• lemmyng@lemmy.ca
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    4 days ago

    I’m not opposed to the message, but did it have to be an AI generated picture?

    • Catoblepas@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      4 days ago

      I’m torn on whether this is AI. The AI detectors I put it in say no, and the letters being consistent (all T’s looking like all other T’s, etc) says real person to me rather than machine generated. The wood grain is also consistent beneath the lettering, and it and the chain link fence don’t meander or disappear in any weird ways that I see.

      That said the building in the background looks weird to me, as does the lighting. And the combination of the wood grain plus the texture on the lettering does give it that weird quality that AI text tends to have, it immediately made me question it as well. I just can’t decide if it’s a weird artifact of real textures clashing or not.

      • Baguette@lemm.ee
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        4 days ago

        Its edited/manipulated in some way. The E’s are all the same, even the bump on the bottom part is there for all of them.

        Might be photoshop moreso than ai

        • Catoblepas@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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          4 days ago

          Yeah, them all being the same is what makes me think person; when you look at those AI images with legible text, the text wiggles and is inconsistent when you compare something like one A to another A. But if you’re a person using linocut stamps or duplicating things in photoshop, letters will look the same.

          There’s other little things too, like the knot in the wood that the paper dips into, that make me lean more towards ‘real but strange looking photo.’

          • Baguette@lemm.ee
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            4 days ago

            I’d lean more towards real photo but photoshopped and the original text was something else

            You can see the line artifacts around each repeated characters are the same despite the letters themselves being different sizes, so I’m leaning towards they just cut and scaled letters from the original text or something similar. You can see for example each T has a line artifact on the bottom left and each E has one on the top. Plus, if it was an irl letter stamp, they wouldnt have different sizes for the letters, at least not to this degree

            • PalmTreeIsBestTree@lemmy.world
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              4 days ago

              I don’t know why people seem to forget about photoshop. Late night hosts were using photoshopped pictures in bits 30 years ago.

  • SoftestSapphic@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    The US doesn’t want to addtess its spiraling homelessness problem because giving them homes means they now treat homeless people better than the people who work 40hrs a week to barely pay for a home.

  • username_no_1@lemm.ee
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    4 days ago

    Yep, it’s literally in the name unhoused/homeless. Will giving someone a home fix mental health and/or addiction issues? Probably not. But providing permanent, stable housing is a necessary first step.

    • shalafi@lemmy.world
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      4 days ago

      Housing would clear a great deal of homeless off the street, but the recalcitrant people, no idea how to deal with them.

      And no one ever proposes where to build this housing. Sorry, but NIMBY, not around my children and home. And anyone who says they would be fine housing the homeless in their hood is a liar or has no experience with homeless people. A great many of them are bugfuck at best, violent at worst.

      Met a trans (?) dude in the woods the other day. He was madly packing his tent and throwing on a jacket and boots to hide his girl clothes (literally little girl clothes). I tried to calm him, chat a bit, let him know I’m peaceful. The shotgun and pistol probably didn’t help my case. :(

      I regret not trying to help him more, wasn’t sure what to do. Gave him some trash bags and advised him to pick up the area so none of us get hassled for being back there. Wish I had sat him down and explained the area, directed him to more private places to camp.

      Thought much about him. He seemed sane enough, but could he actually hold a job? Just show up on time, work, leave? He was so scared it was hard to get through to him, see how he was really doing. Anyway, that’s been eating on me, so I’m dropping this on y’all.

      • Cryophilia@lemmy.world
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        4 days ago

        And anyone who says they would be fine housing the homeless in their hood is a liar or has no experience with homeless people.

        • On my street is a halfway house for recently released prisoners

        • Next street over is a bunch of housing for formerly homeless

        • In a few years, my entire street will be demolished to build new mixed-use housing, including some units set aside for formerly homeless, veterans, and teachers (this was prominently noted on the rental lease agreement and we know it’s coming eventually).

