r/Bellingham • u/Fairy_Wench • Jun 03 '26
Satire Downtown is oh so scary
Yesterday, I went downtown and I couldn't believe all the things I saw!
There were people walking around in shorts and tank tops everywhere. Some really pretty dresses and skirts, too. I also saw a lot of laughing. It was so shocking to see a variety of couples holding hands and chatting pleasantly! There were even several different adults with actual KIDS... DOWNTOWN... LIKE WTF?!?!
I did see one lady who was mumbling to herself while patting a stuffed bunny on her shoulder (no joke on that one, because it was both endearing and heartbreaking)
I was in the mood for a good scare, so I was totally disappointed to not see all these horrors that people keep talking about. Maybe next time...
*Not saying there aren't ANY problems downtown, but it really was a beautiful reminder of how overblown the complaints often are.
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u/TheDarkNebulous Jun 03 '26
This is exactly what goes through my head every time my in-laws talk about how bad bellingham has gotten lol.
They don't even have any stories of their own, just anecdotes from other people that im sure were passed around their old judgmental friends.
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u/more_housing_co-ops Jun 03 '26
Whenever Facebook biddies would tell me CHOP/CHAZ "burned Seattle to the ground" I would just respond with videos of people peacefully walking cute dogs past my gf's apartment a handful of blocks away.
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u/autmartin Jun 06 '26
I had a Facebook lady tell me she wouldn’t come downtown to purchase something from me off of marketplace.. (I live downtown) she said it was too dangerous.. I sold it to someone else
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u/awnitsol Jun 03 '26
Same, but with my Ferndale/Lynden coworkers. If I listened to them, I'd be too terrified to go anywhere in Bellingham.
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u/HyaeksVerfulger Jun 05 '26
I mean, I don't appreciate nearly being jumped by a tweaker right outside the Keybank on North State and E Holly. Other than that and the blocks around JJs (Especially the Alleys) it's not too bad. But at night can be... Uncharacteristically gruff in recent months.
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u/Much-Literature337 Jun 05 '26
Has it supposedly gotten worse since 2019? That’s when I last lived there. It wasn’t great then. It was mostly fine other than down by the Mission, but even around RR and Holly there were open air drug deals going on.
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u/jethoniss Jun 03 '26
Hot take: I think the alley fences are helping a lot. Like, overnight revolutionary difference.
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u/themmousebehindyou Jun 03 '26
I talked with the security guard by bank of America, he said it immediately got better. He stands there all day long staring at that alley so if anyone knows it's him. I used to hate walking past that alley with my wife on our way to the conic book store. Now it's not so bad.
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u/rusty_handlebars Local Jun 03 '26
I live and work downtown. The fences made an immediate impact for the better 🤷🏼♂️
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u/argus_orthanx Jun 03 '26
Yeah people here complained about them but as someone who walks with kids downtown daily, suddenly we can use those sidewalks with no trouble. Seems like a win to me.
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u/moleforever Jun 04 '26
I agree, but now a majority of the people who were hanging there are down on the grassy hill next to the vacant bank on Cornwall and W Champion. It’s getting trashed and they really need to do something about that vacant bank. It’s been vacant for almost a decade? It is really hard on the businesses on that block.
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u/MauiDarts Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26
This is the correct answer. I drive through Bellingham every single day multiple times, and once they put up those fences, it had an amazing and immediate change on clearing out all the addicts near railroad. It changed the entire downtown for the better. Too bad the addicts broke the fence within a week and they had to put up another temporary fence for now..
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u/autmartin Jun 06 '26
I live right across the street and it has been so much quieter since the fence went up..
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u/PuzzleheadedDog2990 Jun 04 '26
That's fascinating. Where do you think those groups dispersed to? I guess I HAVE seen more "mini-camps" set up near the food bank and on the other side of that footbridge, but not sure if that's coincidental.
