We get a lot of photos now. People send them to us because, apparently, it’s clear that we like them. Some are unintentionally funny, a big, fleshy finger across mid-frame, or the composition disrupted and a-kilter – as if the picture had been taken in the middle of a 7.2 quake.
Bobcats. Butterflies. Baseball games. Breaking news shots. And then, occasionally, a series of moments from someone’s life.
Sometimes they’re pretty. Sometimes they’re not.
This photo set came from a local person who has taken to chronicling the comings and goings of an unsettled, troubled subset of the population crisscrossing their neighborhood – sometimes passively and without attracting attention, sometimes acting out.
While many choose to look away, to ignore the ignorable, perhaps to console themselves by saying “someone will take care of him” or “he’ll move along” one resident chose to highlight the actions of one neighborhood visitor and to document that interaction.
In this instance the photographer snapped the picture of a frequent neighborhood visitor after sensing their anger and wanting to see how it went. To encapsulate: One of the “invisibles” arrived on scene carrying food; proceeded to throw said food into a passing convertible; retired to a nearby bus shelter for a rest; and is subsequently contacted by a police officer and taken away on unspecified charges or, possibly, a psychiatric evaluation.
We know some will challenge such a presentation, saying they don’t want to see such things. Others may want to, preferring to know what many are facing on a daily basis.
I don’t recognize him. One of many I’m afraid.
Yes. we have our regualar characters in the neighborhood too. Most of them are harmless but some tend to act up. We don’t want to see ANYONE hurt.
I call them ticking time bombs because you never know what will set them off. There are no easy answers or quick fixes that I can see.
This comment is made as a very experienced former LE officer, most citizens should now be carrying pepper spray. A wonderful non-injurious, short term deterrent to unfortunate people who behave poorly.
Firestone 11R
No easy answer for this one.
Not sure how difficult a fix would be. We can simply look back to the not so distant past when our society didn’t suffer these problems and return to what worked then, and discard the nonsense rules we live under now.
We need to reopen the asylums/forced treatment for drug addiction and get these people out of society . Not good for anyone to let them roam around
It’s not just drug addiction, it’s also mental health issues for many. Our society in general, and the people themselves, would benefit greatly from having free access to a vast array of free mental health services, incl counseling, hospitalization, medication, temporary housing, etc. Locking them up does nothing. But I realize the people themselves have to want to do this, and a lot of them don’t. If they commit minor crimes, perhaps make mental health treatment mandatory instead of jail.
Agree with John G. If were are truly Number One we should prove it and spend some of the vast resources we spend on war and start taking care of our people.
In CA we get our mental healthcare on the sidewalk and maybe in the police car ride to the jail or the 72-hour hold while they medicate and stabilize you. All other forms have been banned or sued or defunded away. Just remember that every one of these invisibles has lawyers and advocacy groups ready to come at you for disturbing their routine, and they win in the courts and settlements, and apparently it’s lucrative.
Noted. Fair point(s).
Thank you.
NEWS24/680
There are a lot of new faces in town.