Golden State Follies

How are things in California? How are things going in the most “woke” of American states? How are things going in the nation’s most progressive state and poorest state?

Glad you asked.

This (via Ed Driscoll at Instapundit) gives us the picture we need. Naturally, the Daily Mail, a London tabloid, tells the story. Incidentally, how does it happen that a London tabloid has to break the story?

In one superb headline the Daily Mail describes a San Francisco subway station:

'Simply unacceptable': Disturbing footage emerges of semi-conscious junkies openly shooting up in front of commuters in vomit-covered BART station as San Francisco struggles to contain its homeless problem

You will agree with me that it’s a great headline. Anyway, the story continues:

Junkies have been filmed openly shooting up in a San Francisco subway station amid piles of vomit and unconscious bodies. 

Commuter Shannon Gafford recorded the disturbing video at the Civic Center BART station, saying he sees the same thing every day.

BART managers point to a national homeless and opiate crises as the cause of the problem, saying they are simply 'overwhelmed' by the amount of drug use.

Posting his video to Facebook, Gafford wrote: 'Someone needs to clean this up. Every morning, every day, it's the same thing. 

'Junkies shooting up and making Bart the most pleasant experience ever! I walk the Civic Center Station everyday and not once has this changed. 

'Does someone need to be hurt first ? I've posted several of these videos and sent it to #BartSF #BartPoliceDepartment and nothing.'

And here are a few photos of the scene. Keep in mind, this is San Francisco, adjunct to Silicon Valley, place where the grandees of the high tech industry live and work. What do they have to say about any of this? What are they doing about it, except shielding themselves from the horrors that surround their high tech utopias?

And then there’s the Los Angeles subway system, haven for the homeless. At least, this well reported story comes to us from the Los Angeles Times:

The early morning commuters stepping off the Metro escalator paid little attention to the 10 people huddled under blankets and curled up in corners at the Hollywood and Vine station.

John Gant, 60, lay sprawled on the tile floor, his hoodie drawn over his face. When three social workers stopped to ask if he wanted help, he nodded.

Over hot coffee and pages of paperwork, Gant, who had been homeless for years, called his mother to share the news. He cracked a rare smile, saying: “They’re trying to find me a place to sleep.”

The Metro system has been a refuge for homeless people for decades. But as Los Angeles County’s homeless population has surged, reaching more than 58,000 people last year, the sanitation and safety problems on trains and buses are approaching what officials and riders say are crisis levels.

People looking for warm, dry places to sleep have barricaded themselves inside emergency exit stairwells in stations, leaving behind trash and human waste. Elevator doors coated in urine have stuck shut. Mentally ill and high passengers have assaulted bus drivers and other riders.

And also:

Riders’ feelings about the safety of buses and trains have had a direct effect on ridership. More than 1 in 5 current passengers has been harassed on the train. In a 2016 survey, 29% of former riders told Metro they stopped taking transit because they felt unsafe.

“Too many homeless and not enough cops,” wrote one former rider, in survey responses reviewed by The Times. Others described their commutes as “filthy, noisy, scary” and “rather disturbing at times.”

As you might expect, the local citizens feel empathy for the misery they see around them:

Passengers who encounter chronic addiction, illness and misery say they feel they can do little to help, and struggle to stay empathetic when they encounter trash and human waste on platforms, urine in train cars, and harassment from riders who are mentally ill.

Complaints have been pouring in. Local authorities have stepped up policing. But, just to be sure, they are sending in an army of social workers to deal with the problem. That’s right. These people need therapy.

And guess what, the mayor of Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti, wants to run for president. Will the entertainment never end.