As Thomas Sowell so wisely observed, “Liberals take positions that make them look good and feel good – and show very little interest in the actual consequences for others, even when liberal policies are leaving havoc in their wake.” Of course, as an American, Sowell uses the term “liberal”, when he really means ‘left-wing authoritarian’, but, potayto, potahto.
It remains true that his observation is valid for everything from socialism to energy policy: the same “liberals” who lauded Hugo Chavez shuffled off into the dark when Venezuela collapsed and the same “liberals” who rush to buy EVs studiously ignore the horrendous social and environmental costs of mining necessary minerals in developing countries.
Then there’s the homeless.
The grim fact is that a significant proportion of the homeless in the US are mentally ill. This outcome was predicted from the very start when “liberal” policies of “de-institutionalising” turned mental hospital patients onto the streets. “Liberals” were perfectly content to ignore the horrific consequences.
Until the homeless loonies starting shitting in their streets, and camping on their front lawns.
Suddenly, “liberal” enclave New York is hot for rounding up the mentally ill homeless.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced a plan on Tuesday to involuntarily remove homeless people with mental illnesses from the streets and subways and force them to receive a psychiatric evaluation.
And, just like that, liberals suddenly realised that sweeping de-institutionalisation might not have been such a great liberal idea, after all.
At a news conference on Tuesday, Adams said the city has a “moral obligation” to help all homeless people with mental illnesses get treatment and care. The plan authorizes police officers to involuntarily hospitalize homeless people who appear to be mentally ill or pose a threat to themselves or others. Involuntary hospitalization is required even if the homeless person doesn’t appear to pose an imminent threat to the public.
“The very nature of their illness keeps them from realizing they need intervention and support. Without that intervention, they remain lost and isolated from society, tormented by delusions and disordered thinking,” Adams said.
Which, oddly enough, is what a great many wicked conservatives have been saying all along. What’s spurred the sudden about-turn in liberal thinking?
According to the Coalition for the Homeless, the unhoused population in New York City in recent years has reached its highest levels since the Great Depression, with a near-record 20,764 single adults sleeping in shelters each night in September 2022. The National Alliance on Mental Health found that 20.8 per cent of homeless people in the US have a serious mental illness.
A surge of attacks on New York City streets and subways has raised alarm in recent years, with many of the assaults involving homeless people.
Ah – so it began to affect them.
Still, plenty of liberals are still preferring to feel good about their own assumed moral superiority, to actually doing something to address the homeless crisis.
But the plan to involuntarily remove and hospitalize homeless people raised some concerns and criticism. Maria Town, the president and CEO of the American Association of People With Disabilities, said in a tweet that the plan is a violation of rights and aims to make homeless people less visible rather than improve their outcome.
New York City Council member Tiffany Caban also said in a tweet that the plan is “deeply problematic” […]
Adams was on the receiving end of criticism from advocates and progressives earlier this year for clearing homeless encampments and using policing tactics in efforts to respond to homeless New Yorkers and improve public safety.
Huffington Post
Huffington Post
I guess it’ll take some gibbering nutcase shitting on their porch or shoving them off the subway platform before they start to wonder if their “liberal” policies are really so great after all?