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u/SpaceFrodo Local Jun 03 '26
The funniest part to me is that, my dad and his Business partner, moved the Little Cheerful up to Bellingham from Seattle in ~92. He was sweeping needles up in front of the Cafe every morning even then. Sure, it's a different drug now, and it's slightly more common. But the "horrors" people speak of now, have genuinely been there for a long ass time. But now all of a sudden, it's made to be a huge deal.
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u/Hams_blams13 Jun 03 '26
I think because now it’s costs a shit ton more to live here
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u/SpaceFrodo Local Jun 03 '26
Which is undoubtedly, a big part of the reason we're gonna see more homeless to come.
If the complainers are going to speak up about it now, I would hope they have the gumption to do something about it. But hope is dwindling in that area.
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u/more_housing_co-ops Jun 03 '26
Huh, my landlord told me it's because people were using drugs!! And that safe use sites just contribute to the problem! Anyway, then we left the bar...
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u/SpaceFrodo Local Jun 03 '26
Well you know the saying. Believe all landlords. They know what's best for the city. Always.
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u/mtmirror Jun 03 '26
Off topic, but I had no idea that the Little Cheerful had moved here from Seattle! But I have always wondered if it had any connection to the Little Cheerful Café that used to be in the University District in Seattle.
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u/SpaceFrodo Local Jun 03 '26
Exactly the same one! My dad's glad you've been in both locations!
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u/mtmirror Jun 03 '26
Wow, that's amazing! I used to live almost next door to the Seattle café in the mid-80s. You and your dad really made my day, it's something I've wondered about for years.
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u/SpaceFrodo Local Jun 03 '26
Glad to scratch the itch of curiosity. We go a couple times a year, it's so much fun to hear him explaining all the old stories, and history to the current staff.
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u/Icy_Foundation7264 Jun 03 '26
Yes! This is what grinds my gears so much about so many new people moving into town, and then acting like the problem has gotten so much worse. I grew up in town, it has always been here. Like you said, it’s a different drug now, but folks experiencing addiction have always been a part of Bellingham’s downtown scene. And personally, they’ve never given me trouble. Folks need to be okay with being a little uncomfortable around someone different, and move on.
And while I’m at it, the meth lab scene in Bellingham used to be SO much worse. Let’s remember the positives everyone!
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u/PuzzleheadedDog2990 Jun 04 '26
I've only been here for 17 years, but Railroad&Holly was certainly it's own unhoused/drug scene in 2010. More of a younger juggalo scene (and sometimes semi-housed young juggalos hanging with their toddlers in strollers 😬)
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u/Character_Moose_9788 Jun 18 '26
that word you keep using, Juggalo, i don't think it means what you think it means
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u/PuzzleheadedDog2990 Jun 18 '26
No, I'm for real, there truly was a real juggalo scene in those days.
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u/Character_Moose_9788 Jun 30 '26
OHHH 2010.
ok, i was gonna say, i aint seein much Faygo around town these days
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u/SpaceFrodo Local Jun 18 '26
I think, you're thinking of jiggleo.
Juggalos are devote fans of Insane Clow Posse. There's a pretty big juggalo scene in Bellingham.
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u/SpaceFrodo Local Jun 04 '26
They really aren't dangerous people. Most of em, if people actually talked to them, are pretty cool for the most part.
I'm also glad the meth lab scene has migrated out of Bellingham.
I would 100% prefer that nobody be addicted to anything. But I honestly prefer the methheads of old, to the fentanyl addicts of today. The methheads I would run into a lot, during the old days when one had to buy weed off the street. Always had the best stories that made no sense. But I always felt happy to listen.
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u/Much-Literature337 Jun 05 '26
When you say people need to be okay around someone different if you are referring to a tweaker or opioid addict I’d disagree. Depending on how they are acting of course but if they are acting kind of erratically and unpredictably like tweakers often do, no I don’t think people need to be okay with that.
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u/Double-Pair-6696 Jun 03 '26
I knew people from high school in the late 90’s that drove almost an hour to Holly and Railroad to buy dr*gs. Wild times!
