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Accessibility statementSkip to main content Democracy Dies in Darkness SubscribeSign in Advertisement Close The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness OpinionsEditorials Columns Guest opinions Cartoons Submit a guest opinion Today's Opinions newsletter OpinionsEditorials Columns Guest opinions Cartoons Submit a guest opinion Today's Opinions newsletter OPINION LIBERALS SHOULDN’T SCOFF AT PEOPLE’S FEARS OF HOMELESSNESS AND CRIME By Paul Schofield November 16, 2023 at 8:00 a.m. EST A homeless encampment in D.C. on April 14, 2021. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post) Listen 5 min Share Comment on this storyComment Add to your saved stories Save Paul Schofield is an associate professor of philosophy at Bates College. Hoping to educate its viewers about life in a “progressive hellscape,” Fox News recently sent a reporter to a liberal city — Seattle — to hear from residents about its runaway homelessness and crime. The segment did not go as planned. “I’ve never seen any crime in Seattle,” said one interviewee with a slight twinkle in his eye. “I’ve seen fun and laughter, and laughter and fun.” “Oh no!” another resident said, sarcastically, when asked about people injecting heroin nearby. “They were hurting you so bad!” A third deflected, insisting the real issue was that crime and disorder “could be solved by giving people their basic needs.” WpGet the full experience.Choose your planArrowRight Liberals received the segment with glee. But, as a political philosopher who studies homelessness and considers himself progressive, I found little to celebrate in this episode of culture war point-scoring. By glibly dismissing people’s feelings about open-air drug use, shoplifting and human waste on the streets, liberals empower their ideological opponents. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement While I have doubts about their sincerity, conservative politicians are speaking directly to people’s anxieties over worsening conditions in urban America. When Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis visited San Francisco in June, he angrily described a city in total collapse. “We saw people defecating on the street,” he said. “We saw people using heroin, we saw people smoking crack cocaine. The city is not vibrant anymore.” Debates rage over whether assessments such as these are fair or accurate. Conservatives’ claims about crime have been fact-checked and found to be somewhat misleading when the numbers are crunched, broken down, analyzed and put into proper context. But after spending time in July doing research in San Francisco’s Tenderloin District — the epicenter of the city’s homelessness crisis — I find such nitpicking almost entirely academic. Regardless of who’s exaggerating what and what the numbers technically do or do not show, city employees shoveled mounds of garbage off the sidewalks. Everything smelled like urine. Drug dealers operated in the open. And while I used to think that talk of “stepping over bodies” on the street was propagandistic exaggeration, I can report that I was indeed stepping over bodies. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement When I spoke with those living and working in the Tenderloin, no one implied this was an idyllic land of song and laughter, nor did they mock frustrations with the neighborhood’s deterioration. They were, for the most part, upset, agitated, fearful and sad. Complaints about people experiencing homelessness and using drugs do not come only from rich tech bros and meddling Karens who prioritize their aesthetic concerns and personal comfort over the needs of the less fortunate. Some of the fiercest complaints I heard came from activists and dyed-in-the-wool leftists. Share this articleShare Many cities around the United States with significant homeless populations also have large numbers of low-income renters, people of color and immigrants. Because these groups are less likely to have resources to buy their way out of a troubled neighborhood, they end up being the people whose kids are harassed by people under the influence of drugs on the way to school, the ones whose doorsteps are defecated on and the ones whose sidewalks are made impassible by tents and trash. They are the ones whose stores close early to avoid being stolen from, and whose eateries move to the other side of town. To shrug this off, or to dismiss it as mere conservative propaganda, is profoundly unprogressive. In recent years, many on the left have loudly resisted any suggestion that homeless encampments should be banned in some public spaces or confined to others. While the inhumane conditions the unhoused population lives in deserves every bit of attention it gets, another cherished progressive value is being sidelined in these discussions. Progressives have long championed public spaces as essential for community, for democracy and for bringing diverse populations together. Such spaces cannot serve these purposes if they’re littered with syringes, if they’re strewn with garbage and waste, and if those struggling with mental health are left to harass others unimpeded. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement Past polling shows that Americans can be quite compassionate toward those who lack housing. But people have their limits. Frustration with the conditions of our cities is giving way to resentment toward those living on the streets. If the liberal response is to deny there’s any problem (“What trash?”), or to lecture people about their anxieties (“The man in the playground urinating on the monkey bars isn’t bothering anyone!”), or to pontificate vaguely about root causes (“It’s capitalism’s fault”), then people are going to look elsewhere to be heard. If conservatives are the only ones speaking to the issue, voters are likely to warm to their harsh proposals — harassing loiterers, filling cities with hostile architecture, criminalizing outdoor sleeping, aggressively prosecuting drug users. There is a progressive alternative to the us-vs.-them, zero-sum framing that conservatives are exploiting. It starts with the recognition that when a park is filled with tents and suffering human beings, this is genuinely bad for everyone. The time and money allocated to treat, rehabilitate and house those in the park serves as humanitarian aid. But the efforts also make the parks usable for all. Creating designated locations for camping and to inject safely, while nudging people into shelters, housing or treatment, serves to make the city hospitable to all residents. But it also reduces harm and puts unhoused individuals on a path to a better life. ABOUT GUEST OPINION SUBMISSIONS The Washington Post accepts opinion articles on any topic. We welcome submissions on local, national and international issues. We publish work that varies in length and format, including multimedia. Submit a guest opinion or read our guide to writing an opinion article. Share 2653 Comments Popular opinions articles HAND CURATED * Opinion|An inside look at what’s ahead in Israel’s shattering war in Gaza November 18, 2023 Opinion|An inside look at what’s ahead in Israel’s shattering war in Gaza November 18, 2023 * Opinion|Joe Biden: The U.S. won’t back down from the challenge of Putin and Hamas November 18, 2023 Opinion|Joe Biden: The U.S. won’t back down from the challenge of Putin and Hamas November 18, 2023 * Opinion|Don’t just be horrified. Ban AR-15s, bump stocks and large magazines. November 16, 2023 Opinion|Don’t just be horrified. Ban AR-15s, bump stocks and large magazines. November 16, 2023 View 3 more stories Loading... Subscribe to comment and get the full experience. Choose your plan → Advertisement Advertisement TOP STORIES Politics Reporting and analysis from the Hill and the White House Biden campaign works to ease Democratic anxiety over reelection chances Analysis|Voters must take Trump seriously and literally. 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