I was downtown the last Friday night for dinner on George St.and I have to admit,this stabbing doesn't suprise me one bit!
What a cesspool!
We were panhandled twice before we even got into the resturant although that is not unusual.
We have come to expect that.
One was for money, and one was to sell us a picture of some sort.
The guy who asked for money was somewhat pissed when I abruptly told him no and suggested he get a job!
When he realized I was not smiling and had stopped walking,,he left quickly.
Nice place down there and I can only feel sorry for the business that can't afford to move out of the area.
It IS a mess that does need to be dealt with!

Yes it's a real hole this city!
And it is a head shaker when people get on here and say,” what a wonderful place this is”....

Yes what a scenic city we have evolved into. Very cultured with drugs, thugs, and panhandlers....a place that is a must see for tourists!

Ghetto of the North is what it should be advertized as....on a good note the sun is up....

how come people would rather continually knock the city they live in, instead of maybe coming up with ideas that may help clean things up!!!

guess it is just easier to whine and complain and wait for someone else to do the work

That's not fair! We keep our property clean and attractive looking. The neighbours do the same (mostly)! We pay taxes to the City to hire manpower and equipment to look after the City according to the way the Mayor, Councillors and City Administration decide how to go about it! They decide whether or nor not to listen to ideas and suggestions. Often the ideas of *ordinary* people do not agree with what they have already decided to do!

Now what? Why call comments about the shortcomings of the city *whining*? Maybe those in power will finally pay more attention if enough *whining* is going on?

What are your ideas about cleaning up the city, Anastasia?

Let's hear them - maybe somebody will listen to YOU - which would surprise the heck out of me!

The man was stabbed for treating a homeless person like they were not a part of our society which they in fact are. Perhaps he suggested that the man suffering from addictions should "Just get a Job" and the stupidity and insensitivity drove him to stab the individual. I'd think twice about lipping off to a panhandler who has nothing, especially when he sees you going into an expensive restaurant. People who have lost their way tend to react violently to being treated like dirt.

Hey Anistasia..."People...instead come up with ideas that may help clean things up...." In a perfect world, babe. But not in this town, province, country or time. Every one has rights. Even the lowliest bum. Far be it from me to interfere and try to change the world. I have NO right to inflict my ideals, my views, my logic, my interpretation about how someone else should live their lives. Nor would I appreciate anyone trying to interefere with how I live my life. See how it works? In a few words, just leave me alone.

Anastasia,about the only thing that will clean up the downtown core is for our law enforcemnt people to get down there and make it very uncomfortable for them.
Perhaps they will move on,perhaps not, but at least they would think twice about bothering people who pay the very taxes that get used to susidize their life style.
But then,as long as we keep operating facilities to make life easier for them in the downtown core,the problem will NEVER go away.
In fact,it will probably get worse.
Wait for it!
Years ago,most cities had police on foot patrol in the downtown core.
Why?..because it worked for keeping the riff-raff away and the streets a lot safer.
I NEVER give to panhandlers and I will NEVER allow myself to be intimidated by one.
And when I am with my wife and every second word starts with a "F",I get a bit pissed too!
Most times,they can tell by the look on a persons face that it would not be a good idea to even ask!
They pick and choose who they hit on,and they are pretty good at knowing when to back off.
A lot of them are not quite as stupid as one might think,and the first time we knuckle under to this kind of extortion,they win and do it again on the next guy.
No way.

Years ago most cities had police on foot patrol. We also had a vagrancy law. You know, you had to have some visible means of support and have a reason to be where you were. Mr. Trendy Trudeau abolished that vagrancy law because his reasoning was that it shouldn't be against the law to be poor. Good socialist logic, eh? Thus why should the police walk? They have no rights to tell these bums anything. Bums have rights, ya know! Now they just taser you out of frustration if you turn out to be obnoxious. What goes around, comes around. Understand?

I just came back from Vancouver and was absolutely shocked at the conditions of Main and Hastings St. There were literally hundreds of homeless on the corners. Hundreds! On each corner! AND right across from a police station. I do not wish this on any city and definitely not Prince George but I have no suggestions what can be done. It was a sad sad sight.

