| Re: homeless ba$ t@rd$
it's very easy for people with a roof over their heads to complain about homeless people. personally, i'm more concerned with getting facist bastards (hello, TurdoAC) out of my face than big issue sellers.
for starters, i buy the big issue fairly regularly. it's a genuinely good magazine, for a very decent price and you know that you're making a contribution to helping homeless people. the reasons for homelessness are many, and now's probably not the time to go into them all, but i think one of the reasons that homelessness is such a problem is that our current style of western capitalism provides no safety net for those who may have "gone down the wrong path", as said by the snudge. the consumerist culture attitudes and the me-generation that is currently upon us has rendered support for the homeless even lower, as people are only concerned with advancing their own immediate needs. remember kids, if capitalism teaches us anything it's that everyone's to blame for everything except you. this despicable attitude is probably what's feeding any resentment towards the homeless.
as for drugs programs, the best thing that governments can do is provide the most in-demand drugs on prescription via the NHS. now i don't mean handing out eccies on a saturday night, but something like the methadone clinics. essentially what will happen is that junkies will keep coming back to the NHS, as it will be able to offer the drugs for cheaper than the dealers as it has no hidden agendas (buying weapons, fancy cars etc) and gets much of its funding from tax payer's money. due the fact that the NHS doesn't "need" to keep selling drugs to stay afloat as the dealers do, it is able to consistantly reduce the size of the dose given to the addict, and will eventually be able to get them off the drugs.
such a project would drive many dealers out of town, and is therefore worth pursuing. for a start, if cannabis were on prescription (or even on sale), there would be no chance of people having to turn to harder drugs for kicks when supplies "run dry". this happens only because dealers need to make money in any way possible: the NHS doesn't need to offer acids or smack to someone who's only in for hash, because it doesn't need weaponary, fancy cars, a new flat or whatever else dealers want. in fact, it is in the best position to do the opposite - it can offer incentives for people cutting down on hash, which would in turn make for less people needing treatment for whatever ailments the smoking of cannabis would cause.
with heroin, the same basic principles apply. the dealer sells more and more to the addict because he/she sees the opportunity to garner more important finances...the NHS administers less and less in order to wean the addicts off the drug, which will help free up various public resources and will probably lead to a drop in overall crime. people don't forget the bad experiences they've had when on drugs, and i'm sure that most of those who are able to quit then will be able to stay off permanently.
i've a huge respect for anyone who is able to kick that kind of habit. when i was in 4th year our school had a talk from some guys from calton athletic, a glasgow-based football team that provides something to do for those who've stepped away from alcoholism and drug addiction. they weren't the smartest guys in the world, but they weren't stupid: they were able to show you how they made their mistakes, why they made them, and how they've reformed themselves. these people would once be the ones stealing and begging, so i think we've got to accept that people can change for the better - all we have to do is help. i don't think this help can come from punishment and hatred, but from better integration and education.
so no more of this hatred nonsense, please!
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Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad - Anon. | 