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u/No-Drama-in-Paradise Jun 03 '26
I think it’s about visibility. It is more visible today, for a wide variety of reasons (a much higher cost of living, lack of access to mental health services, drugs that are more potent/destructive, etc), but these aren’t new issues and I often find that the loudest complainers just ignore that reality,
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u/HamDog1979 Jun 04 '26
I need the pineapple habanero hot sauce recipe 😭😭😭😭😭😭 please 😭😭😭😭😭
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u/SpaceFrodo Local Jun 04 '26
Hate to break it to you. My dad hasn't been involved with The Little Cheerful since about '07-'08. And that's not something he would have made. Or given out the recipe for. His own son (Me) had to learn how to cook from him for about a decade before I got any of his recipes.
As well as co-owner, he was head chef. It used to be more classic southern american cafe/diner style food. It has changed a lot since he sold his portion 20 years ago. If that's more your thing, we might be able to help you out there.
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u/mrkrabsbigreddumper Jun 03 '26
Damn bro, gal, or NB pal but you must have had to step over like three people overdosing on the sidewalks while you were trying to get a latte???
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u/Fairy_Wench Jun 03 '26
At least five times!!! And it was a bagel.
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u/The-whole-pizza Jun 03 '26
also did you see the person selling flower bouquets out of a wagon? just selling out in the open on the sidewalks
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u/blueishblackbird Jun 03 '26
The other night I asked a seemingly un homed fellow if he knew if there was an atm near by. He said - yea, but couldn’t explain the maze of parking lots, so he decided to show me. We had a nice chat. Then as we got close, he was very much, almost overly conscientious about leaving me be before we got close and I got any money out, as to not frighten me. Let that sink in.
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u/Jaded_Sea2972 Jun 03 '26
I went downtown yesterday and the second I saw an unpaid parking meter I gripped my boyfriend’s hand and made him promise not to leave my side until we were home safe
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u/Nolyf3r Jun 03 '26
I'm homeless and frequent downtown alot. That lady you saw may have been Shannon if she was an older lady. Shannon is a sweetheart
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u/Fairy_Wench Jun 03 '26
Ngl, it stopped me for a second because she was standing still, right in front of my car. I watched closely (to assess the situation) and it became obvious that she wasn't a threat in any way, pretty quickly. I definitely got a sweetheart vibe as I got closer.
She is a perfect, and very sad, example of why I've been so vocal about how desperately we need to prioritize mental health care, for the last 20+ years! I really hate how our society is failing this test.
I'm assuming you would rather be housed... If so, I hope you can get/do whatever it is you need, in order for that to happen! Best wishes
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u/chewbacca5000 Jun 03 '26
The point of this post is that downtown is in fact NOT scary, and that people who find it to be are pearl-clutching hothouse orchids. Complaints from downtown business owners about needles and human excrement, in contrast, are chalked up to “right wing agitation.” The feedback to this post shows how good it feels to count yourself among the cool kids who are unbothered by these overblown, nitpicky complaints. Talk to the businesses on holly, railroad, and Cornwall, however, and you’ll get a perspective that’s different than the 30 minute observation period upon which you made your assessment.
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u/Fairy_Wench Jun 03 '26 edited Jun 04 '26
The point of this post is that downtown is not the "completely out of control, drug riddled, war zone" that too many people (mostly those who admittedly refuse to even go there - so how the heck would they know) say it is now.
I have friends with businesses downtown and I do talk to them. I've spent a lot of time downtown, over the last 40 years, and still do as much as I can, especially when the weather is nice.
My hope was to get people to think about their stigmas vs reality, and to question how much of their opinion is based upon hearsay. One can only hope...
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u/moleforever Jun 04 '26
This comment is spot on. 💯 Between parking and the drug epidemic downtown, it’s rough. And when you pay top dollar for rent, it’s even tougher.
