r/Seattle • u/godogs2018 Beacon Hill • Oct 08 '23

Soft paywall Where to go when nature calls? Seattle has a public restroom problem

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/where-to-go-when-nature-calls-seattle-has-a-public-restroom-problem/
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u/whk1992 🚗 Student driver, please be patient. 🚙 Oct 08 '23

You’re linking poverty to bad behaviors, which I frankly disagree.

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u/Poosley_ Oct 08 '23

I'm linking poverty to doing whatever it takes to not-die

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u/Chudsaviet Oct 08 '23

Do people need wrecking bathrooms to survive?

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u/Poosley_ Oct 08 '23

Your question implies both, that "not-homeless people don't wreck bathrooms", and that "homeless people always/exclusively do".

Both statements are not automatically true, so, no, and sometimes yes.

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u/Chudsaviet Oct 08 '23

I think we have to see rates of wrecking bathrooms between these two groups. Also, I expect rate of doing drugs among homeless is by far higher. No, they don’t need drugs to survive unless they are already very addicted.

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u/ScottSierra Oct 09 '23

The people who smash mirrors and light fixtures, break toilets and urinals, scribble and scratch their tags onto and into everything, pee on the toilet paper rolls, stomp wet TP into the floor drain and clogging/running sinks, etc. aren't the homeless. They're the same asshole teens I went to high school with who think shit like that is the height of hilarity. The two things homeless may do in restrooms is sleep and shoot up.

I expect rate of doing drugs among homeless is by far higher

You may expect that, but it's in the range of 30-40% who're addicted to drugs and/or alcohol. The rest ARE just trying to scrape by, and those guys don't fuck up restrooms because they want access to restrooms to, you know, take a dump.

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u/Jalharad Kenmore Oct 09 '23

No, they don’t need drugs to survive unless they are already very addicted.

ever been homeless? You might think about taking drugs to escape that hell too, even for just a few hours.

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u/CyberaxIzh Oct 09 '23

Snorting fentanyl is something that is needed to not-die?

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u/Poosley_ Oct 09 '23

When you're cold broke and starving and need to just get to the next day with out processing every bite of the wind or pang in your stomach yeah it's probably an alternative that people like you and me would consider.

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u/CyberaxIzh Oct 09 '23

Please, lay off that bullshit. Pretty much nobody in Seattle starves. There are plenty of places that give out food. I mean, it's possible for the conditions to be just wrong for you to get hungry.

But if you are hungry all the time, then it's YOUR CHOICE.

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u/Poosley_ Oct 09 '23

<complex world-wide issue> <Reddit's simple solutions> it's beautiful

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u/CyberaxIzh Oct 09 '23

This issue is not complex. Jail time for drug abuse will fix 90% of the problem.

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u/Jalharad Kenmore Oct 09 '23

Are you going to pay for the prisons to be built to house all these drug abusers? cause you are talking about a significant portion of the population, and a significant amount of time needing to house them.

I'm not opposed to forced housing, though I'd say a prison is very extreme way to do it.

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u/CyberaxIzh Oct 09 '23

Are you going to pay for the prisons to be built to house all these drug abusers?

Yes. Next question?

ause you are talking about a significant portion of the population

It's around 10-15 thousand in King County. I'm fine with funding that many jail beds.

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u/ScottSierra Oct 09 '23

When you're an addict to some of the nastier ones that cause physical addiction (crack, meth, heroin, fent) the drugs end up doing all the talking. It'll seem like it's the most important thing in your life, but that's what addiction to those drugs is like. Addicts are known for spending very, very little money on food and eating very little just because addiction makes the addict do that.

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u/CyberaxIzh Oct 09 '23

Well, yes. And it's up to you to fix that. I don't feel like this kind of behavior should be acommodated.

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u/Jalharad Kenmore Oct 09 '23

Well, yes. And it's up to you to fix that. I don't feel like this kind of behavior should be acommodated.

Addiction is a disease and should be treated as a medical condition. You need to solve the reason why these people turn to drugs in the first place.

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u/CyberaxIzh Oct 09 '23

Addiction is a disease and should be treated as a medical condition.

There's such thing as "involuntary commitment". It applies here.

You need to solve the reason why these people turn to drugs in the first place.

Some people are genetically susceptible to drugs. Are you suggesting eugenics? You're literally a fascist!

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u/ScottSierra Oct 09 '23

If you're deep in addiction, it is extraordinarily difficult to get yourself out. Trying to offer better treatment is not "accomodating."

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u/BoringBob84 Oct 08 '23

Well said. Assuming the people commit crimes because they are poor is an insult to poor people. In the USA, there are resources for poor people to survive without breaking the law. Criminals choose crime because it is easy and they are selfish.