Spot the Difference: Los Angeles and Newcastle-under-Lyme

Can you spot the homeless/drug habit dereliction difference between the central districts of Los Angeles (California) and Newcastle-under-Lyme (Staffordshire)? No, neither can I. Yes, the homeless scourge is proportionally greater in LA (more and more residents are leaving the state), but how long will it take before we catch up? Whatever the US does today, make no mistake, the UK will do tomorrow.

Its now common place in LA and San Francisco for human excrement and drug paraphernalia to litter the streets amidst a cacophony of drug/mental health infused tragic pantomime in what appear to be open air asylums (no disrespect to those with addiction and mental health difficulties).

Not forgetting that all the while, the public just walk/and drive past nonchalantly having become accustomed and blind to this humanitarian and socio-economic disaster. This begs the question as to how long will it take before Newcastle-under-Lyme and Hanley (Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire) replicate this sad, dire, dirty, hell-hole-like chaos on the same scale.

If one takes note of the doorways around Newcastle and Hanley, the homeless drug addicts are now comfortably bedding in to such a degree that images like the above will eventually become usual, routine, not out of the ordinary - and yes, our way of life.

They are now embedded in the fabric of our town/city centres for the long haul.