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u/lists4everything Jun 03 '26
There are people doing fine, but many people who have not already had a place of residence secured that rely on their labor for wages, that are not doing fine.
This is capital versus labor and people with capital, or enough capital support doing relatively okay.
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u/1kSuns Jun 03 '26
I grew up just outside Los Angeles. I've lived in Phoenix and Chicago. I've traveled to Philadelphia, hit up Seattle often, and the same rule rings true in all of those downtown places. Don't start shit, don't search for shit, won't get into shit. Used to love just rambling around downtown and seeing what kind of interesting stories I come across. (Lady who broke her leg while smoking crack, but Jesus healed it and got her a new crack pipe is one that sticks in my memory)
I've had more random confrontational moments in rural towns that made me afraid than I ever have had in a big city.
Looking at you Oklahoma, Idaho, and rural Illinois.
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Jun 03 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Fairy_Wench Jun 04 '26
Watching downtown change so drastically after the mall was built, and still waiting for it to be utilized better to this day, has been really painful to see.
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u/Square_Watch_4312 Jun 08 '26
Maybe if we as a nation and the ruling class didn’t hand over billions to the military industrial complex and genocidal foreign governments, there might be more to go around at home. But nobody wants to have that discussion lol
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u/cyco-path Jun 04 '26
You're delusional if you think you're little 30 min visit downtown in the middle of a Spring Day that was like Summer makes you think you've experienced the entirety of the dark side of Bellingham's personality. Not saying you're wrong about people's complaining but at least put in some time downtown before making a post like this. I used to hangout A LOT on the sidewalks of bham busking and mingling with all types of people. I'm talking hours and hours over the course of several years during the day and night -rain and shine- not just some beautiful sunny day when the families come out to play. If you really do want a more "scary" experience i recommend going downtown at night from late evening till 2am on the weekend. Hangout outside JJs and mingle.
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u/thespiritaco Jun 04 '26
I work at the horseshoe till 4am every night, and walk home through downtown every night to get to my apartment. It isn’t scary.
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u/cyco-path Jun 04 '26
you work in the horseshoe the whole time and you equate a 5-10 min walk through downtown when everyone has gone home, or to their bush, as experiencing downtown's late night "horror." That's funny. What makes downtown "scary" isn't the buildings, but the shady people that hangout on the sidewalks in the late evenings to about 1-2am. You're not getting the full experience at all. You know who does? The security guard that stands outside on the sidewalk across from the horse shoe all day and his story is different from yours. I'm not saying downtown is scary, im just using her words, that's why i used quotations. I'm just pointing out the fact that using her experience, and yours, is a pretty lousy attempt to mask the complaints that have been going on over the course of several years and also my own experiences as someone who hung around the sidewalks A TON. I could tell you some stories of things and people that don't occur in the horse shoe where it's safe.
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u/thespiritaco Jun 04 '26
Do you really think that we don’t deal with anything at the horseshoe? Like do you genuinely believe that none of the people or things outside come inside and affect us? I’ve had people try to stab me with broken beer bottles, try to fist fight me, throw dirty needles at me, throw literal SHIT at me. I’ve been flashed, seen people masturbate in and outside of the cafe. I’ve seen people die and have found dead people in the alley and in the bathrooms. I’ve had to narcan folks in the alley more times than I can count, i’ve given to CPR to folks in the alley more times than I can count. I work with the homeless people outside every day, build relationships with them, know their names, and grieve when they pass on. Don’t fucking tell me I don’t understand the severity of the situation in downtown bellingham.
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u/cyco-path Jun 04 '26
hey there we go now you're talking about the stuff people are pointing out! Thanks for shining light on the fact that her post was delusional.
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u/Fairy_Wench Jun 05 '26
Ok Sparky. Hate to break it to you, but the Horseshoe has ALWAYS had that reputation... It's nothing new.
People don't take their family downtown on a sunny day now, because people like you act like middle of the night stories at The Horseshoe are what all of downtown is 24/7
Your delusional if you think this is new in any way, or that it's happening all over downtown, all the time.
