Correct. If you wanted a phrasing that makes more of a statement you could suggest we are dehumanizing them.

Fair enough, I was trying to be charitable to OP but I agree, it's just a plain insult and I myself use have used this argument when insulting people ;)

look at paul grahams essay about "ways to disagree". name calling is even lower than ad hominem

Openly defecating on the streets may open you up to being called trash. Who knew!

Sometimes it can be helpful to think about why people are doing this, put yourself in their shoes. Many times homeless people are forbidden from using bathrooms in businesses, and often cities do not provide outhouses or enough public restrooms for the amount of homeless the city has. I promise you many of these people using the street as a restroom would prefer an actual toilet. I wouldn't jump to calling someone trash because they don't have access to the basic amenities that others do.

Sometimes it can be helpful to not try to treat the systemic issue and just treat the immediate issue.

For example, it’s not possible for me to solve the systemic issue of drugs and mental health in order to stop public defecating. It is possible for me to arrest the person for pooping in the street.

I think we should do both at the same time. But we certainly shouldn’t arrest people for pooping because they have a systemic issue invisible handsing them toward public pooping.

People can be trash for different reasons. And if a systemic issue makes someone do trashy behavior, then they are still trashy.

It seems to be missing the point to point out lack of empathy for arresting poopers.

Calling someone "trash" is not helpful to the discussion. It dehumanizes them, and dehumanization is the first step down the road that historically has often lead to atrocities. We're talking about real people, not trash. People who are down on their luck, or homeless, or struggling with mental health or addiction. Even if they're out there assaulting people, they are humans that require fair justice, not "trash" that requires disposal.

The least they could do, I mean the absolute least is find a storm drain to shit down or a bush to shit behind. Anything is better than deliberately shitting in the middle of the sidewalk to fuck with as many people as possible. Make no mistake, the people who do this have antisocial intent.