How to get the homeless off the streets

[rodeosweetheart]

This summer, the second day we were up here to our new house, in our new community, we went to KMart to buy an air mattress to sleep on, and walked down to Big Lots to buy a pan to make tea in. Walking out of Big Lots, a homeless man lying in the dark about ten feet over yelled at me , "you f**ing b***". I am a 58 year old woman who doesn't run very fast due to COPD. Needless to say, it turned me off my new home. My husband was with me, so I wasn't terrified, but had he not been, I probably would have gotten in the car and driven back to South Carolina. But I tend to be afraid of homeless, drunken men who are street homeless, since I was attacked by one in Chicago as a young woman.

I don't see this as the same social problem as Tiam trying to care for her children and lacking a home for them. And yes, everyone, not just children, needs a home.

I really am one of the most harmless people I know. So I don't think it's reasonable to expect a great deal of emoting and feeling sympathy for homeless street people when so many times, malice or actual threat seems to be coming from the other party in my direction, for no reason.

And I don't think it's reasonable to say people are ignorant if their experiences differ from yours, or when they see someone in the street, they are wary, due to their own experiences.

[Tiam]

you're right; it is not! My apologies.

PS- I'm glad I'm wrong.

No problem. Like I said, I think you were just showing that you actually care. And that's nothing to be ashamed of.

[Yarrow]

No problem. Like I said, I think you were just showing that you actually care. And that's nothing to be ashamed of.

Tiam, it is admirable how calmly and kindly you have reacted to being called an ignorant dolt.... I was gobsmacked myself when I read it! Good on you!

[ApatheticNoMore]

Walking out of Big Lots, a homeless man lying in the dark about ten feet over yelled at me , "you f**ing b***".

mentally ill. :\

But I tend to be afraid of homeless, drunken men who are street homeless, since I was attacked by one in Chicago as a young woman.

I really am one of the most harmless people I know. So I don't think it's reasonable to expect a great deal of emoting and feeling sympathy for homeless street people when so many times, malice or actual threat seems to be coming from the other party in my direction, for no reason.

I see a lot of homeless, I usually don't interact actually. They are very little threat IMO. When I found a homeless person sleeping in the apartment laundry room, I caught myself apologizing to them - I'm sorry - well I was afterall interrupting their sleep!

I don't think one has some kind of duty or moral responsibility to interact with the homeless (because contrary to anything suggested in these threads it's actually not a problem that can be solved individually - though it may indeed be charitable to interact with them, since many could probably use a "hi") but the generalization about homeless is surely shakey. Think about the other generalizations one could form from being attacked.

And I don't think it's reasonable to say people are ignorant if their experiences differ from yours, or when they see someone in the street, they are wary, due to their own experiences.

not for being wary.

I wouldn't tend to believe most homeless are there by choice, but some, maybe. just as surely as some people don't see the harm in crime (and really how is selling drugs really any worse than working for Phillip Morris when you get right down to it? Many legit jobs are actually at least as if not more immoral than crime. Although they do run less risk of arrest!). Really truly, although it runs the world, not everyone subscribes to bourgeoisie value systems, some have worse value systems and some much better ones. If you met a homeless person and they claimed to be voluntarily homeless would you believe them or just think they have to rationalize being on the very bottom of societies totem pole because the alternative is to admit failure in this societies eyes. Even a wage slave thinks more of you if you say you did it for the freedom.

Ignorant dolt is a personal attack.

[Gregg]

Everyone, this may be a good time to review our terms of service, which we all agreed to at the time of our initial registration. The TOS can be found here: http://www.simplelivingforum.net/faq..._usage#faq_tos

With particular attention to this part:

Each poster is expected to treat every other poster with respect at all times. We all have to agree to disagree at times, this is true of any human relationship, but we can disagree without being disagreeable. Name calling and other ill-willed behavior will earn you a warning from the Moderator of the Forum. If you receive such a note or see a warning post, please work with the Moderator to understand the issue involved and don't do it again.

Thank you for posting that reminder Alan.

[flowerseverywhere]

Maybe it is time to review the moderator policy as well. I did not find the verbal abuse funny at all.