        I’m fine with it. It’s a peaceful street. There are kids and families and people walking their dogs and old men fishing at the ass-crack of dawn. The people who are allowed to live there are vetted and have case managers and are given job training and psychological and medical support. I’m sure it’s expensive as all fuck to the government/nonprofits involved to run it that way, and it only serves a relatively small number of people, but it works very well from everything I’ve seen.

        • shalafi@lemmy.world
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          2 days ago

          None of those three bullet points address random homeless people. I’d be happy with those sorts of folks, they’ve shown they’re capable of living in society.
          Many homeless simply can’t deal.

          I’ve known two guys to up and leave perfectly nice homes because the pressure was too much on their mind. Hell, they weren’t even employed, just couldn’t stand being around other humans. A home with others in it felt too confining one told me.

      • Resonosity@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        3 days ago

        And no one ever proposes where to build this housing. Sorry, but NIMBY, not around my children and home.

        Tell me you don’t live in a city without telling me you don’t live in a city

        • shalafi@lemmy.world
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          2 days ago

          Lived in cities most of my life, Chicago being one. Often worked the south side up there. That urban enough for ya? Now I live on the bleeding edge of town, nothing but cotton fields past our neighborhood.

          Not sure how that matters, in any case I don’t want random homeless people roaming my hood. Most I’ve talked to are perfectly decent humans, but the homeless have a far higher percentage of fruitcakes and, more importantly, violent fruitcakes.

          When I worked downtown I almost got in three fights with the homeless. My neighbors don’t bow up on me and follow me around when I say, “Sorry. Don’t usually carry cash.” And then there were the fights in front of our shop.

          And those are only anecdotes from this city. You should walk the French Quarter. About got in three fights in a single night. And I have no idea why. One guy cornered us on a tiny side street, gave up when we confidently walked off. (Had a pistol and was scared shitless it would come to that.) Another guy chased us down the street when I gave a thumbs up to his street drumming and said, “Keep on!” I forget the last circumstance. OTOH, a homeless guy playing money for chess absolutely schooled my wife. That was fun.

  • RedFrank24@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    I have more respect for someone who goes “I hate homeless people, I think they’re scum” and pushes for actually housing them because they don’t ever want to see them again, over someone who goes “Oh those poor dears! We really should do something!” and then just likes a social media post about hostile architecture and leaves it at that.

  • But_my_mom_says_im_cool@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    I have a cousin from a wealthy family who chooses to be homeless. He can’t be committed against his will and he doesn’t want the responsibility of just having a room in his parents house or with relatives.

    A lot of people have this idea that housing everyone will fix the people who just aren’t gonna do it without it being forced on them

    • Cryophilia@lemmy.world
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      4 days ago

      One of the biggest issues when talking about homelessness is conflating the two different groups - people who are homeless through unfortunate circumstances, and people who are incapable of living in society. One side thinks all homeless are the former group, the other side thinks all homeless are the latter group. Truth is, both exist. You can’t take a schizophrenic drug addict, throw them in a house, and then declare victory. However, there ARE some homeless for whom that’s all they need.

      Ending homelessness requires a granular, personal approach. And that shit is EXPENSIVE.

      • Olgratin_Magmatoe@slrpnk.net
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        4 days ago

        Ending homelessness requires a granular, personal approach. And that shit is EXPENSIVE.

        But generally less expensive than letting the problem fester. Police, medics, sanitation, and so on is expensive as hell.

        • Cryophilia@lemmy.world
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          4 days ago

          People are notoriously bad at comparing a single large dollar amount with a large number of smaller dollar amounts.

        • doingthestuff@lemy.lol
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          3 days ago

          Simply putting the subset of homeless who can’t live in society into a house or apartment will not substantially reduce the need for police, medics or sanitation.

          • Olgratin_Magmatoe@slrpnk.net
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            3 days ago

            Yes, which is why I quoted this text instead of “just house everyone”

            Ending homelessness requires a granular, personal approach. And that shit is EXPENSIVE.

            • doingthestuff@lemy.lol
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              3 days ago

              Yes you did. I wasn’t trying to argue with you. Solutions are complicated. And Americans already pay too much for everything. Lots of people are barely not homeless.

