Riese & Müller stops sales to the USA

[dblhelix]

This is a very interesting point. I lived and biked in an area (Berkeley and Oakland, CA) for a few months where I had to ride by/thru some homeless camps to get to/from work. It was always uncomfortable for me and made me a bit anxious. I never had a direct run-in with any of these folks, but some of them gave me pause and I had to give them a wide berth because they were aggressive and angry.


I get your point here, but I don’t think that reasoning has (or will ever) work. Forgetting politics or social engineering for the moment, the simple fact is this: If these were just peaceful settlements where the homeless set up camp, that would probably work. You’d get pity and local/national support. However, when you have the few (?) bad eggs screwing it up for the many, support goes away.

Sadly, there’s also the fairly modern issue with fentanyl aggravating the problem by creating a zombie population in a lot of areas. This is sort of the opposite problem to mentally ill, aggressive behavior. I don’t know how bad this is in D.C., but take a walk around San Francisco’s tenderloin district sometime! No easy solution here either.

I recognize that homelessness/drugs/mental illness are neither new nor simple problems. I can only say that if I were biking around D.C., I’d want to be able to take in the sights without being accosted.

I am female and have spent decades biking around DC without getting accosted. It's even easier if you just want to see the sights.

Where we agree is that homelessness is a problem, nationwide. Truthfully, it's way worse on the west coast as compared to DC. But my point is that individuals like those trying to 'help' me with cash or my volunteer efforts are spitting in the wind, yet on an individual basis I have found that Americans are far more compassionate than online extremists would have us believe.

Political leadership needed. This so-called 'solution' is not sustainable. Again, I think many Americans would step up to help. When I'm not in DC, I spend my time in the other 'hellhole,' Baltimore. We have a significant homeless population in my neighborhood, but everybody helps out. On the ground level, whether biking, or on the street, it's harder to practice avoidance when you're part of it.

I totally get that the issues are daunting to all of us on an individual basis, but what I really am hearing is a complete lack of faith in our collective ability to solve any problems. That may be the correct view

 

[dblhelix]

This is a very interesting point. I lived and biked in an area (Berkeley and Oakland, CA) for a few months where I had to ride by/thru some homeless camps to get to/from work. It was always uncomfortable for me and made me a bit anxious. I never had a direct run-in with any of these folks, but some of them gave me pause and I had to give them a wide berth because they were aggressive and angry.


I get your point here, but I don’t think that reasoning has (or will ever) work. Forgetting politics or social engineering for the moment, the simple fact is this: If these were just peaceful settlements where the homeless set up camp, that would probably work. You’d get pity and local/national support. However, when you have the few (?) bad eggs screwing it up for the many, support goes away.

Sadly, there’s also the fairly modern issue with fentanyl aggravating the problem by creating a zombie population in a lot of areas. This is sort of the opposite problem to mentally ill, aggressive behavior. I don’t know how bad this is in D.C., but take a walk around San Francisco’s tenderloin district sometime! No easy solution here either.

I recognize that homelessness/drugs/mental illness are neither new nor simple problems. I can only say that if I were biking around D.C., I’d want to be able to take in the sights without being accosted.

This happened when I was a kid, so the idea of petitioning the govt is just part of the fabric.

https://www.agweb.com/news/policy/politics/tractorcade-how-epic-convoy-and-legendary-farmer-army-shook-washington-d-c

 

[dblhelix]

My understanding is that R&M has resumed shipping to the US.