the other day, i was listening to the radio, and they were talking about this boxer who got inducted to the boxer hall of fame. i can’t remember who it was since i dont really give a shit about boxing. anyways, they were talking about how he was supposed to get this award, but no one knew where he was, and eventually they found him homeless and living on the streets somewhere. it turned out that he had been broke and living on the streets for quite a while.
the program then went on to say that he would now receive his award, and be reunited w/ his 4 children and 10 grandchildren. 4 children?!! dude, what the fuck!! how does this kind of shit happen? when i think of people who are homeless, i think of people who somehow fell through the cracks. i think of someone who, when they were broke, had *no one* to turn to for help. someone w/ no family or friends to help them out. how the fuck does someone w/ 4 kids go homeless?? not a single one of his own children could help out their dad and give him a place to live?? i just dont get how people can be so selfish as to not help their own father out.
-v
Well if their father wasn’t exactly a model citizen, I can see how it would happen. Sometimes people just become estranged and aren’t even aware of what happened to their family members. Shit happens.
Most homeless people didn’t just fall through the cracks or were broke and had no choice. Most are runaways, alcoholics and drug addicts. A large number of homeless choose to live that way and many of the homeless you see these days aren’t even homeless, just people looking to earn free money. There are people out there who make a really good amount of money from standing out there begging for cash.
This is why I don’t have much sympathy for the homeless. After I learned more and more about who most of them really are, I couldn’t care less. The only ones I am really concerned for are the children and obviously those that are truly in a difficult situation. Unfortunately, you can’t tell which ones are which.
what about people who lose their jobs and then can’t afford a home? or have other circumstances that cause them to lose a lot of money?
-v
What about them? I said I feel bad for those in a truly bad situation which in my mind covered those people. Like I said though, the majority of homeless aren’t those people and unfortunately, you can’t tell which ones are truly in a tight spot and which choose to live that life.
well, i think that most of the people out there really are in a bad situation. yeah sure, there is definitely a percentage of people who may not be actually homeless and are just pretending to do so to earn extra cash. that’s definitely fucked up. but i really dont think that those people are that huge of a percentage of the homeless you see on the street.
the fact is that a lot of us are lucky. we have parents who are well off, who have been nice enough to help us out in rough spots, or pay for our schooling, or whatever. not everyone has that luxury. for a lot of people, if they get their hours cut back at work, or they have some major setback like a car accident or whatever, they are just completely fucked. a lot of people just barely scrape by on some shitty ass low paying job, and the most minor of things can send their financial situation into a cascading downward spiral.
also, statistics show that a lot of the people who end up on the streets are the mentally ill. people who probably should be in institutions getting some kind of help, but dont get the help they need. as far as the “runaways, alcoholics, and drug addicts”…. i’m not sure what you mean by runaways. are you talking about kids that runaway from their parents? if so, i thought you said that you do in fact feel bad for the children on the streets? as far as alcoholics etc, in reality alcoholism is a disease. it’s been proven through genetics etc that alcoholism is carried down from person to person in their dna. people who end up alcoholics, can be helped if they receive treatment and aren’t just left on the streets.
-v
<i>there is definitely a percentage of people who may not be actually homeless and are just pretending to do so to earn extra cash. that’s definitely fucked up. but i really dont think that those people are that huge of a percentage of the homeless you see on the street.</i>
Actually, they are a large percentage of the homeless and it is continually growing. I’m not saying that they are the largest percentage, but it definitely is a big part of it. Most of the homeless are addicts and runaways.
<i>for a lot of people, if they get their hours cut back at work, or they have some major setback like a car accident or whatever, they are just completely fucked. a lot of people just barely scrape by on some shitty ass low paying job, and the most minor of things can send their financial situation into a cascading downward spiral.</i>
I don’t dispute this at all, but the thing of it is, these people are not the majority of the homeless. Plus these people have options, they have places to go to get help. I’m referring to the vast numbers of people who refuse the help, who are not trying to better themselves or get out of the situation. There are many, many people like that living the homeless life.
<i>also, statistics show that a lot of the people who end up on the streets are the mentally ill. people who probably should be in institutions getting some kind of help, but dont get the help they need.</i>
Some, not all. For those people, it’s sad. However, a lot of the mentally ill weren’t that way when they first took to the streets. A number of them become that way from sickness and drug use. Sure, if I saw someone with downs on the streets, I’d feel pity for them, but overall I am skeptical of all homeless people due to the vast amount of information and stats on homeless people I have seen and the experiences I and other have had. It’s also been found that a number of the mentally ill, aren’t ill at all, but simply putting on an act to either be left alone or earn more pity and therefore more money. Again, I’m not saying all of them, but many are.
<i>as far as the “runaways, alcoholics, and drug addicts”…. i’m not sure what you mean by runaways. are you talking about kids that runaway from their parents? if so, i thought you said that you do in fact feel bad for the children on the streets?</i>
For those children who are in a really bad place, sure. I feel bad for the children that are foced onto the streets by people to earn money, those that get a beating if they come home empty-handed. I feel bad for the children who ran away because they were abused and felt they had no choice. I even feel bad for some of those who were kicked out, depending on why they were kicked out. I don’t feel bad for those that run away because they want to do drugs or because their parent’s wouldn’t let them do what they want or those that are criminals. But again, there is no way to tell the difference between the legitimate ones and those that choose the life.
<i>as far as alcoholics etc, in reality alcoholism is a disease. it’s been proven through genetics etc that alcoholism is carried down from person to person in their dna. people who end up alcoholics, can be helped if they receive treatment and aren’t just left on the streets.</i>
Actually, that’s not entirely true. Alcoholism has been found to be due in part to genetics, but it’s not necessarily so with all people.
Regardless, these people are offered help, but they don’t want it. It’s not like the homeless are just left on the streets with no way out. There are ways out. It may be difficult, but there is a way out. There is a lot of help for these people, but they often refuse it.
I’ve had a lot of experience with alcoholism and it’s definitely a difficult thing to deal with, but when someone refuses help time and time again, there is nothing you can do. It’s time to write them off. Alcoholism isn’t always only an uncontrollable disease, it’s often a choice.
I don’t know the whole story, but it is entirely possible that his kids didn’t know where he was. It is kinda hard to track someone down who doesn’t have an address. Or, maybe he didn’t want there help. Maybe, for some fucked up reason, he would rather be on the streets. Maybe he is the one that is fucked up and selfish because he left his kids.
Wow. There are so many things wrong with this discussion. First of all, Vlad is right about the majority of the homeless people being mentally ill. You can thank Reagan for that. After he deinstitutionalized mental hostpitals, most of the patients had no choice but to be homeless. I really think that one needs a bit more compassion than you, (bluejyf), are exhibiting. Yup, I totally called you out! 🙂
Yes, I am not going to argue that there are *some* people who take advantage of the situation and panhandle for extra cash. There are some that fell through the cracks. There are some that didn’t save up for a rainy day and some who prefer to live that way. The numbers are small though. Any journal article or the US census website will tell you that.
On the boxer dude, I think Vlad and I come from a different culture where it is expected that a child take care of their parents in old age. However, the first thing that came to mind about his children was that maybe they’re young. Like 12-16 years old? I don’t know though… other reasons were good too. 🙂