      • milicent_bystandr@lemm.ee
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        3 days ago

        And that shit is EXPENSIVE.

        Or takes all of society to get involved, rather than outsourcing it to government via taxes.

          • milicent_bystandr@lemm.ee
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            3 days ago

            “If everyone would just stop being racist”

            “If everyone would just vote for honest politicians”

            “If everyone would just be faithful to their partners”

            “If everyone would just trust scientific medicine”

            “If everyone would just put people first instead of profits”

            “If everyone would just not abuse children”

            No. Sure, you’ll never get everyone doing a good thing, but it’s useless to give up entirely on society/community as a whole doing things right. Imagine if 90% of families abused children on a regular basis, and you don’t even hope for those families to change, you just plan on government alternatives?

            • Cryophilia@lemmy.world
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              3 days ago

              hope for those families to change

              You are literally advocating for thoughts and prayers instead of fixing the problem.

              • milicent_bystandr@lemm.ee
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                3 days ago

                What?! No, I’m advocating for change. You can go and do the change, since I’m not there. Go and do it, and I’ll do change where I am here.

                Or is your strategy hopes and prayers for government instead? You should make tiktoks praising Bernie. And post on Lemmy your preferred government plan. That will definitely do practical help.

                • Cryophilia@lemmy.world
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                  3 days ago

                  No, I’m advocating for change.

                  Then that’s not an “if everyone would just…” strategy.

      • theotherwoman@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        You’re just wrong. No granular approach is needed. It’s not complicated at all.

        Offer people housing without conditions and people do take it. Finland did this and it eliminated homelessness there.

        The cousin from a rich family “choosing” to be homeless over living with family is likely “choosing” that option because he doesn’t want to take harsh psychiatric medications, have a curfew of 9 PM in his 20s, and be criticized for going out to socialize. It’s likely the “choice” involves a rejection of extremely oppressive rules and he doesn’t have decent options.

        You can actually take a schizophrenic drug addict, throw them in a house, and then declare victory. Often that type of person chooses voluntarily to deal with some issues once housed. What you can’t do is take a schizophrenic drug addict and offer housing contingent upon really harsh anti-psychotics and weekly drug testing plus loss of housing if they don’t comply, administered by extremely expensive social workers who end up feeling like police. That is also what makes traditional programs so expensive.

        I often think people who think homelessness is a complex nuanced issue just want there to be homelessness or buy into upper class lies justifying homelessness which keep the lower classes fearful and obedient.

          • infinitesunrise@slrpnk.net
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            3 days ago

            This article talks at length about the cause of this rise being increasing economic stress / government cuts and the affordable housing system not having been adjusted to meet the rising demand. Literally it points to a Housing First program under-powered relative to economic needs as the reason for the rise. I don’t know if I necessarily agree with the person you’re replying to but this article strongly supports their argument.

            • yarr@feddit.nl
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              3 days ago

              Sure, but they said they “eliminated” homelessness. I would say “addressed it effectively”, but not eliminated. Kind of similar to how measles hasn’t been eliminated but it’s essentially handled.

        • Cryophilia@lemmy.world
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          3 days ago

          This is the most naive, ridiculous, privileged bullshit I’ve ever read. I award you no points, and may god have mercy on your soul.

    • yarr@feddit.nl
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      3 days ago

      A given % of the homeless are capable of finding housing and actively avoid it. That number is not 100%, but it is not 0% either.

  • jjjalljs@ttrpg.network
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    4 days ago

    It’s also funny to me when people say they are Christian but don’t want to help the poor. The good Samaritan is very clear. So is the bit about the sheep and the goats.

    But you can use the Bible to justify anything, I guess.

    • yarr@feddit.nl
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      3 days ago

      Love thy neighbor as thy self, because let’s be real, they can just fend for themselves, and if they don’t, well, fuck the poor. I mean, why should I have to take care of all these lazy bums? They’re always begging for scraps anyway. It’s like, if you can’t handle a little poverty, then maybe you shouldn’t be living here. Fuck the poor.

