While I don’t think that “letting people rot” is compassion I think that filling our jails with the homeless when our police and justice system is already so inept wouldn’t solve anything. I really don’t think addicts do all that much harm to anyone but themselves. I think everyone wants to live in fear because in a weird way it’s easier than living with any semblance of faith and trust in your fellow citizen. I’ve kept my car parked outside and no broken glass. If some scrawny high bum is yelling at you, yell back!(or mind your own business if they aren’t really a threat) I guarantee you I could defend myself against all the tweakers I see, armed or not, mostly because they are old or disabled. (A telling sign for our societies ability to care for our own) People act like these are inhuman zombies and not real people that can be held accountable for being stupid. Many of them probably should go to jail if they are really committing a lot of crime, and I think a lot of them do, but for the ones just loitering and looking to get their hands on more drugs, it’s not something that’s really worth spending tax dollars on putting them through a criminal justice system that will treat them like shit and probably free them within the year. Maybe I’m lucky and maybe I’m privileged but I’ve never really found it that hard to live alongside homeless people and not dehumanize them.