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Fox News personality Tucker Carlson angered many viewers after he suggested policymakers should simply banish unhoused people from society, claiming social services encourage homelessness and threaten the American nuclear family.
Carlson suggested all unhoused people are drug addicts and accused them of undermining living standards for everyone else. He also criticized states like New York which recently opened the nation's first overdose prevention center, a move that's been highly lauded by harm-reduction advocates.
You can hear what Carlson said in the video below.
Carlson, addressing the unhoused population, said:
"You are a drug addict. Get a job or leave. Pull up your pants and get the hell out of here. Go somewhere with lower standards."
“Head for a place where politicians don’t care about their people, because we do care and that’s why we’re hauling your tent to a landfill and cutting off your checks today.”
Carlson, remarking on overdose prevention centers in New York, denigrated them as simply places "helping the homeless get high."
However, his claims could not be further from the truth.
In fact, cities and states have pushed to open similar centers in an effort to reduce opioid deaths, destigmatize drug misuse, and connect people with substance abuse disorders with addiction and counseling services.
Overdose prevention sites offer supervised settings for people to use drugs in the presence of counselors and other medical professionals to protect them from overdosing. Ultimately, these centers aim to help people with substance abuse disorders wean themselves off substances and connect them with medical treatment and support systems.
For many, conservative stances on the unhoused are another example of hypocrisy.
Republicans campaign on a platform of abstinence only sexual education, limited access to birth control and outlawing abortion—all things which increase teen and unwanted pregnancies. The children resulting from the Republican forced pregnancy ideal are at greater risk of ending up homeless either through parental poverty or aging out of the foster care system.
Republicans also purport to support veterans, yet veterans make up a considerable number of the unhoused. The Republican platform also seeks to remove equality efforts protecting LGBTQ+ people who are also vulnerable to homelessness due to discrimination in hiring and housing and unaccepting conservative families.
Many have criticized Carlson for his remarks, calling them judgmental and dangerous.
@TuckerCarlson is scum. Absolute despicable scum. \n\nOh to see HIM live in a tent.https://twitter.com/republicanswine/status/1483803799131025409\u00a0\u2026— MinMoon (@MinMoon) 1642604482
Getting a real "Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses?\u201d vibe from this Tuckerhttps://twitter.com/RepublicanSwine/status/1483803799131025409\u00a0\u2026— CuriousAndMoreCurious\ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6 (@CuriousAndMoreCurious\ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6) 1642605490
Things that could reduce homelessness: extended unemployment, rent moratoria, fair housing policies, student loan forgiveness, affordable daycare, UBI, etc.\n\nThings that will never reduce homelessness: obscene cruel hatemongeringhttps://twitter.com/RepublicanSwine/status/1483803799131025409\u00a0\u2026— Jeff Alexander (@Jeff Alexander) 1642620911
What a toxic, loveless ghoul he is. The mouthpiece of Rupert Murdoch\u2019s broken soul\u2026https://twitter.com/nikkimcr/status/1483610918319710215\u00a0\u2026— Peter Wright (@Peter Wright) 1642626740
Tough words coming from a trust fund punk who was adopted on 3rd base and thinks he hit a home run when he crossed home plate. This treason weasel knows nothing on having to earn your way.https://twitter.com/NikkiMcR/status/1483610918319710215\u00a0\u2026— A7F16AFVet (@A7F16AFVet) 1642567572
I would love to see him end up homeless just so he can see what it\u2019s likehttps://twitter.com/nikkimcr/status/1483610918319710215\u00a0\u2026— blasphemy made flesh (@blasphemy made flesh) 1642602571
Showing this clip to any and all shit-for-brains who still think Fucker Carlson is an \u201ceconomic populist\u201d.https://twitter.com/nikkimcr/status/1483610918319710215\u00a0\u2026— Garrett Tucker (@Garrett Tucker) 1642611058
>\u201cgo to a place that doesn\u2019t care about their people, because we care\u201d\n> is actively ignoring the fact that houseless people are still people and by kicking them out you\u2019re are, in fact, not caring for your people\n\nwhat a crock of shit this guys ishttps://twitter.com/nikkimcr/status/1483610918319710215\u00a0\u2026— new_year_new_pey.png \ud83c\udfb8 (@new_year_new_pey.png \ud83c\udfb8) 1642613338
I may never be a Democrat but I can never be a Republican, either.\n\nI disagree with Tucker here about as much as I can humanly disagree with someone.https://twitter.com/NikkiMcR/status/1483610918319710215\u00a0\u2026— Karras\ud83c\uddfb\ud83c\udde6\u2615 (@Karras\ud83c\uddfb\ud83c\udde6\u2615) 1642563872
Carlson has previously made headlines for similar remarks about the homeless population.
In 2019, he drew significant criticism for claiming that "progressive" policies are responsible for an uptick in the population of homeless people nationwide, and suggesting that cities like Portland, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. are "covered with tents and filth now."
Carlson went on to say that "leftist" cities actually prefer these conditions, because they "regard[s] law and order as the hateful relic of a less progressive age."