People who leave needles on sidewalks, who shit and piss in public, who chase you down the street for no reason, who harass you, etc. I could go on.
And don't think I lack empathy - I used to volunteer at a homeless shelter for vulnerable people in Seattle. But the worst incidences I encountered up there don't even hold a candle to some of the every day stuff I have to deal with in my own fucking neighborhood. Walking through Occidental Park by myself at night? No problem. Walking my 55lb pit around our block by myself after dark? At least twice a week I get hassled. And I'm not talking people just yelling from a distance or whatever. I had one guy three weeks ago follow me to my fucking apartment screaming at me the whole time. I'm 5' and a small woman - this is not acceptable. It's not okay. And it's bullshit I pay to put up with it and feel totally unsafe in my own damn neighborhood.
Fuck, at the laundromat the other day a guy yelled for the two hours that I was there, just walking around yelling about washing his clothes (he had money and detergent so I don't kno what his issue was). When I ignored him he yelled at me for ignoring him because he's homeless. "No. I don't talk to strangers. Do you see me talking to anyone else here? No? It's because I want to be left the fuck alone."
Are they all bad? Certainly not. There's one man who frequents our block who's quite pleasant. He keeps to himself, but every now and then seeks me out for conversation about the weather, my dog, our neighborhood, etc. There's a couple who frequent our block as well and, despite the woman routinely pisses in front of my neighbor's window, they're always friendly. But then there's the junkies like the woman outside of Safeway the other night: pretending to shiver and begging for money when we walked in, we ignore her and go about our business (her specifically I've seen shooting up in front of businesses.), yelling profanities at us on the way out. Fuck man, I just wanted to buy some goddamn blueberries. Am I not even allowed that?
Are they people? Yes. But I'm people, too and I don't deserve the aggressive approaches when I'm minding my own business, or being intentionally intimidated just because I'm alone and they can. I'd respond the same way to any asshole. It's not them being homeless that I don't like.