Not arguing, Chris, just clarifying since my previous comment may have been misunderstood. I think that we are in basic agreement.
During the war there was a huge refugee area near Danang like that. Americans called it Dog Patch. Since places like that have some semblance of permanence (for better or worse) they can construct those shanti…
Not arguing, Chris, just clarifying since my previous comment may have been misunderstood. I think that we are in basic agreement.
During the war there was a huge refugee area near Danang like that. Americans called it Dog Patch. Since places like that have some semblance of permanence (for better or worse) they can construct those shanties. Years ago, in Japan, I saw a trash and litter free homeless encampment under an overhead that consisted colorfully decorated cardboard. I was told that they were allowed to stay because they created no public nuisance.
After typing this I'll go out for my morning walk around the park where there are homeless encampments. Impermanence since they periodically get dispersed by the police. No doors, no walls, no roof. To their credit they use the public restrooms rather than crap on the sidewalks like in San Fransisco. They often discard clothing when it gets filthy. We gave a big bag of my wife's old clothes to a young homeless woman about a month ago. While I consider the crime, they bring to the neighborhood to be a nuisance we've managed to hold onto some compassion.
Meanwhile in Vietnam people will drop their styrofoam garbage on the ground with a trash bin literally within arm's reach. A housekeeper walks out of the house with a dustpan of litter, mostly plastic, walks (smiling) past the same bin and across the street ... and dumps it in the grass.
Once I made a pole with a nail sticking out the end and walked around near my house picking up the trash and tossing it in a bag. The neighbors were probably thinking "stupid foreigner" (người nước ngoài ngu) but the shame must've cut through because after a week or two they all got a lot more conscientious about keeping the 'hood clean.
Not arguing, Chris, just clarifying since my previous comment may have been misunderstood. I think that we are in basic agreement.
During the war there was a huge refugee area near Danang like that. Americans called it Dog Patch. Since places like that have some semblance of permanence (for better or worse) they can construct those shanties. Years ago, in Japan, I saw a trash and litter free homeless encampment under an overhead that consisted colorfully decorated cardboard. I was told that they were allowed to stay because they created no public nuisance.
After typing this I'll go out for my morning walk around the park where there are homeless encampments. Impermanence since they periodically get dispersed by the police. No doors, no walls, no roof. To their credit they use the public restrooms rather than crap on the sidewalks like in San Fransisco. They often discard clothing when it gets filthy. We gave a big bag of my wife's old clothes to a young homeless woman about a month ago. While I consider the crime, they bring to the neighborhood to be a nuisance we've managed to hold onto some compassion.
Meanwhile in Vietnam people will drop their styrofoam garbage on the ground with a trash bin literally within arm's reach. A housekeeper walks out of the house with a dustpan of litter, mostly plastic, walks (smiling) past the same bin and across the street ... and dumps it in the grass.
This country really needs a Lady Bird Johnson.
Sadly, the problem has become all too universal.
Once I made a pole with a nail sticking out the end and walked around near my house picking up the trash and tossing it in a bag. The neighbors were probably thinking "stupid foreigner" (người nước ngoài ngu) but the shame must've cut through because after a week or two they all got a lot more conscientious about keeping the 'hood clean.