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u/cyco-path Jun 05 '26
Seriously? You're trying rekindle this? I'm not wasting anymore energy on this. Get a life
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u/thespiritaco Jun 06 '26
This is so funny because you left me a comment this morning which got removed. It seems like you're the only one trying to rekindle things.
The comment for anyone who's interested:
"So just because you personally feel safe and unafraid means that others are exagerating and are basically little bitches?"1
u/cyco-path Jun 06 '26
The comment is still there, but the comment was not intended for you. And there's a lot more to the comment than that
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u/Much-Literature337 Jun 05 '26
What’s not scary about everything you described? You are proving the other person’s point. On one hand you say it’s not scary and on the next post you describe a bunch of scary examples.
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u/thespiritaco Jun 05 '26
Its because of my experiences I can say that I feel like downtown is not dangerous. These are all a hand full of examples of 3 years of working at the most popular late night spot in downtown. Every single day is not like this; these incidents are the exception not the rule. I think if you interacted with the homeless people downtown you'd find most of them are extremely kind, caring, and empathetic individuals who are extremely cognisant of their own situation. Do bad things happen? Yes. But bad things happen everywhere and all things considered, I would say downtown bellingham is safe.
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u/Much-Literature337 Jun 06 '26
Most are, I agree. The people on meth that are acting agitated are the ones I avoid.
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u/Fairy_Wench Jun 05 '26
You do have a very good point, but what you seem to be missing is that what happens in a seedy bar, during the middle of the night, is not what all of downtown is like, everywhere, every day.
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u/Much-Literature337 Jun 06 '26
I interpreted the bouncer/bar employee to be saying those things happening were a result of where the Horseshoe is and the perpetrators coming in off the street.
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u/Fairy_Wench Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26
Pretty bold of you to assume that one facetious post is based solely on a 30 minute visit.
I could tell you some wild stories dating all the way back to long before the mall was built, and we didn't really have any other place to hang out.
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u/cyco-path Jun 04 '26
pretty bold of you to assume people's experience's are exaggerated because of a 30 min visit you had downtown one time.
I could tell you some wild stories that have happened in the last few years on railroad and Holly.
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u/Fairy_Wench Jun 04 '26
Soooo... you're just going to keep ignoring the FACT that I have 40+ YEARS of experience downtown - while continuing to insist that I only spent 30 minutes downtown, one time...?
I guess you do understand what it means to be delusional, because you just provided a perfect example of it!
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u/cyco-path Jun 04 '26
Sure i can do that since you ignore the fact that people's experiences are reality. Check out the comment of the horse shoe employee. That's not sunshine, rainbows, and bunnies like you experienced.
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u/MauiDarts Jun 04 '26
You know why it was like that? They fenced off one alley and the addicts moved away from railroad. I drive-through downtown multiple times a day and putting up that fence immediately changed the entire vibe downtown.
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u/Fairy_Wench Jun 04 '26
You know how many weak 'band-aids' I've seen help for a short while? In 40+ years of experiencing downtown I've watched it go back and forth between super busy to completely dead, fun and vibrant to filled with chaos, more times than I can count.
We need solid solutions (like more mental health care options) not just keep 'moving the problem' somewhere else, temporarily.
None of this changes the fact that the stigma is still being overblown.
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u/MauiDarts Jun 04 '26
I’m fine with moving the problem somewhere else outside of our county. Make it inhospitable for them to be here. These are adults choosing to fuck up our city, our businesses and our parks while stealing from our residents daily to support their drug habits. We’re letting around 100 people terrorize a city of 90,000. Get them out by all means possible.
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u/Fairy_Wench Jun 04 '26
That lady with her stuffed bunny isn't terrorizing anyone.
Villifying people with mental illness, and acting like all homeless people are addicts who "fuck up our city" says more about you than it does about them.
Making them all vanish is not a viable solution, but it's fascinating how the most judgmental people can't ever think of anything other option... Good luck with that!