I recall one evening down by the royal bank ATM on victoria a male approached me with a sob story about needing to borrow some money to catch a bus to get to a job he had been offered out of town. I declined. The next week when I was working I got a complaint about the same thing. Apparently he was amazed that I knew his story and told him that his job had been filled already. So , there can be some humor in these situations.

You are right whineo,Vancouver is totally out of control!
They are everywhere,even as far down as the Bayshore and Pan Pacific,and some of them are VERY agressive.
They work the tour buses etc.
I wonder where they will hide them when the Olympics roll around?
Baldy Hughes perhaps?

I was approached by a fella that had a crumpled up prescription in hand. He said he had lost his job and benefits and didnt have enough money to get his kids asthma medication. I promptly offered to meet him at the pharmacy around the corner and I would gladly pay for his prescription for him. What do you know - he quickly declined the offer and left...

While parked in front of a Tim's one day I seen this guy pacing around. I immediately figured him out. I got out of my car and as I was walking in he came up to me. Just before he opened his yap to panhandle, I asked him, I said, "Spare change? Got any spare change? I asked you first. Spare change. C'mon." He just smiled and said he didn't have any. Then he walked away. Ask them before they ask you. Put them on the spot. If you dare.

I guess if you call them "They" it makes it easier to dehumanize them. At least that is what Hitler did to the Jews.

Realist:
argumentum ad Nazium

Here's the problem. We don't know the background of some of these people that "panhandle" or "beg". Some of them may be people that are just down on their luck, maybe lost their job, and everything that they own because of it and life just hit them in the face. Others have been led down this road because of poor upbringing. And then there are some that have literally chosen this life. They chose a life of drugs and crime. These are the ones that I have no time for. And unfortunately, they seem to out number the legitimate "homeless" people. Therefore I have not much choice but to treat all the homeless with the same disrespect. I don't mean it, but it's easy to tell someone to piss off when they ask you for money after you've just put in a hard 8 -10 hour day and came home to find your water rate and gas prices have gone up yet again.....

The people Downtown aren't so bad! I'm downtown a lot and get asked for help ALL the time. It doesn't bother me...I just give em a smile and tell them I'm sorry. They are nice people and always say thank you or have a nice day. Being polite goes a long way.

Realist:
argumentum ad Nazium

Yes. How about an argumentum ad Stalinum, or argumentum ad Maotsedung-ium...for a change!

Panhandling is not unique to PG. Have you walked down Granville or even Robson? It's everywhere even the capital - what about Douglas street in Victoria. I think the problem w/ PG is, is that you can't get away from it, it is literally the entire downtown core. I chose not to shop downtown because I find it dirty, depressing and ugly. PG has a lot more to offer than down town. If you don't like it, stay away!

Posted by: Anastasia on May 15 2008 11:42 AM
How come people would rather continually knock the city they live in, instead of maybe coming up with ideas that may help clean things up!!!

I’m so sick of the bleeding hearts in this city & province!

Give these bums, panhandlers, drug users, thugs and lazy ass free loaders a paint brush, pressure washer, and make them clean this dump up!

Pay them min wage and if they are collecting a welfare check pay hours worked based on that.

Is it me? This is not rocket science, work get paid.

And as far as A. Hitler ....he was paving roads while the allies bombed the motherland...So why is there still potholes here? What’s the excuse counsel? Hey work for the freeloaders......man they would be so busy making an honest living that they won’t have time to panhandle!

So is this a good enough solution Anastasia ?

On a good note...We are going to eat steak outside tonight. Cheers.....

No kidding. I have seen two, yes only two city trucks fixing the roads. Trying to get of Rosia Rd onto N. Necako is insane. People are swerving all over the place so they can miss the giant crater!
I agree, get the vagrants off the street. NO it shouldn't be illegal to be poor, but it should be illegal to panhandle and make hard working citizens who give back to society uncomfortable. We need a place for these people to hang out...in one central location. Maybe than more people would go downtown. The city should buy places like the PG Hotel, the croft, the columbus hotel etc and pull them down!! Paving stones and some trees is not revitalizing downtown.