Homeless man called a bum, maybe this will change your perspective

reply to post by Hopechest

Well if you'd read the entire thread you will have seen where I stated that people who do get serious injuries or diseases should be taken care of. That is unavoidable and not there fault. The person that has 5 kids by the time they are 25 and then suddenly finds themself on the street I have no sympathy for. I would yank their children, make them wards of the State, then hope they take the necessary steps to get their children back. I would not enable them however.

Firstly, you always talk about your education.... and yet, you don't know the difference between 'there' and 'their'? It makes me kind of doubt that you are being truthful.

I haven't read all of your replies to this thread, but, I must echo the sentiment that it must be really nice to be so perfect as to have not ever made any mistakes in your life.

Your comments are so heartless and cruel. Can you not sympathize with their plight? Their suffering? I guess I should expect nothing less from the bartender who said that if given then chance, that she would blow up entire cities if there were a night of lawlessness allowed in America.

I cannot understand someone who is so cold. I cannot understand someone who has no obvious empathy for the plight of their fellow Americans, regardless of the circumstance or the events that led them down a dire path in life.

The heartlessness I see in some individuals..... baffles me to no end. I cannot wrap my mind around it.

People make mistakes, and sometimes, those mistakes have dire consequences. Should they forever be denied help and care because, they made mistakes?

I feel for these individuals and sincerely hope that they get the help they need to straighten their lives out, lest they spend the rest of their lives living on the street. Maybe we should look at the root in our society that drives these individuals to engage in these sorts of behaviors in the first place, instead of putting a band-aid on the result.

My heart goes out to each and every one of them. I hope someone, somewhere along the line, shows them the kindness that they deserve as human beings.

reply to post by opethPA

That is part of the problem..Many or some homeless people aren't asking for or willing to accept help but they are willing to accept the hard earned money of others

They ain't robbing you dude. Like your employer, the tax man and your bank is. Ignore them, which you probably already do.

Like I said there are many "classes" of what you call homeless.The ones you see, are the ones that are out in the open, panhandling. They have lost a certain dignity or are addicts. The ones you don't see are out back of the building you work at in your dumpster. They work all day to get a few dollars from the recyclables you throw away.

You can find them there or down at the recycle center. Look for the dudes on bicycles draped with big, full plastic bags. Don't tell me you don't run across them. I guarantee the next time you go shopping there will be one crossing your path looking in the garbage can outside the store. Thats the one you give a dollar too.
You will sleep better with a tiny glow in your heart knowing the you made someones life at tiny bit easier. If not, you have become dehumanized.

I knew a guy who used to sleep outdoors, he had all his own gear for camping and travelled around doing machine jobs or mechanic and welding work. He liked sleeping under the stars. He used to say, "Who's going to take that away from me"?

Lot of People like that I have met. They ride freight trains, hitchhike with truckers, or bike around the country. You never know they are there. They keep neat and shop in the store standing right behind you in line.

When I lived this way, I had a pickup truck, storage unit, and worked for construction contractors, hauling the scrap they didn't want. I had a pager and they used to beep me when they had a job. I "worked" for them in that they didn't pay me and I didn't have a clock to punch, just an agreement to remove certain "garbage" from their job sites for the money I got for the scrap. Sometimes there were resellable flea market items. I was able to afford all my expenses and hotel rooms to relax and get cleaned up.

Sometimes I made thousands of dollars a day.

Then I would camp on the delta for a week or two and enjoy the sun and fishing. People are mistaken about what "homelessness" means.

It's not what every one is doing, so its perceived as being lowly. That training began in our youth in school when everyone learned about the troll under the bridge.

Ewww...

Being homeless , used as a catch all designation, by choice is a lot difference then the people I am talking about.

Choosing to live on the rail lines or a transient life style is much different then the guy that sleeps on the sidewalk, urinates right around the corner and leaves his trash wherever he wants. Ultimately the life you chose you were still responsible for your actions. You were still contributing to society, you weren't sitting around drinking or doing drugs until you couldn't stand straight every day.

