
“We got geeks”: Inside Google's ugly war against the homeless in LA - Jerry2
https://pando.com/2015/06/22/we-got-geeks/
======
macscam
the security guard sounds overeager ("Everyone in there makes over $1 million"
\- really?).

Not having been to skid row, but if it's like the tenderloin (and I've heard
it's worse) you know the streets are totally overrun with vice.

The notion that private corporations enforce social control is not novel.
What's new is this pattern of tech companies going into sketchy neighborhoods
and 'cleaning them up'. In San Francisco Twitter got a tax break for
'revitalizing' the area. Part of the tactic is patrols by 'Business
Improvement District' officers.

I think Google must have known what they were getting themselves into.
Probably got a tax break for their 'sanitizing' effect. This being said, it's
disingenuous for them to not acknowledge the problem and point their
'brilliant minds' to research being done.

There's a need for more evidence-based policy on homelessness. Services and
transitional housing are good ideas. For Google to quarantine a two-block
radius doesn't help solve the larger issue at all.

At the same time, the issues of skid row are not just 'lack of sidewalk space
for tents'. The concept of a "sanctuary encampment" is developing, but I'm not
sure that designating the neighborhood 'tent-friendly' is productive for
anyone considering the amount of drugs there.

It's also not really fair that low-income apartment renters need to live in
such a chaotic area in order to afford a bed.

Kicking homeless people out of a peaceful off-the-grid settlement might seem
cruel, but I have slightly less sympathy for their plight at the urban core.
Making these neighborhoods sanctuaries is not a solution unless the broader
support network is there (stuff like mental health, finance, and drug
support), which it's not.

For Google to kick out these people may be slightly counterproductive to
society's larger homeless issue, but not dramatically so.

~~~
hackuser
You don't address the issue of assault and battery on people. It's a felony.

Also, people don't need your or Google's or my approval to use a public
sidewalk. Whether or not we think it's a good idea, it's none of our business.

