so this old paint-sniffing bum vomitted on the bus this morn...

[Tzar]

why are they so fucked up...
they have no one to blame but themselves. i wasn't gonna help that cunt. if he wants to sniff a spray-can till he chunders; that's his fault. fuck him.

the vomit went all in his beard too - hahah eat shit. or better yet, eat vomit, cunt. i was only 2 seats away from him too.


motherfucker - i wanted to punch him on the top of the head so his spine shatters.

[zorra_chiflada]

i painted a table yesterday. even though i was doing it outside, i got a headache from the fumes.

[Tzar]

ps. that was a rant.
you, zorra, know these types of bums...
fucking don't do anything to help themselves. fucking just kill their brains only to vomit on public transport. :mad:

i wanted to kill him 'ey.

[yeahwho]

You know I was checking out the Giraffe's forum last night and I doubt anybody could get banned from it.

http://www.razorandtie.net/messageboards/thegiraffes/index.php

[Tzar]

you want us to launch an attack?
i ain't in the mood. i wanna kill that cunt - i wanna shatter his skull.

[tracky]

It's gotta be tough for these people, though. I mean no one expects to end up like that. What if that was you? Life can be cruel and everyone copes with it in different ways, you really don't know what that person has been through. I'm not saying vomitting on the bus is acceptable just because you've had a rough life, but wanting to kill them isn't really, when what they probably need is help.

[Tzar]

It's gotta be tough for these people, though. I mean no one expects to end up like that. What if that was you? Life can be cruel and everyone copes with it in different ways, you really don't know what that person has been through. I'm not saying vomitting on the bus is acceptable just because you've had a rough life, but wanting to kill them isn't really, when what they probably need is help.
if it were me, i wouldn't be sniffing fucking spray cans on public transport - i wouldn't do that shit full stop.

[tracky]

it's very easy to say that, though. i'm sure you won't end up like that, but these people probably don't realise what they're getting themselves into and before they know it they're bearded bums vomitting on public transport

[Tzar]

if they know how to buy a spray can and know how to sniff it - then they don't get my sympathy.

the bums that wait outside the soup kitchen van and play homeless peoples soccer - i feel for them.

[ericlee]

on the show Cops...

man walking down the street with gold spraypaint all over his face and shirt

cops to that man,"Hey you've been sniffing that gold spraypaint again eh?"

man- "nah, I wasn't sniffing paint and if I was how could you tell?"

[Tzar]

this rant makes me wanna listen to Rodney Rude and his homeless fuck jokes.

[beastieangel01]

that's pretty harsh.

Not to say that you aren't right, but it's not like you know his story or any other homeless people for that matter. Some people get stuck in super fucking shitty situations and not always by choice. Others choose that path. There is no way you would know one way or another though.

[Tzar]

Others choose that path. There is no way you would know one way or another though.
i wouldn't wanna know his past.
he wasn't one of those innocent looking bums that would tell ya to go away if you kicked him - he was one of those ones that will mug you with a syringe with his own blood in it.

[beastieangel01]

i wouldn't wanna know his past.
he wasn't one of those innocent looking bums that would tell ya to go away if you kicked him - he was one of those ones that will mug you with a syringe with his own blood in it.

eh. Even them too I try not to be that harsh with or even think that harsh. I just clear away from them.

[Tzar]

I just clear away from them.
as do i. but this incident just pissed me right up.
i feel big time sorry for the bus driver who has to clean it. it's one of those buses that has no fair - so anyone could just hop on to the bus and see/smell it.

[icy manipulator]

wow, life must be really bad if he can't afford a 4 litre sack of coolibah and has to resort to sniffing paint. i know a guy who sniffs paint tho, biggest piece of shit i've ever met. the government or someone should just take them out of there misery taxi driver styles. sometimes i seriously think people like that should just be killed, they're a fucking drain on the economy

[beastieangel01]

I cannot believe the amount of people lately who have been saying "group x" of people should just be killed.

[icy manipulator]

why not? if the government had some balls they would just do it, they're gonna kill themselves anyway

[laurie_hammy]

i painted a table yesterday. even though i was doing it outside, i got a headache from the fumes.

