> I think the point of the article is that that's fucked up, and not how the world should be.
That's the maturation process though: understanding that the world has been that way for all time. Look at nature, around you, some animals within any given group always do better than others. It's fine to be bothered by it, and want to do something to change it, but it's naive to think that a) you are the first person to notice and b) you can fix it completely.
One calls it maturation, another calls it desensitization. I think it's same thing because what people call maturation is just nervous system getting more numb as it gets older and worn out.
The point is it's not better to accept it. It's not more grown up and responsive to stop caring about this. World is not the same as it used to be. It constantly get's more and more humane. I recomend watching http://www.ted.com/talks/steven_pinker_on_the_myth_of_violen...
If you accept homeless population in SF you are just closing your eyes to places that are much better to live than SF even with much less money in circulation.
(I'm not an expert on this, but as far as I know) many traditional/"primitive" societies have much less problems with homelessness and mental disorders because of stronger family support. (Of course, they have other problems that we don't have.)
That's the maturation process though: understanding that the world has been that way for all time. Look at nature, around you, some animals within any given group always do better than others. It's fine to be bothered by it, and want to do something to change it, but it's naive to think that a) you are the first person to notice and b) you can fix it completely.