“Don’t be so open minded your brain falls out”

When the poster child of quirky liberality calls your BS out, maybe you should listen? On a recent visit to Portland, David Sedaris got very little sympathy when he experienced the same thing many of us living here do every day. One of the increasingly rampant unleashed dogs belonging to a homeless person attacked and bit him.

How did Portlander’s respond to his bandaged leg? Victim shaming:

“You have to understand that these addicts, especially those with an opioid-use disorder, lead incredibly difficult lives,” the first person I spoke to, a woman with long, straight hair the color of spaghetti, said.

“How is that an excuse?” I asked. “Her dog bit me.”

“Well, you’re still better off than she and her friends are,” the woman continued.

Unfortunately, I had already finished signing her book.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/12/15/and-your-little-dog-too

He’s got the same treatment down the line – which has been exactly my experience when talking to Portlanders about these things too. Sadly, he not even remotely the first. Increasingly large numbers of people are being attacked, mauled, and permanently disabled/disfigured by dogs owned by homeless in Portland. David Sedaris got pretty much the exact same response from ‘compassionate’ Portlanders that others permanently injured get: the lives of homeless folks are worse off than yours so you should shut up. The poor dogs are the focus here (certainly more important than your life-long injury).