Yeah its yuk as. Who the fuck would want to purposly sniff it ? Bums I spose.

[enree erzweglle]

It's gotta be tough for these people, though. I mean no one expects to end up like that. What if that was you? Life can be cruel and everyone copes with it in different ways, you really don't know what that person has been through. I'm not saying vomitting on the bus is acceptable just because you've had a rough life, but wanting to kill them isn't really, when what they probably need is help.
Thank you for saying that. When I read stuff like this type of rant, I think that either the person is really young, is posturing as a badass, or is joking completely. I always hope it's my fault and that I missed the humor.

[enree erzweglle]

I cannot believe the amount of people lately who have been saying "group x" of people should just be killed.
You people who are saying this stuff about people who should be killed--are you 100% serious? (Try hard to take this question seriously, please, and tell me why anyone should be killed against their will. I'm finding it difficult to believe that these things were said in seriousness. Please convince me that my hunch is right.)

[ms.peachy]

Thank you for saying that. When I read stuff like this type of rant, I think that either the person is really young, is posturing as a badass, or is joking completely. I always hope it's my fault and that I missed the humor.
Me too. As difficult as any type of bum/vagrant/addict/whatever may be to deal with (either as an individual or as a societal group), when I see people like that I just wonder what happened to make it all go so wrong. Once upon a time, that person was a little kid, and laughed and played games and wondered about what they would be when they grew up. What happened? Where was the turning point that made them think their life is worth so little?

[enree erzweglle]

Me too. As difficult as any type of bum/vagrant/addict/whatever may be to deal with (either as an individual or as a societal group), when I see people like that I just wonder what happened to make it all go so wrong. Once upon a time, that person was a little kid, and laughed and played games and wondered about what they would be when they grew up. What happened? Where was the turning point that made them think their life is worth so little?

Years ago, we lived in a set of row houses in a courtyard about 70 steps up from the street level. Because we were our own neighborhood, everyone in the square knew everyone. One woman had two boys when we moved in--they wear about 5 & 10 then and this was in the early-1980s. I don't know what happened to one of the boys, but the older one, I've watched grow up over the last 25 years. He's about 35 now. He looks about 55. I've watched him very, very slowly deteriorate mentally over the years. It started in his teen years--he started acting neurotic. Then he became compulsive (?) in his 20s--he couldn't really look right at me without moving or repeating words over/over. In his late 20s, he went completely grey in just about a month and he started walking everywhere. I could and still can see him walking the neighborhood for hours and hours. He got thin and ragged looking, and he started rocking and talking to himself. I've tried to talk to him but it's obvious that that scares him. I've tried to follow him to see if I can find his mum or see that he's got a warm place to be, but he walks for hours and we never get anywhere. He always seems clean and shaven and his clothes are always crisp looking, so I'm thinking that someone is helping him.

I watched him go from a sweet, sweet kid to someone who obviously has hard problems. If he didn't have someone to watch out for him the way he must have, he'd be on the streets, I'm certain of it. It is hard to see someone down and out--anyone--but when you watch the slow progression of it, it's even more heartbreaking.

People scoff at the homeless. The smell, they take up resources, they annoy people by panhandling, they're lazy.

I try to think that I could have been one of those people easily--any of us could have been and could still become one.

How awful to have an illness, no home, no one to love/care for you and no one to love and care for, AND to be laughed at and mocked. I feel sorry for those people AND for the people who can't show compassion for them. In a lot of ways, I'd rather befriend the homeless than to befriend people who don't bother to try to understand their story, who dismiss them summarily, who mock them. It's so, so sad.

[Tzar]

i suppose it was one of those "you had to be there" things.

none of you's saw this cunt.

like i said before - he wasn't one of those "awww i'm homeless, i'm so down in the dumps" types of guys.

he was one of those "oi! what the fuck you looking at!? you fucking looking at me, cunt!? i'll fucking stab you, cunt!" bums. one that would blow all his centrelink pay on spray cans, syringes and crack.

hey, i never said he was homeless either so i dunno where you's got that impression... he probably does have a home somewhere but he'd rather float around the city looking for a 13 rich kid to mug.

[enree erzweglle]

Do you think he deserves to be killed?