    • Xanthobilly@lemmy.world
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      4 days ago

      Christianity is about control for the powerful and bedtime stories to make you feel better about inexcusable shitty behavior for the masses.

      • infinitesunrise@slrpnk.net
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        3 days ago

        That’s the church. I would take care to keep the institution distinct from the spirituality. Some of the most practicing and compassionate radical leftists I’ve ever met have been christian anarchists.

    • Peck@lemmy.world
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      4 days ago

      I’m not Christian and I don’t want to see them. Also I didn’t consider housing them to be my job. That’s why we have government that we elect and pay taxes to in order to fund it. This is just bs sign that simply virtue signaling instead of asking hard questions.

        • Peck@lemmy.world
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          3 days ago

          Not well. I don’t know if you mean to imply something, but I live in Portland and our government is very liberal. And yes I voted for them. And yes they have solved absolutely nothing.

          • infinitesunrise@slrpnk.net
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            2 days ago

            The notion of government being not your job, something you pay someone else to do, is a fallacy. And the notion that it can be that is fantasy. But even if that were the case, you’d be a chump to not at least demand in writing an undelivered service that you already paid for. We do have local council reps now.

            • Peck@lemmy.world
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              2 days ago

              Wtf? Government is my job when I vote for it based on their declared policies. Demand services in writing? What are you talking about? What country are you from?

              • infinitesunrise@slrpnk.net
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                2 days ago

                Government is my job when I vote for it based on their declared policies.

                Nope, that’s the fallacy again. Literally not the way that it actually works. You have to hold your reps feet to the coals. Interests that are opposite your own already understand this fact. You have to get involved at least at some minimal level, or you’ll never get what you want out of politics and will forever stay frustrated.

                Portlanders do struggle with this concept more than a lot of other urban Americans and I think it’s largely due to the fact that until a few months ago we were the only major city that didn’t have a city council. They look at me like I’m an alien, and ask things like what country am I from.

                • Peck@lemmy.world
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                  2 days ago

                  I already have a job. I don’t need the second one. If I did, I would run for office myself.

      • jjjalljs@ttrpg.network
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        4 days ago

        You don’t want to see them because you want them to be housed, or you want them to be forcibly moved so they’re unhoused out of sight?

        The government should be doing more for the housing crisis, but a first step for that is getting people aware of the issue and on board with solutions.

        • Peck@lemmy.world
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          4 days ago

          I don’t want to see them because they are dangerous. Reasons don’t matter. I’ve been harassed and my wife was attacked by homeless people in Portland. She has pretty severe PTSD right now because of that.

          • jjjalljs@ttrpg.network
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            4 days ago

            Everyone is dangerous.

            Kind of shitty to oppose systemic changes that would help them and reduce danger

            • Peck@lemmy.world
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              4 days ago

              No housed person has harassed or attacked me since middle school.

              • Resonosity@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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                3 days ago

                Housed persons are peaceful. Unhoused persons are dangerous.

                Literally if public housing was dispersed equally and equitably across a given city or area, as time goes by, unhoused people would housed people nearby anyone. They become peaceful by your logic.

                The government might be able to do this using eminent domain, but people like you would oppose it in your neighborhood.

                Everyone has to be onboard with this so the load on everyone becomes proportional and not disproportional.

                And this is where American individualism gets in the way. People don’t value community, and so politicians would be hard pressed to get this done while being shunned from office come time for the next election.

                How do you break down American individualism? By removing barriers between housed and unhoused people, doing outreach, having conversations, and lending a helping hand in redevelopment.

                Sounds like you’re allergic to all of those though

                • Peck@lemmy.world
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                  People like me? You know nothing about me. Like for starters that I already live in the neighborhood with high number of public housing units. I have nothing against them whatsoever. I encourage them to build more. Yeah like having outreach and all that other bullshit solved the issue. Did you catch that I live in Portland? I see with my own eyes that these policy are not working even though bleeding hearts keep on talking about them like they are Jesuses incarnate.

