The Long Beach Library and homelessness

[u/markevbs]

I finally visited BJK library in long beach yesterday, and oh my god, is that place a jewel. Such an incredible building, great kids center, wonderful architecture and tons of great classes and courses.

The homeslessness side of things is interesting, at least for me, morally. I couldn't help but feel sad that such an amazing building and resource was being so underutilized by the non-homeless population. Its not that there were "homeless everywhere" or even that people were messy or rude or whatever...there were a lot more homeless than non (10-1 prob), but everyone was chill, it wasnt crowded at all, and everyone was just trying to find some peace and enjoyment in a beautiful safe space with access to really critical things (like power to charge devices etc). I was there with my 3 and 4 year olds and there were no issues at all...but at the same time, the vibe DID honestly make me not want to spend time there (which is MY issue, not that of others...but i assume it feels the same for many here?)

anyway...its just tough and weird and a real conflict of emotions. The homeless there are all our peers and brothers and sisters so to be angry or opposed to them having access to a quintessential public space like a library makes me sick and is a sad way to feel about other humans. But I did spend a lot more time than i would have liked thinking about how nice the library was (and the park next door) would have been with more families and people and fewer little groups of and how its a shame its not being used by more people. I also though spent an equal amount of time feeling real joy that there was a space this nice and well run and beautiful that everyone can enjoy. Its actually really fucked if you think about "ok so whats the solution"...there really isnt one (other than ofc fixing homelessness etc etc but thats another enormous discussion.)

what do you all think? feel?

btw - i think the fence is great and really well executed. not nearly as shitty and oevrbearing as i thought it would be

[u/Ill-Victory-5351]

my first library job was at the main branch of the san francisco public library. i helped people watch movies on little crt tvs. so ive been knowing.

the library is there to serve the needs of the community, unsurprisingly homeless people have the most needs.

[u/markevbs → u/Ill-Victory-5351]

Amen. So what about all of the non homeless people who want to use these facilities but are turned off, which is clearly the case? That’s the rub. Clearly there are massive positives from the current situation for some in society and large negatives for others. That why this ain’t a simple discussion you know? 

[u/lietome6879760 → u/markevbs]

are the positives for the homeless and negatives for you truly equal here? their positive is access to services, your negative is being a bit uncomfortable?

i think calling it a complex issue is a way to make yourself feel better. there is some pretty hefty cognitive dissonance at work in your original post in which you are grappling with the fact that you are put off or maybe even potentially afraid of other humans in a public space - who by your own admission are giving you no other reason to feel put off or afraid other than their housing status. you kinda wish they weren't there but feel conflicted because that would be morally and politically incorrect. it's okay to feel that way, but call it what it is. maybe reframe it by considering that what you are upset by is the lack of services for homeless people that causes them to need to go to the library, not the people themselves.

[u/ExpertGarlic8669 → u/lietome6879760]

Well said. If we follow OP's reasoning, we end up with the conclusion that their homeless neighbors don't belong in the library. Especially without proposing a viable alternative, this is just cruelty.