Alexander the Grate: observation

Transcript context

…Of the institutions you’re interacting with, which are nicest or most sympathetic to the plight of the homeless? Is it McDonald’s? Is it the Smithsonian? Is it the homeless shelter? Who is it? As I said in the Smithsonian interview, actually, the mayor sets the tone, and because DC is in the eyes of the world, every time in winter somebody is found dead of hypothermia, there’s an outcry. It’s worldwide news. Capital of, presumably, the richest nation on Earth — people are dying from the cold in the streets. They are, I think, an exception among the cities of America, being solicitous and taking care of their homeless. Housing’s a big issue for the current mayor, and she’s doing a good job. They’re very tolerant because they have a vested interest in public image, and then compassion, one would think. But multiply, New York City — I don’t know how sympathetic they are. They have about ten times DC’s population. About ten times that in easy rider country — Florida, California. That’s where the sun bums go, and it’s a problem. You increase the number of interlopers and ne’er-do-wells enough and, like they say, “A liberal is somebody with a positive attitude toward his neighbor until he gets mugged.” [laughs] And your charity gets over, so it’s a problem. That’s why immigration is such a problem. That’s one of the reasons that the previous president got . . . because people on the actual border, whose yards get trespassed through — I’ve heard horror stories like that — people banging on doors wanting water and demanding it, basically, because it’s a human need. In Africa, they say that they don’t deny you water. That’s not withheld, but here, so you get overwhelmed. The municipalities of the sunbelts are overwhelmed, and the mindset is — what do they say? Warm hands, cold hearts. Whereas in Boston, the empathy level is higher in New England, let’s say — cold hands, warm hearts. If you tried to move down to Miami, and you moved into an area with other people living without fixed address, they would be more hostile to you? Or they wouldn’t want you? How would that work, socially?…

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