can i be truly honest? i severely dislike the “homeless and mentally ill people are actually more well-behaved and respectful than regular patrons” narrative because it’s simultaneously unhelpful and castigates the people who are not “easy” to deal with.
it also essentializes two problems when you’re in a position of authority over these types of people. the first is that, in spite of their hardship, they’re normal people, who have just as much ability to perform correctly in an institution or public area when expected to. in reality, hunger, addiction, psychosis, abuse, etc. all run rampant in these populations and it’s ignorant at best and deeply unkind at worst to assume that these factors wouldn’t alter their behavior in observable and unpalatable ways.
second, it also necessitates that homeless/mentally ill people receive the same level of patience, sympathy, compassion, etc. as a “normal” person because all wrongdoing is based on their character, circumstances be damned. social disorganization often creates a cascading domino effect that will make normally well-behaved people act in antisocial or otherwise disorderly ways. should we neglect these people because of this? i think it’s unhelpful to suggest that these people deserve equitable treatment and leads to, again, the worst cases receiving the most neglect.
anecdotally, i work in a city facility that gets a lot of homeless people. i have been yelled at, been insulted, been told i am the antichrist, and a whole myriad of other things i wouldn’t let regulars do or say to me. why? because the way you respond to someone in one of the worst phases of their life is with firm patience, not a platitude of equality.