you're not in a car.

Small minded Vancouver thinking that is all to common - if you are homeless or a drug addict you deserve everything for free, you don't have to live up to any resposibilities because you are a victim and always will be a victim.

If you take on debt, get an education, take on a job and pay taxes, try to improve your life, yes, MAKE YOUSELF A BETTER PERSON, by showing some initiative and make some money, then you are the enemy. If you are a working person you will be taxed into marginal status. You are punished while criminality is rewarded.

I'm an asshole and proud to be so, because I think it is a necessary part of human well being and dignity to hold down a job and pay your way. I am an asshole because I don't believe that there is any dignity in being homeless or a drug addict.

Vancouver has a serious problem, which doesn't matter to many complainers since they don't pay taxes anyway, in that we have a declining business environment due to a general apathy towards lawlessness. Small business cannot survive with the high taxes placed upon them. Small businesses support a large pool of labour, which in turn create income taxes. These taxes are what various government bodies use to pay for various social programs, programs which are accountable on a dollars and cents basis. You can "gimme gimme" all you want, but if a there is no stable middle class, which makes up the vast majority of the city, there can be no government spending.

Hate the middle class, hate working people, call them fascists, and greedy, and you bite the hand that feeds you.

Umm...I'm part of the middle class, but please don't lump me into the asshole category of the previous posters. I'm more than happy to pay taxes to support social services. I don't use them and hope I never do. For me, taxes toward social services is like paying for insurance. You gladly pay the monthly premiums and hope you never have to use the services.

But I still wonder how my life would be if I was hit by a car while biking to work and couldn't do my job because of it. I'd like to think I'd find a way to make a living, but I doubt I could sustain the same quality of life I have now.

More hot air from Mr Self Righteous. I had a small business of my own and got the boot when developers took over the property. Lost my home too. I'm trying to bounce back but it's not as simple as you imagine.

Today I contacted two different employment resource centres that no longer have any resources. This is the kind of thing that frustrates those of us trying to participate in the so called free market. We're disappointed with the cuts to such services in favor of spending that really only benefits the wealthy.

MK, you read way too much into the arguments that offer a different perspective than yours. Is there to be no opposition to the over-arching ideology of "I want mine, and everyone else can die if they won't see things my way"? All I want is for people to demonstrate basic compassion and to not see individual human beings as mere ciphers. All the scientific management techniques in the world won't obliterate the fact that people are complex organisms with varying abilities, desires, and psychological obstacles. Simply pointing the finger and assuming a superior stance accomplishes nothing.

I know, I should have gone to university and got with the program, like all good citizens do. For reasons you will never understand, I chose not to. Does that make me a criminal? Yes, in the current climate of hate, it seems I am.

I'm all for people working and paying their taxes etc., but the world does not operate in these very black and white terms you so eloquently present. No one is saying addicts or homeless people should get everything for free, where do you get that from? I have a fair share of Protestant work ethic too, but I've talked to many people like the individual in the story, and I've seen that they have a story to tell, just as you do. But it seems that so many just don't care, and even enjoy pissing on such unfortunate individuals. Why does that make you feel good?

It's the 20th.

For me.

Since when is being homeless a criminal act?

sorry for the late post, but i was the other asshole who said criminals are lazy... LOL I loved reading this thread. Nice work.