[Tzar]

Do you think he deserves to be killed?
no - ok, i said that shit because i was pretty damn angry. i can be a dick when i'm really angry.

but IMO he needed a slap in the face and needed to be told to straighten up. you'd think someone his age WOULD know what to do; no matter what their situation. when he walked onto the bus he seemed fine. go on, didn't stumble or whatever, just sat down and it was all good. didn't give him tonnes of notice.

then you hear it; the psssssssssssst of a can, snorting and sniffing, coughing and spluttering, shaking (that little thing in spray cans that go up and down) and repeat about 4 times..... then vomit.

at first i was utterly shocked. what possesses one to do that... then i thought about the bus driver who had to clean up that shit. and yeah - i snapped in my head. :rolleyes:

[ms.peachy]

i suppose it was one of those "you had to be there" things.

none of you's saw this cunt.

like i said before - he wasn't one of those "awww i'm homeless, i'm so down in the dumps" types of guys.

he was one of those "oi! what the fuck you looking at!? you fucking looking at me, cunt!? i'll fucking stab you, cunt!" bums. one that would blow all his centrelink pay on spray cans, syringes and crack.

hey, i never said he was homeless either so i dunno where you's got that impression... he probably does have a home somewhere but he'd rather float around the city looking for a 13 rich kid to mug.
I've lived in NYC, and I live in London. I've seen a lot of pretty fucked up, dangerously out of control people (homeless or otherwise). So I do know the sort you are talking about. But I still maintain that even the most hardened among them did not come out of the womb like that.

I'm not saying I have any answers on what is the best way society can deal with people who have gotten to such a state (other than to work to prevent it from happening in the first place). I'm just saying that I can find it within myself to feel compassion for someone like that, even though I might not want to sit next to them on the bus.

[ms.peachy]

what possesses one to do that...
pain
despair
mental illness
self hatred
traumatic stress

basically, nothing good

[Tzar]

pain
despair
mental illness
self hatred
traumatic stress

basically, nothing good
werd - and the best they can do is make themself sick...
they won't have enough money for help so they pour it into making themselves worse so they can forget about it, or kill themselves, yeah?

[enree erzweglle]

but IMO he needed a slap in the face and needed to be told to straighten up. you'd think someone his age WOULD know what to do; no matter what their situation.
[...]
at first i was utterly shocked. what possesses one to do that

I've seen insane people who look/act pretty normal one second and then they surprise the shit out of me the next, just like this situation surprised you.

I'm glad that you don't think he needs to be killed. What he does need, probably, is some sound medical help.

[Tzar]

What he does need, probably, is some sound medical help.
of course. i agree with that.

[Tzar]

if i sat about 30 cm more t'ward him; i would've got drenched in it... i'm not liking that thought.

i'd rather forget about that incident today. it played with my head all fucking day.

[Mcmac]

you should have actually said something to him....

[enree erzweglle]

I live two blocks from a long strip of shops and there are several
homeless-looking people who live on the streets near those shops. Most of them appear to be alcoholics, infirmed, insane. Some don't seem like any of those things but just seem dangerous and scary and angry. One old guy was upset and crying and ANGRY because a port authority bus ran over his foot and they refused to treat him. His foot was bruised and swollen to about twice the normal size. People were just passing him by like he didn't exist.

There's a homeless-seeming woman who gets to me every time I see her. I don't know what to believe about her story, but it's been consistent over the years that she's been in this neighborhood. She's a big woman--close to 6' and when I first met her, she probably weighed about 250#. I used to see her routinely but last fall, a couple of months went by and she didn't show up. When I next saw her--in the early winter--she was hunched over and weighed probably less than I do (I weigh ~127). Something very bad happened to her or she's on something--she's angry and threatening and abusive/angry. I wouldn't know how to pull out of that.

I'm not saying that these people are saints, but they are SO down and outI can't imagine what life like that must be like for them. I might be afraid of some of them, but I don't think any less of them as people and I don't think it would be easy to solve their problems or for them to solve their problems...it's not just a matter of someone slapping them in the face and telling them how to be.

[enree erzweglle]

What he does need, probably, is some sound medical help.

of course. i agree with that.
I was responding to you saying that he needed a slap in the face and "needed to be told to straighten up. you'd think someone his age WOULD know what to do; no matter what their situation."