What you describe is not the person that i think this debate is about.

reply to post by opethPA

Sorry..Being homeless does not mean you are honorable and beyond reproach.

Neither does living "indoors".

Originally posted by intrptr
reply to post by opethPA

 

Sorry..Being homeless does not mean you are honorable and beyond reproach.

Neither does living "indoors".

No one said it does but as I said in my other response to you, the life you chose is not what this is about.

Working hard, contributing to the betterment of your society/city/town/location/nature. Not stealing and in general not looking for a free ride..that's something to be proud of.

Being a drunk or drug user that expects others to provide for them without any desire to improve your situation is a different story.

Originally posted by opethPA
Being a drunk or drug user that expects others to provide for them without any desire to improve your situation is a different story.

Damn man, I think you just described Congress.

Originally posted by Hopechest

Originally posted by blupblup

Originally posted by Hopechest

I don't feel any sympathy for them.

You're probably not a very nice human being.

Why, because I don't feel the need to take care of mistakes people shouldn't have made in the first place?

If people get into this situation on their own and you help them out they will end up right back there because they haven't changed their way of thinking. They will continue asking for handouts and by helping them you are just preventing them from hitting the absolute rock bottom where they will be forced to either change or they will probably die.

You are extending their misery.

By extension of this thought process, we should just euthanize them to end their misery? While I agree that many of them are there due to poor choices they have made in life, I don't think they should receive a lethal injection due to poor choices. You seriously need to consider where you are in life, and realize sometimes things happen out of your control, and somethings you can never prepare for.

reply to post by opethPA

the guy that sleeps on the sidewalk, urinates right around the corner and leaves his trash wherever he wants...

...is at the end of a long rope of drug and alcohol abuse. Probably got wet brain, organ failure, whatever.

Poor guy. Way past go. Not much hope there. There are rich people living in castles that are in the same fix. They aren't on public display. They have insurance, the best doctors to patch em up and put them back in their castle.

That guy that refuses food, but wants cash? Now you know him, leave him alone. He's digging his own hole.

First rule of AA or NA, "Can't change nobody".

Originally posted by intrptr
That guy that refuses food, but wants cash? Now you know him, leave him alone. He's digging his own hole.

This is such a powerful and accurate description of the scenario I am talking about. It's probably one of the better sentences I have read on ATS and I am glad you wrote it.

Originally posted by SubTruth

Originally posted by MessOnTheFED!
reply to post by SubTruth

 

It took me a long time to understand the saying 'hindsight is 20/20'. It definitely is though.

MOTF!

Me also.

The older I get the more I understand empathy and kindness. When I was young the only person I thought of was me. And all it brought was pain for myself and everyone around me.



Compassion should be the rule not the exception. Especially towards people who can not help themselves and animals.

Isn't it funny too, the older I get, the less I want or need. In fact up until about 8 months ago, I was absolutely resigned to ending up a part of the scenery...

Who knows, I still may. Life does not play fair and being clear minded does not guarantee a clear path.

But it's saddening to read how people can dismiss homeless people so readily, with preconceptions and, basically, ignorance.

I guess we'll never see prince harry or willy living on the streets. Being born into wealth removes one from making poor life decisions. Unless they want to ofc. you know, the prince and the pauper kinda jive.

Originally posted by Hopechest
I have, I've worked at homeless shelters and the story is all the same.

...

Most do not suffer from mental illness, in fact...many of them fake it and i've seen them fake it.

Its pathetic

Well that's just sad.

Funny how people online, who have a strong dislike for homeless people, invariably have worked with them and know they're all liars and frauds.

Yet, when I meet someone who works with homeless people, they have no such things to say.

I wonder why that is.

reply to post by winofiend


You have to understand that Hollywood portrays homeless people as being either thieves, addicts/drunks, mentally unstable, or any combination of the same. People that have never experienced this buy that crap.

Originally posted by Hopechest
Most of the homeless people are there because of poor decisions they decided to make in their lives. Many are alcohol and drug abuse victims, but it was still their choice to partake in that.