    • Nougat@fedia.io
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      4 days ago
      • Panhandling does not produce enough income to maintain a residence; if you think it does, go try it yourself.
      • Shelters are often highly restrictive, crowded or full, and more dangerous to person and property than hiding out somewhere.
      • There is a relatively high correlation between mental illness and homelessness. Pile on top of that substance abuse as self-medication. This makes navigating the bureaucracy that is HUD very difficult.
      • Fuck you.
      • rumba@lemmy.zip
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        4 days ago

        ^^^

        Shit, even if I really wanted to help someone panhandling, it’s not like I ever have any cash on me.

        high correlation between mental illness and homelessness

        Probably as much cause as effect. Same with the substance abuse, everything in life is shit, you don’t have enough to get off the street but you can afford to get high enough not to care in the moment.

        • I_Has_A_Hat@lemmy.world
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          4 days ago

          If you dump a bucket of water into another bucket from 6ft up, most of it will fall into the other bucket because of gravity. Some will splash out due to the turbulence of the water hitting the bucket.

          Gravity and turbulence. We don’t call those excuses for why the water winds up where it does, we call them the reasons.

          Explaining why things are the way they are isn’t making excuses. Panhandling doesn’t net you nearly enough to pay for all your basic needs. Shelters often have several issues that make them worse than the streets themselves. Section 8 requires documentation that the homeless often don’t have, meetings they can’t often get to, and wait lists years long.

          Of course that’s not always the case, there are people that earn a decent living from begging. There are shelters that are safe and well run. There are areas where Section 8 housing is readily available and easy to apply for. But those are the exceptions. You’re focusing on the water that splashed out of the bucket and saying gravity must just be an excuse, because clearly some water made it out.

          Also, you are stuck in the 90’s and don’t have the first clue what homelessness is today. 40-60% of homeless people today have jobs. Let me repeat that with some emphasis:

          40-60% OF HOMELESS PEOPLE TODAY HAVE JOBS.

          Cost of living has gone up so much that, even with a job, you can find yourself on the street. In the US, there is no longer even a single county where the income from working a full-time, minimum-wage job is more than the monthly cost for a one-bedroom apartment.

          If you think the issue of homelessness lies with individuals not working hard enough, rather than a society where working full-time no longer guarantees you housing; well buddy, your morals are utterly fucked.

        • BussyGyatt@feddit.org
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          4 days ago

          You’re also making excuses for your lack of empathy. I hope you never find yourself in the position of needing empathy and the only person available is someone like you.

        • NocturnalMorning@lemmy.world
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          4 days ago

          Ahh, right, the ole addiction isn’t a disease take. I keep running into your dumbass. I wish I didn’t. If it was just a choice, it’d be easy to say no.

          But, we both know I’m not going to change your opinion, so let’s just move on with our lives, and you can keep being a shitty person.

            • NocturnalMorning@lemmy.world
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              You’re one person, a single data point. That’s not how science works. You don’t get to decide it’s a choice bcz something worked for you. My entire family is filled with alcoholics, im not even have this debate with you. There’s tons of scientific studies that do not support your argument. But, data and facts never work against anecdotes and emotional responses like yours. Again, as I said, your opinion will not be changed, as I figured. And its not supported by any science whatsoever. You can keep your anecdotes and do shitty science somewhere else.

      • M137@lemmy.world
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        4 days ago

        Hey, you kinda messed up writing your question, just letting you know. They sure seem like that kind of person, the deeply shitty kind.

    • I_Fart_Glitter@lemmy.world
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      4 days ago

      Section 8 has an 8 year wait list and you still have to pay 1/3 of your income, which is how much rental companies should be charging anyway. It levels the field, it’s not free housing.

    • Allonzee@lemmy.world
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      You’re just satisfied with society abandoning its worst off as the visible reminder of what a shithole of a society we have. You have a lot of company since the owner class gutted public education to complete ruin over decades though.

      There is no “or” though. There is no world where the homeless punches themselves in the face or hides themselves from your eyeline for your amusement because there’s no point in appeasing the legion of sociopaths for profit “news” media has made like you in exchange for nothing. They’d rather eat with that panhandling money, and they’re right, sorry.