Those of you worried about "meth zombies" and public safety are probably just a lot of neoliberal NIMBYs who talk about how liberal and compassionate you are but haven't even worked with the kinds of people you're afraid of.

I studied crime. I've worked with criminals, which includes a fair number of homeless. I have friends who worked in homeless shelters.

The reality...like the real reality...crime is lower than it was in the 90's. It did see a spike during COVID but it is already coming down again. Realistically, the world is actually a much, much safer place than the "good ol' days". But fear sells. The 24 news cycle keeps you locked in with fear. Same with social media and doom scrolling.

The average person does not have a good sense of crime and hasn't for decades. They ALWAYS think the danger is FAR more pronounced than it is in reality. They always think crime is the absolute worst it has ever been. It just isn't reality.

There are a lot more homeless people, crime has gone up, especially certain crimes like property crime. And that's worth talking about.

But living in fear and believing you are under siege and constantly in danger...it's not real.