[ms.peachy]

werd - and the best they can do is make themself sick...
they won't have enough money for help so they pour it into making themselves worse so they can forget about it, or kill themselves, yeah?
I don't think it's as consciously thought out as all that, but yeah. It's the classic cycle, really:
feel shitty about self for being such a fuck up >> get high to stop feeling shitty about self >> feel even shitter about self >> get high to stop feeling shitty about self >> feel weak and pathetic >> get high to stop feeling shitty about self >> realise all the degrading things you have done to get money to get high and feel worthless and sick >> get high to stop feeling shitty about self >> ad infinitum

[Qdrop]

we should feel bad for him and give him our spare change.

that will help.

that will mean we are good people.

we will sleep well that night...knowing we have money to a homeless victim.

[enree erzweglle]

we should feel bad for him and give him our spare change.

that will help.

that will mean we are good people.

we will sleep well that night...knowing we have money to a homeless victim.
It's not an easy problem to solve. I know that you know that. And I know that you know that some people give money and give of themselves not for the selfish reasons you suggest.

[ms.peachy]

we should feel bad for him and give him our spare change.

that will help.

that will mean we are good people.

we will sleep well that night...knowing we have money to a homeless victim.
No, I don't really support giving money to individuals. I'll offer to buy someone a coke or a sandwich. Sometimes I get taken up on it, sometimes I don't. But in terms of money, my preference is to support organisations that are set up to provide these people with the kind of help that can have a longer-term effect.

(I'm not sure where you're coming from with this Q, as no one's said that you should give addicts money anywhere in this thread as far as I can see, so I'm just going to assume it was your natural tendency to take any and every opportunity to be sneering and dismissive in order to help maintain your fragile sense of smug superiority.)

[enree erzweglle]

No, I don't really support giving money to individuals. I'll offer to buy someone a coke or a sandwich. Sometimes I get taken up on it, sometimes I don't. But in terms of money, my preference is to support organisations that are set up to provide these people with the kind of help that can have a longer-term effect.

(I'm not sure where you're coming from with this Q, as no one's said that you should give addicts money anywhere in this thread as far as I can see, so I'm just going to assume it was your natural tendency to take any and every opportunity to be sneering and dismissive in order to help maintain your fragile sense of smug superiority.)
Thanks for saying that and for giving us more of your typical eloquence. So refreshing. (I was thinking this very same thing but struggled with how to say it without exacerbating things and without getting further into an argument.)

[ms.peachy]

Thanks for saying that and for giving us more of your typical eloquence. So refreshing. (I was thinking this very same thing but struggled with how to say it without exacerbating things and without getting further into an argument.)
Argument schmargument. Whatever, you know? We were actually I think having a rather decent and interesting discussion about this subject and Mr Q decided to treat us to his usual repertoire of condescension. And I'm just not in the mood to be nice about it. I've no intention of arguing with him. He already knows he's a dick, revels in it apparently, so there's no point really.

[Tzar]

it's not just a matter of someone slapping them in the face and telling them how to be.

maybe not - but coming up them, putting your hand on their shoulder and saying "hey, you look like you could do with some help :)" wouldn't do much justice either.

they'd throw the ole "oh piss off! i dun need help! you fucking judging me?!" etc etc.

giving them bum change ain't worth a shit either. we all know where it's going to go. (well when it comes to the addicts & muggers anyway).

[Nuzzolese]

One time I went out to meet a friend at a bar, but he was with his other friends who did not know me at all. They looked me over, didn't like what they saw, they were a tight group with history, I was a suspicious outsider attempting to infect and kidnap their friend with my outsider ways (that was my impression)

They were SO RUDE, I didn't look like them, didn't know their stories. Even though I was ignored and at a disadvantage, arriving late in their lives relatively, I decided they weren't worth an effort to integrate myself into. I'd rather do without company at all than kiss their asses just because they are more in number, they were there first, etc. So I went without attention and jokes and friendliness. Just be cool and tough.

