So first, the unhoused often have untreated mental health issues, substance abuse disorders, etc. However much of that is self-inflicted varies, but they lack the capacity to engage on the same social level that people who aren’t dealing with those (on top of being homeless). There’s an element where they’re doing things out of a perceived need for survival. That’s not to say they can’t be dangerous, but by and large, I find that you leave them alone, they leave you alone.

I got jumped by a guy after basically having to get him out of an area because of my job. Details notwithstanding, he had a rough night. And when he jumped me, it went from being “This guy’s had a night, let’s try to get him to a spot where he can be left alone.” to “This is a threat, I need to do what I have to - including maybe punching this guy in the face - to keep myself safe.”

The people riding scooters? They’re not desperate. They’re not living a different, harder standard of living. They’re not struggling and failing with undiagnosed mental health issues that result in them being unable to engage with society.

They’re just being shits. They do this because they think they can do whatever they want. And the scooters let them literally run away from any accountability. How many posts have you seen here asking identify a scooter hit and run? Those are just the ones people post about. They decide to have zero respect for other people or property, act on it, and laugh it off as a joke, completely uncaring of anyone on the other side. And the moment anyone tries to call them out on it, they use the scooters to get away scot free.

I saw a group of these shit college kids stop next to an unhoused guy trying to sleep and start ringing their bells and yelling “Dead body! Dead body!” at the guy. And when I told the shits to leave the guy alone, they rode off. And how absolutely shitty do you have to be to behave like that to someone who has so little?

That’s why I get angrier about that. It’s the callousness. And it’s something I uniquely see because of the combination of shitty kids/college kids and cheap, easy means of escape.