homeless rant
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- sikma0
They need to help themselves. That's why homelessness has no easy fixes.
- mcLeod0
as much as I think I should, I can't bring myself to feel any pity for this woman. somehow she is able to get over to the 7-eleven every day to get her big gulp and cigarettes. I feel as if I don't owe her anything since I know she is capable of helping herself. I did call the police today. we'll see if they are there tomorrow.
- Wolfboy0
When I was at University I kind of became a bit more right wing towards homeless people. I studied in Falmouth down in Cornwall and in the late spring when weather finally turns nice it is one of the most beautiful places to be in England.
And every spring there would be an influx of homeless people that would suddenly appear. They would sleep on the piers and I think on the beaches, drinking cheap booze and begging. But non of them seemed to have Cornish accents, they were making the effort to travel to Cornwall to be homeless in nicer surroundings.
Now on the surface that sounds kind of reasonable, everyone wants to have nice surroundings right? But I always thought (and still do) it can't be easy to get that far in to Cornwall with next to no money so they must have made quite an effort to do this every year. Which to me means it's a choice to live like that, they had the drive and the motivation to live in a certain place at a certain time but no motivation to earn a living - instead they want to beg, take money from others. I could just never see why I should work hard, get myself into debt as a student and give them money to drink and hang out on a beach.
- tis the scrumpy me boy. Wood Lane posse huhmax_prophet
- sure am, I was there at the turn of the century. It's getting scarily close to being 10 years since I left.Wolfboy
- morilla0
When I lived in Atlanta it was a daily occurrence and multiple times throughout the day. Going to my car, to the gas station, to the grocery store, to the studio, etc... At first I was a little taken a back and put off. But I grew to become accustomed to it, and would have good karma days when I would shell out some coin. Knowing damn well those f-ers went straight to the liquor store. But oh well... But it was depressing as fuck and I was so happy when I got out of that city.
- mcLeod0
I have heard every panhandling story and read every type of hobo sign at the traffic lights in the cities I have lived in. I never give them anything because they don't deserve the money I worked hard to earn for myself.
- UK hobos are the worse, I cant believe they would fall through the system and no-one is around to help them.booya
- pr20
mcLeod, not everyone want to the kind of sheep you are: wake-up, get stuck in the traffic on the way to work, 9-5 boredom where you never hold your balls and let your boss walk over you, stuck in traffic again while on the way back, get home, eats some plastic shit from the fridge, watch a silly movie on cable...
Some of those people choose this lifestyle, some of them are fucked and simply can get out. I'm not claiming i would feel bad for them but still i wouldn't call cap on them the way you did.
- haha I was writing the basically the same thing. If anything they feel sorry for us.sofakingbanned
- sofakingbanned0
They are doing what they do because they have chosen not to play the everyday bull shit game you and I play. To us a home, car and a regular meal at the kitchen table is a normal and acceptable life. being homeless is unacceptable to us because thats the agreement we have made with ourselves + this is what mainstream society tells us is correct.
Most homeless people do not fee the need for any of these... or at least on the same level as you and I.
Think about it, your concerned about paying the mortgage, you car bill, buy a new outfit for that special night, your iphone, a better tv, etc
They are worried about eating, keeping warm at night, and whatever their vice or pass time is. most will drink or use drugs, but i have seen homeless people that just want to play a drum on a street corner, or paint at a park.
They don't reach out for help or self improvement because they don't need it. they are not playing our game.
Just my 2¢
- he's my alter ego, but i'm still more handsome...pr2
- hahah I'll challenge the handsome part. cheers.sofakingbanned
- I feel sorry for us as well....morilla
- morilla0
at times, in this world we live in... I really feel like doing this, except for the ending.
- haha me too.epete22
- but we can never really choose our ending, can we?TheBlueOne
- Same here. Although, the movie itself was bad by comparison to the literary counterpart.thizzbobby
- the movie seems to romanticize his trip some, but the book shows he might have been mentally ill. still want to?
zenmasterfoo - That movie should have been half an hour shorter.mg33
- agreed. cut out all the BS. aftercrossing the river, jump cut to skinny, paralyzed, and dying.monNom
- what happens at the end?ohhhhhsnap
- designbot0
I generally never give money to homeless people, but I always take each situation case by case and use discretion. Like some of the stories I see above not all homeless people have the same story. When you see them everyday it is easy to grow cold, and even get annoyed that they are asking for money. I think we should all have compassion for them. Jesus himself had compassion for, and even healed many people that would have been considered bums or hobos in his day.
My thinking is my money would be much more beneficial if I give it to a charity with low overhead that helps people who are homeless. Often times they will adress the real issues in the persons life to get them back on their feet. Simply handing someone a wad of cash is not going to fix the deeper issues that they almost always have, and thus often times even contributes to worsen their problems.