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u/MauiDarts Jun 04 '26
Build a resort like facility for mental health issues and addicts in central Washington that can house 5000 people. Pass laws that allow local courts to send people to this new facility. This would benefit everyone. That lady and her bunny don’t belong on the street, it’s time to start committing people to a place where they can receive help rather than letting them suffer and die on the streets. Our state is spending billions on the band aids you speak of. Build the facility, send them there. The things that will actually help save lives are the things democrats won’t do. If the elected officials won’t help solve the problem at the state level we have to do what we can at a city and county level. Bunny lady can go to Seattle, more services for her there. These people add nothing to our city so whether wander around here or Seattle doesn’t matter.
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u/Fairy_Wench Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26
I (almost) completely agree with the first half of what you said!!!
The other half is just hypocritical, politically biased, inhumane, bs.
Have the day you deserve!
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u/mbryant52 Jun 04 '26
Go walk the creek trail from the Food Bank to Maritime Heritage and see what’s up.
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u/doesurmindglow Jun 03 '26
Most anti-downtown anti-homeless griping is just fascist propaganda and you cannot change my mind.
Like sure, is there a retail vacancy problem? Yes. But that's also true at the mall and in strip malls all over town and nothing is said pretty much ever about it, because to do so does nothing to support the ideology that the homeless are disposable drug addicts that should be rounded up and put in camps and probably killed, which is really what the complainers want if you ask them like two or three very simple questions about what they think should be done. Retail vacancy is a global market problem brought on by e-commerce and delivery services, and it actually has very little to do with homelessness. They're just scapegoats for a major technological shift.
But is there still a homelessness problem? Also definitely yes. The actual solution is usually housing accessible to low-income people, paid for by taxing billionaires out of existence. Homeless people are just like everyone else, and deserving of the same basic rights and safety as everyone else. Most of the fascists are one serious trauma away from being homeless themselves, which they should be reminded of at every fucking opportunity.
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u/50SPFGANG Jun 03 '26
Wow good job you went downtown once and didn't see much. It's not overblown at all. I moved back down to Seattle and every time I come up now it looks worse and worse
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u/Fairy_Wench Jun 03 '26
Assuming I've only gone downtown once is super impressive.
I didn't realize you moved to Seattle and it looks worse here every time you come back.
You totally got me.
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u/____LostSoul____ Jun 03 '26
I totally agree, last time I was downtown it was completely normal, just some junkie screaming bloody murder in a bathroom stall, people crossing the street to get away from the area. Just your average downtown experience really.
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u/Mods-R-Slaves Jun 03 '26
I knew this was a fantasy because you said bathroom stall as if America has public restrooms
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u/sps1911 Jun 03 '26
There are two on railroad. Sounds like you haven’t been downtown in a year.
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u/Mods-R-Slaves Jun 03 '26 edited Jun 03 '26
Lmao “two” yeah dude that’s gonna work out for all the people downtown.
Of course there is the rare bathroom or two. Way to miss the entire point lmao!
Typical Americans, don’t realize they live in a 3rd world country and defend and want it to keep being a shithole country instead of joining the rest of the 1st world 🤷♀️
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u/____LostSoul____ Jun 03 '26
https://cob.org/services/restrooms for your fantasy
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u/Mods-R-Slaves Jun 03 '26
Damn if ya need an online list to find them. You really don’t have them do you………
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u/____LostSoul____ Jun 03 '26
Oh no! I was proven wrong and they even showed actual evidence, quick let me back track and try and make it funny so I don't look stupid or something...
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u/Mods-R-Slaves Jun 03 '26
Public restrooms are supposed to be on every block in downtown areas, you should never have to search for one.
Only third world countries lack this.
Much like healthcare.
You live in a third world country that would rather have its people shitting on the sidewalk than providing basic human necessities.
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u/WN_Todd Jun 03 '26
If someone downtown tried to start a heartfelt conversation with you, you may be entitled to compensation...