Thread by @ShellenbergerMD

It’s true the people living in tents are poor & homeless but that’s because addiction/mental illness led them to stop working, stop paying rent, and get evicted

Open drug scenes (“homeless encampments”) exist because radical Left progressives allow, encourage, and subsidize them

In Los Angeles, a homeless activist front group (“Street Watch”) created by the Democratic Socialists of America has been caught paying street addicts to stay on sidewalks & refuse to go into homeless shelters as a strategy to demand more apartment units

latimes.com/california/sto…

After Democratic mayoral candidate @kdeleon tried to get street addicts into shelters, the so-called homeless activists doxxed him, publishing his personal phone number on Twitter, a common tactic by the radical Left

latimes.com/california/sto…

The solution to street addiction & open drug scenes (“homelessness”) is straightforward. Build sufficient shelters & enforce laws against illegal camping. Provide psych/rehab. Enforce laws against public defecation/drug use. Make mandatory rehab an alternative to prison.

A growing number of black & Latino Democrats are embracing the above policies. Why? It’s good politics. They come from communities impacted by drugs/crime/homelessness. And they’re taking advantage of the prog/woke demand that we “center” minority voices

michaelshellenberger.substack.com/p/why-black-an…

Open drug scenes (“homeless encampments”) are worse in rich cities because they’re dominated by progressives who allow illegal camping, open drug use/dealing, and public defecation. Woke victim ideology —> homelessness

Me with @StevenEdginton @Telegraph

Nobody’s proposing we restart the drug war or arresting addicts using illegal drugs in the privacy of their homes

This is about protecting cities, public spaces, and our freedom from chaos using proven, effective care

Me with @TheAbridgedZach @reason

Some people say, "You just don't like to look at them," and they are right: I don't like witnessing my fellow humans destroy themselves publicly because they are suffering from highly-treatable illnesses that progressives refuse to treat.

Who is it, exactly, that *likes* looking at sick people suffering from highly-treatable illnesses (e.g., schizophrenia, addiction) on the street?

What kind of people demand that extremely sick people be left untreated?

A: Sick people. People in the grip of a toxic ideology

I lay out the evidence here:

amazon.com/gp/product/006…

Who I am to judge? I was in the grip of the ideology myself for many years, worked for decriminalization/harm reduction, including for George Soros's philanthropy and organizations, and considered myself a progressive until recently.

michaelshellenberger.substack.com/p/why-i-am-not…

I am more moderate today in my views but remain a bleeding heart liberal and am very upset by the loss of human dignity on our streets and the destruction of our cities and civilization.

The solution is not Left or Right nor some dumb "split-everything-down-the-middle" centrism. The Left is right that we need universal psychiatric care and "drug treatment on demand" but the Right is right that we need to enforce laws and demand personal responsibility.

At a certain point it doesn't make a lot of sense to attach labels like "Left" and "Right" to things like enforcing the law and universal psychiatric care. Those are just things we need to do, full stop. We can't let ideological tribalism & partisanship interfere.

I am proud of my books and enjoying being an author and journalist but my life's mission is to make things better in the real world so I have co-founded the only state-wide coalition with an agenda capable of actually solving the problem

californiapeacecoalition.org

We are finding each other and starting to take our work to the next level. If you would like to be involved please DM me so you can join our What's App group, attend local meetings, and start to make change in the real world. We need volunteers willing to roll up their sleeves.

Our ideas are becoming more mainstream. On Monday I will lay out our agenda at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, and afterwards will co-host a party for supporters & activists seeking to save our cities, states, and nation. Tickets here:

commonwealthclub.org/events/2022-01…

I changed my party affiliation from Democrat to independent and am currently advising policymakers and politicians from all sides including Ds, Rs, and independents. I consider it my duty to engage with all who want to engage with us, including with people who created the problem

We have seen a rapid change in the national conversation about drugs/crime/homelessness in a very short period of time. Yes, we still have a long way to go. But we have come a really long way since our first protest in San Francisco in May.

sfweekly.com/news/san-franc…

People are cynical and understandably so. But there has never existed in SF, California, or the US, the kind of organized advocacy effort like the one we are organizing. And the public is, overwhelmingly, with us, as poll after poll shows.

michaelshellenberger.substack.com/p/why-black-an…

The progressive agenda to allow public camping/open drug use/open drug dealing/public defecation is WILDLY UNPOPULAR among all but the hard-core radical Left which.

The radical Left has bullied liberals for decades. We are standing up to them and they are backing down.

Witness how @LondonBreed @KarenBassLA @kdeleon are standing up to the radical Left and not backing down. It's good politics for them to do so. Plus, they're not going to take shit from entitled white Wokes who 5 min. ago demanded we "center" BIPOC voices

michaelshellenberger.substack.com/p/why-black-an…

In the comments, people are asking me to summarize my views of various things. Guys, I've done a 400+ page book with 1,100 endnotes; dozens of articles; thousands of tweets; dozens of podcasts. I've done my part, please do yours:

https://twitter.com/ShellenbergerMD/status/1455394408501694464?s=20