I have little sympathy for them because they chose to give up.

Oh brother! It is obvious that you have very little experience in real life, and choose to be judgmental and nasty, without knowing any individual circumstances, or mental status.

The vast majority of homeless people have severe mental health issues, and have fallen through cracks in the system. The alcohol and drug abuse you cite is simply symptomatic of deeper problems as they try to self-medicate.

Because of heartless souls like you, these people have become an invisible epidemic that nobody wants to address. You want to condemn them all, give them no sympathy, and pretend that you are the superior individual.

I always hope that people like you have something dreadful happen to them, so they end up on the streets, freezing, hungry, and worried about who's gonna shank them while they sleep in a dirty corner somewhere and take what little possessions they have.

Your lack of compassion, and know-it-all attitude, are appalling. I would say, shame on you, but I'm pretty sure those would be wasted words for deaf ears.

I stayed at a hotel a couple years ago, pretty decent one, where at 9pm they would open their doors to the homeless. Made me nervous but I thought it was such a kind gesture.

Apparently there were alot of regulars cause in the morning the front desk clerk asked me if I would like to check for my mail.

Originally posted by intrepid
reply to post by winofiend

 

You have to understand that Hollywood portrays homeless people as being either thieves, addicts/drunks, mentally unstable, or any combination of the same. People that have never experienced this buy that crap.

or the more realistic scenario of just like every other walk of life, rich/poor/successful/whatever, their are thieves, addicts/drunks, mentally unstable or any combination of the same that are homeless.

reply to post by Hopechest


Oh gee....so you have plenty of money to put into a savings account...obviously you're not living paycheck to paycheck like so many other Americans are. AND you can also afford a health-care account?

I didn't know that working as a cyber warrior paid so well...I've been in the wrong business....

Crossed paths with a homeless guy the other day, someone I knew.

He had just crawled out of the bushes, and looked like he hadn't had a shower in weeks.

I asked him how he was doing, and he said "not so well." He asked me how I was doing and I said "not so well, the only thing that's been on my mind for the past 3 months has been suicide." He said, "you too!"

We sat down and talked, about suicide. We spilled our guts, and listened to one another's stories. We both agreed that our encounter had somehow been arranged through spiritual synchronicity. There was divine intervention that day.

I don't have a lot of money, been chronically under-employed for about 12 years now. I gave him 20 dollars. He needed it more than me.


Peace on Earth

Originally posted by MidnightTide
Problem is so many of you think every homeless individual wants to help themselves, that all those on foodstamps want to better themselves. But open your eyes, many of them don't. They are perfectly happy with staying on social assistance. Why go out and work your ass off when it is much more easy to stay at home and collect all the free stuff.

I am all for giving a helping hand but the culture of entitlement.....don't support that at all.

edit on 26-5-2013 by MidnightTide because: (no reason given)

What bloody free stuff?

Is being on unemployment such a brilliant life that people look at it and go "Aww gee I wish I was homeless so I could sit on my arse and play xbox all day"

Free stuff?

If nothing else, that alone shows how detached some people are from the reality of how things actually are out there.

Ooh yeah it's fun having to use a news paper to wipe your bum. The Free newspaper that is.

god.. damn.. lol?

About a million years ago, I lived in Salem, OR for a year. There was this little burger joint there that had specials on cheeseburgers one day a week and you could get one for something like 29 cents.

I would buy an entire bag full and head down to the park and as soon as they saw me, they would gather around and we would sit in a circle in the grass and eat together. I heard all of their stories and I loved being able to do that for them. I loved giving them my time and an ear to listen. They are so often dismissed and swatted away based on their appearance and the stigma that it carries. They were some of the nicest and most real people I have ever met in my life.

Now in some places, that sort of thing is illegal. To think that currently, I could be arrested for giving away sandwiches just blows my mind.

reply to post by daryllyn


I don't think you could be arrested for that. On what charge? You're not charging for the burgers. Because it's a public area? The 1st covers peaceable assembly. Good on you btw.