What a hateful article! If the author knew anything about mental illness, he would realize that he is defining a classic case of it. Yes, the man wasn´t always this way; mental illness doesn´t strike at birth. It most typically strikes in early adulthood. Yes, people with mental illness often refuse services; many have anosognosia, which means that the disease in their brains keeps them from fully realizing that they even have a brain disorder. Over the past few decades some so-called ´advocates´ that people with mental illness have the ´right´ to refuse treatment and live in gutters. True advocates for the mentally ill call this "dying with their rights on"; we would jail someone for letting a person with Alzheimer´s die in the streets and not be cared for, but we let mentally ill people live and die this way every day.

No, Tyrrell, this man doesn´t have a ´sense of entitlement´. This man has a disease that you don´t know anything about.

Another example of no good deed going unpunished.

Waste of time and space to be writing about this seemingly harmless man.

Write an article about the man who pushed someone off the subway platform and the sickness in society that saw no one try to help him.

Write an article about the cowardly photographer who took a picture of the train approaching.

Write an article about the NYPost using that picture on it´s front page.

Funny story, esp. Krugman references.

Our little burg had a "homeless" couple living in their car in a parking garage. 2 dogs, too. They drank coffee at the sidewalk cafes, took money from strangers and eventually parlayed their dumb decisions into moving in with a local Realtor, who is facing foreclosure. Talk about like minded people meeting. I´ll bet this guy has a pretty good gig going.

And another point: at a weddng the other month a couple of young Duke alums were laughing about the NYC rapper brought to their campus English class by the AA professor. "white man bad" kind of stuff. Hilarious.

Mister

With Brodhead at the helm, the example you cite is MILD for Duke.

There are poor souls like this wandering the streets all across America. They are attacked, abused, robbed of their money and medications and even killed everyday. Why can´t there be facilities where these folks can live in safety and have people employed to care for them? It would be much better than out on the streets being victims of urban savages.

His brother and family have urged him to live with them, but he will not. They attribute his problems to his addiction to alcohol, which apparently has plagued him for decades. It will eventually cause the dementia that he seems to be displaying.

I agree with OP. We are looking at mental illness in a man who can no longer be legally institutionalized, thanks to the leftists who claim to have compassion for him.

Also, Tyrrell´s piece would have a little more authority if he spelled it "Medicaid."

Here in Boston the homeless are complaining about being forced to live in taxpayer provided apartments and conform to "normal" life by getting free food and medical care. They hate it.
I would rather we had just stayed on the story about the kind policeman. That story felt so good. The rest of the "news" about this story, and in general, is just so depressing.

These boots were made for talkin´....

#6, we used to have places where the mentally ill wee housed and cared for, but the liberals thought it better to close those state hospitals, and let them roam the streets instead. But they are free to do what any other person can do. Even make pests of themselves or rob or fornicate in public or whatever else they want to do. But they are no longer housed in those evil institutions, with their warm beds, medical care and three squares a day.

#6 Such places existed up until somewhere in the ´80´s, when it was decided it was cruel to confine people with mental afflictions….They should be f-r-e-e-e-e! So they closed the institutions and turned them out on the streets. I did work as a sub-contractor work in some of those facilities in Atlanta back in the day. And, believe me, from what I observed, those poor souls needed and deserved help.

You miss the point.

There are endless support systems in place. They are gamed, and maintain the status quo. (i.e. the "Coalition for the homeless seeks to maintain homelessness NOT solve the problem.)

Hillman is lucid enough to demand more, yet shambles around Times Square in rags. (I´ve seen him regularly) His "these boots are worth money" is not that he fears losing them, but that he can turn $100. boots into a fifth of vodka.

There was a "war on poverty." Who won?

This poor wretched man is Obama Man. He has lost his soul and has been reduced to getting thru the day the best way he can. Many souless individuals who have been persuaded to rely on the government for their daily bread are headed in the same direction. Societies are judged by how they treat the least of these not how many of these they can create. Stripping a man of the dignity of work is but a 1st step.

#6, #11 & #12. Absolutely correct! There were State Hospitals where the "patients" were given "3 Hots & a Cot". My ex-brother-in-law was one of these. Jimmuh Cahrter had the patients declared "Political Prisoners" and that they were being held against their "will"; and they were released. You´ll love this part, while being taken care by our tax dollars, my ex-brother-in-law collected Social Security while there. He was getting around $650/month. When he was released, the first thing he did was buy a car with cash. Of course he continued to collect Social Security. After Cahrter had them released is when all of the homeless problems really got bad.

#1, #2 and especially #3 nailed it. The author of this piece normally doesn´t miss the mark like this. I guess he was feeling lonely and wanted some attention so he wrote a nasty article. Emmett, why don´t you spend your energy on why those people stood by and watched that man die instead of trying to rescue him?

Excellent article! Seems to be lost on a few people. The homeless man made several sequential decisions that actually seemed quite rational. He evidently knows his environment better than we do - and those who suppose to. And we are breeding a generation of like people.