One other idea (never had the courage to do this....yet) that is somewhat radical but I think would be better than handing over money is this...get to know the homeless person. Buy lunch for them and sit down and talk face to face to them. I can only imagine they are so used to being treated like shit that for someone to actually aknowledge them as a fellow human being would really impact them. To let them know that someone actually cares about them would probably be pretty profound. You could get to know them and find out exactly how you could best help them.
- locustsloth0
The fact is you DON'T have to give them money. If you feel like it's their fault that they are in the situation they are in (an amazing determination since you probably see an average of 60sec of their life), ignore them, don't give them money. If they are doing something illegal, like defiling your residence (as in the druggie in the basement story a couple pages back) or stealing, you call police, like you would for any other person, homeless or not.
But to take up the righteous attitude that they shouldn't besmirch your vision, and all this apparent anger towards them signals something is up with YOU. Either you resent the fact that they are able to exist without the constraints that you live with, as has been mentioned here (ignoring, of course, that they have a multitude of constraints of their own) or the fear of becoming them is so great that you want to push them away, get them out of your sight so the specter of you ending up in that situation can't cross your mind. There have been times in my life where i felt this way and it's just like any other fear, you can't successfully stuff it down or pack it away unless you deal with it head on.Otherwise, If they biggest offense is making you "sick of seeing them", live and let live. If you really want to help, don't call the cops, buy them a sandwich or a gallon of water.
- Nairn0
EAT THE POOR.
- (Ensure meat is cooked through before consumption)Nairn
- LOLlocustsloth
- cuke4260
crippling depression and/or mental disability are often the cause of homelessness; you could argue that each is the symptom of the other.
it's okay to have compassion even if you don't understand it; just have compassion for the parts you do understand, i.e. she's still sleeping outside at night when it's cold, even if it's 'by choice'
- robulation0
I NEVER used to have ANY compassion for homeless people until I got involved with doing some creative work raising the profile of a homeless charity.
Turns out that most people are homeless because of years of sexual or mental abuse, usually by their parents or family members, and then drugs take hold because they need to escape from the shit they went through. It's not always about a roof over their head, money, or shelter, it's about taking really small steps towards understanding their individual needs.
For example, some cannot face being in a house because it's linked to the trauma of their dad botting them furiously every day of their lives.
So, yeah, just thought I'd share what I've learned from it... my view has completely changed.
- skt0
maybe they should phone the police because they are sick of seeing your smug face driving past everyday?
- mcLeod0
I am not a cold person. I just know this woman is capable of taking herself to a shelter or a mission where she can find opportunities to get herself out of her situation, but it seems she chooses not to.
then there is this article in a local paper from a while back:
http://www.pitch.com/2006-12-14/…Name: Vincent
Age: 49 Tenure: Two years
Distinction: Cup rattler
Tools: A plastic bucket to sit on and a paper cup from any garbage can; each cup usually lasts a week.
Hangout: In front of The Gap on the Plaza
Smells like: Hangover
Odd detail: Wears a shiny silver watch.
Formal education: Lincoln College Preparatory Academy
Previous gig: Custodian for American Sweeping
Average take: $150 to $200 a day
Best take: $350 in seven hours
Trade secret: "I burn a hole in the bottom of it [the cup] for good luck. The change tends to rattle a little bit more with the hole in it."
Justification: "I'm not homeless. This is a job. I have a $78,000 home. I come out here. I sit on my bucket eight to 12 hours a day. I average 150 to 200 bucks a day. No job is gonna pay me that. So why not sit on my ass and get tax-free money? Everything I have on now was purchased from The Gap by customers. That's three sweaters, these jeans and this new plaid jacket. I've paid for the mortgage on my house, for light, gas, Dish Network and two cell phones." He commuted here in his Cadillac until he was spotted by a regular contributor, who got angry. He now gets dropped off and picked up to preserve his cover.Claim to fame: "Most of the people on the Plaza call me by my first name. I am one of the best, most professionalest panhandlers the Plaza has ever seen."
Best street Zen: "Respect goes a long ways. You have to be kind, courteous, polite. And if people don't give you anything, still say thank you."
- so this is the type of person who got credit? No job verification lolepete22
- mcLeod0
to those who called me bad words, did you do so because I called the police? and if that's the case then what other options would you have chosen? I didn't call to have them harassed or arrested. no one should be living in the doorway of a building especially when they have options available to them. the local authorities have them means to get them to where they need to go. just because I didn't offer them a ride or invite them into my home doesn't mean I am a prick or a twat.
- armsbottomer0
i don't really care what their issues are, or how they got in their current situation. quite frankly, it's none of my business. i simply feel sorry for homeless people and try to help them out whenever i can. cuke426 is right, many of these people are suffering from mental disabilities they have no financial means to treat. it doesn't matter how long i've worked my ass for, the spare change in my pocket has a proportionately different worth in the hands of someone who is homeless. if i see someone begging for change on the streets or sleeping on a sidewalk, i'm more than happy to help them out.
- doesnotexist0
homelessness is a state of mind