Am I Becoming Too Conservative?

I have always thought of myself as a pretty liberal person. When I lived in NYC the homeless problem bothered me - but I knew for the most part that people in NY could get help if they wanted it and normally it was junkies who asked for money - many times even people whose clothes were in tatters and had no shoes in the subway never asked me for a dime. I always gave them money anyway- maybe to just make my conscious feel better.

Since moving to Portland I have become so annoyed/frustrated/confused about the "homeless" problem here. The way I see it the homeless people are broken up into two groups:

I: Homeless people
II: Junkies

The actual homeless people haven't asked me for money, though they all tend to hang outside of the missions that populate Burnside Ave on the west side (some are drunk, but still not hassling me etc.) There are other homeless people who stand outside of whole foods and rite and other places selling Street News for $1 - which I think is actually great because they are being INDUSTRIOUS and EARNING money (sadly I never have cash on me here and I need to make a point of giving these homeless people money).

Its the junkies that REALLY annoy me which is a mix of wealthy white kids who are slumming it, real homeless teens and just gross wanna be drugstore cowboy type junkies spare changing and trying to live off the man. Usually dirty with scabies, big dogs that have not gotten shots (one bit a friend of mine who was jogging was bitten by one of said dogs and had to get a tetanus shot) glazed over eyes The thought of these kids who are all just being total losers really infuriates me.

Today within 5 minutes of being downtown (SW - just below Burnside) I witnessed a drug deal on the street right in front of me, 5 different dirty hippy + punk kids asking me for money being obnoxious and one kids asking if could use my cell phone (to which I said REALLY? You have got to be kidding me, fuck off). I don't understand why these kids like being dirty, gross etc. Obviously its the drugs, I mean Pete Dougherty was such a perfect example of being pasty, glazed/zombie like etc except he wasn't homeless and managed to date Kate Moss.

It kills me that 1. the city doesn't do anything. Maybe in NYC there are more people and I never noticed it or these stupid kids are all just concentrated to St Marks/Astor Place. 2. There are never cops around - ever. I mean a drug deal on the street like that in NY? Really? Never happens. Maybe in the park or Maybe in an outer borough or LES but never in an area like where I witnessed it today.

Portland is a really beautiful and vibrant city. There are people here who love art, who love shopping, who love to just walk around and take in the architecture but its all for nothing when you have dirty gross junkies spanging you every two feet, being obnoxious.

I know I am being harsh here but at 17 I was a punk rock tattooed kid that my mother kicked out. I worked two jobs, paid rent in an apartment, went to college and paid for everything myself. Moved to NYC, got an apartment, secured an internship and worked two jobs and made a better life for myself on my own without help from anyone, without "spare changing on the street" so that I could get loaded and party. You wouldn't know any of these things looking at me. People think, oh she's just a fancy girl blah blah blah. But I busted my butt and I pay taxes and honestly its this type of smudge that take s a city that has some sparkle + bounce and makes it lose a bit of its luster.

Sorry for the rant its just been driving me a bit crazy today......