When one guy started to talk to me he was so overly friendly I thought he was being sarcastic, facetious, so I wasn't receptive at all and his girlfriend demanded to know what my problem was. "He's just trying to be cordial!" Bullshit he was. Well maybe he was but I was on the defensive already.

Take that and multiply it by 1000 and that's how I see disadvantaged people who are suspicious of "charity." Just my stupid sentiments.


TO SUM UP: Peoples be different, unwelcome, treated like shit - they build a protective/hindering barrier around themselves to block pain and kindess at the same time. We take our gifts and advantages for granted. Shama lama ding dong. I'm out.

[enree erzweglle]

maybe not - but coming up them, putting your hand on their shoulder and saying "hey, you look like you could do with some help :)" wouldn't do much justice either.

they'd throw the ole "oh piss off! i dun need help! you fucking judging me?!" etc etc.

giving them bum change ain't worth a shit either. we all know where it's going to go. (well when it comes to the addicts & muggers anyway).
I woudn't suggest that anyone do that or do anything like that in that circumstance. It's not an easy problem to solve. Some people like that are approachable; some aren't. I don't interact with the ones who are doing crazy things or who are pissed off or being violent.

In your situation, I don't know how I would have reacted or if I would have done any real actionable thing.

When I read this thread, I initially reacted to the tone of people laughing at other people who are having problems like that. Then I reacted to a few of you who said that people like that should be killed. That threw me a bit out of kilter. And I needed to know if any of you were being serious.

When there are people like the guy you described, I am always curious about why some people mock them and others feel compassion. I was trying to get to a better understanding of that here.

[Tzar]

oh, i wasn't mocking him by a fair go.
i was just...totally thrown in the deep in.
In your situation, I don't know how I would have reacted or if I would have done any real actionable thing.
and i didn't... so i decided to let it be at the time. but once i got off the bus, i thought about the poor bus driver having to put up with shit like that so early in the day (this was 9am). i mean, he has to spot somewhere whilst "off duty" or whatever and clean it up. the 'bum' probably got off before-hand (the particular bus stops at every stop so you don't need to signal at all) and probably didn't apoligise.

i just got fired up about it. then the smell got stuck in my nose for the next couple of hours. (n) ever smelt ice coffee, paint, vomit and sweat all at once? i don't recommend. but not that that matters in the end.

anywho... that's life, innit

[Qdrop]

Argument schmargument. Whatever, you know? We were actually I think having a rather decent and interesting discussion about this subject and Mr Q decided to treat us to his usual repertoire of condescension. And I'm just not in the mood to be nice about it. I've no intention of arguing with him. He already knows he's a dick, revels in it apparently, so there's no point really.

you get to retort with opinionated barbs on occasion...

can't I?

i was just referancing past threads on similar topics.

cool your box, peachy.

[Nuzzolese]

you get to retort with opinionated barbs on occasion...

can't I?

i was just referancing past threads on similar topics.

cool your box, peachy.

Yeah speaking of past threads on similar topics haven't there been about 5 in the last couple of months? I initially thought this one was satirical or something witty like that.

[Qdrop]

Yeah speaking of past threads on similar topics haven't there been about 5 in the last couple of months? I initially thought this one was satirical or something witty like that.

yeah, people really have "Homeless on the Brain" lately...

it's making this board smell...

[Nuzzolese]

I wonder if there was something that happened to get people thinking about the homeless.

[Qdrop]

I wonder if there was something that happened to get people thinking about the homeless.


hmmmmm....

nothing comes to mind.

oh wait!....no, no....

[zippo]

I wonder if there was something that happened to get people thinking about the homeless.

ill just assume this wasnt, among other people, also referring to me

[icy manipulator]

this whole thread reminds me of that song Jam Roll by Hunter

On a perth bound train with no valid ticket
i'm broke as a joke with no smokes i cant kick it
it's habit i've gotta have a nicottine addiction
everyday's a packet i'm a rabbit on a mission
to get my fortnightly form in
me and all the rest of the dole bludggers swarm in to Centrelink
Did you apply for any jobs?
Nah mate i stayed at home and played with my knob
but that's not really what i really said of course i lied
and rattled off a list of places that i never replied
Coles, fuck no i aint pushing a trolley
i handed in my resume, that's what i told the wally