Originally posted by KSPigpen
Just in case it's been a while for you. It HAS been for me.


I wish that Congress had to drive through these on their way to 'work.' (Thanks maus80 for the reminder)

Have a nice day.

Congress sees this everyday. DC has very poor and crime ridden neighborhoods. A pretty significant homeless population, and some terrible neighborhoods a stone's throw from the capital building.

Some of these people can't help their cituation. But most definately can.

Im a firm believer that everybody gets at least one chance in life. Whatever you do with that chance is up to you. So if im expected to feel bad about people living on the street then im honestly sorry that i dont.

My first job was pushing buggies at a local grocery store. A man with a cardboard sign woulf sit on the exit of the interstate. You know the "will work for food" sign. right. Anyway all these people would feel sorry for this man and give him money. They didnt get to see what i got to. After this man sat on the corner for a few hours he would come over to our deli and order some lunch. He would then proceed to pull an enormus wad of cash out of his pocket and pay. He then asked to clerk to make change for him. 1s to 20s, 20s to 100s. the man made more begging on the corner in one day than i made in two weeks pushing those damn buggies. He would then leave and get into his fairly new Lexus and proceed to drive home.

Now how am i supposed to feel bad about someone like that?

MessOnTheFED!

If you think those pics above are bad, just look at the people of Iraq. They literally live in mud huts (most in the northern side) and throw rocks at us, now thats something they wont show on the news

[edit on 1-10-2009 by Stop-loss!]

Originally posted by sisgood
If everyone simply did what we used to before welfare, everyone would be alright. Back then, everyone took care of each other. If your neighbor's house burned down, you invited him to stay with you.

Some of us still do this.

Not a week goes by that I don't have some homeless person or two crashing on my couch. Due to my Lease Agreement, I can't let anyone stay longer than 2 weeks a year, so I just rotate through friends of friends who are homeless. My friends do the same, and we just shuffle our homeless friends from one couch to another, trading who we are putting up.

Giving those more unfortunate than we a safe, dry, warm place to stay, a hot shower, food, and internet access. It doesn't cost me anything to let someone crash on my couch and use my shower or internet. As for food, it's cheaper cooking for two than it is cooking for one (and easier too).

I've been almost homeless after being unemployed for 13 months. When my Savings ran out, I thought I was done for and would have to turn to having my young daughter panhandle while holding a puppy. I was lucky to finally get a good paying job at the 11th Hour right before I had to hit the streets. Having come that close was close enough for me to learn to be more sympathetic towards those that don't chose that lifestyle but are victims of unemployment. Personally, I don't know many people who keep 13 months of Savings to remain self-sufficient as I did...most people I know live Paycheck to Paycheck and are 2 weeks away from homelessness.

However, it doesn't behoove me to give even a stranger or a beggar pocket change. The only time I turned down giving a beggar some change was when he was counting the 300 Gold Coins he had. Clearly he didn't need any financial help so I passed him up. But I agree that if one truly wants to help someone in need, giving them your spare change isn't going to truly help them. You have to be willing to help them as much as you would a neighbor, and help them help themselves by providing what they need to get employed (and a shower and internet access, and maybe a clean shirt are the best ways to do that).

As more and more people, especially in the Middle Classes, become homeless in America, we need to come together as communities and help our neighbors out rather than casting judgment on them. Homelessness by circumstance shouldn't carry the stigma that it has since the Economic High Times of the 1980s.

I think homeless people are just lazy or stupid. in either case it is their own fault. No one forced them to become homeless. They chose it.

My friend fell upon some hard times and is currently living with friends or occasionally with me. So if your homeless what kind of piece of dirt must you have been that not even friends or family are willing to take care of you?

Like jd said. if they want jobs they can get them

I think I'll just sum up a few of the posts with "Never judge a man until you walk a mile in his shoes."

I've been homeless. I've lived in vehicles, mostly, but, there were a few stairwell nights.
I'm not homeless now. I am unemployed, though...on purpose. I'm a stay-at-home dad with a child with Cerebral Palsy (Spastic Dysplasia)
The reasons I was homeless were strictly my fault. I got tired of it (being homeless), got a job and pulled my ass out of the muck.
Now, my fully finished/furnished basement, every winter, has a homeless friend in it. We invite him to our diinner meal so we know he gets at least one good, hot meal a day. I help him get a job, make sure he gets transportation problems solved. I help him get the hell out of a buddies basement and into his own place. Usually, by spring, the person is ready to get out there and get at 'em. Fed, clean and productive again. Next winter, another friend will get some help.
Not to toot my own horn, but, me and the ole Lady are flippin cool like that.
Do I bitch about homeless people, hell yeah. Ultimately it's the person's lack of preparedness that gets them into a tent down by the river. However, I back that up with actions I can take to do something about it.

People with freewill and a sense of responsibility are capable of getting out of the situation. Lazy, good-for-nuthins will keep milking what they can from sympathy and welfare and never pick themselves up.

Don't rely on our Government to help. The second-class citizens are shoved aside. The first-class citizens tend to look around them and can only remark how it affects them (aesthetically, like wind farms) or they find a way to exploit them. The only way out is just getting out of the mire your in. Work. Save. Live.

Cuhail

I won't slam the homeless. Some may be lazy, some may not. Some crazy, some not. Some fell on bad luck, some didn't.

I help anybody when I can and I leave it on their conscious if they're faking or not.

However, I do find it awkward that they are homeless when they have so many government programs and charitable organizations available to them.

Is it because the charities/government don't seek them out or are the homeless too proud to seek help?

I just don't believe that the problem should be this big in one of the most charitable countries in the world.

Remember, life has its ways of turning our world upside down and putting us in positions we would have never imagined ourselves in.

[edit on 1-10-2009 by jam321]

this is the American dream?, the results of unfettered Capitalism. It's broken, these people arn't lazy or stupid they are victims of a financial crisis. You think there's many bankers loosing their homes? They are the guys who got us into this situation. the lack of sympathy for your fellow citizens is sad. Britain may not be great, but we dont blame the poor for being poor like you in the USA.

Originally posted by Doc Tesla
I think homeless people are just lazy or stupid. in either case it is their own fault. No one forced them to become homeless. They chose it.

My friend fell upon some hard times and is currently living with friends or occasionally with me. So if your homeless what kind of piece of dirt must you have been that not even friends or family are willing to take care of you?

Like jd said. if they want jobs they can get them

Yes, because every person on Earth is JUST AS LUCKY AS YOU.

Seriously, the ignorance displayed in this thread by some members is truly astounding, I'm assuming that they're all just kids, but something scary tells me these are (supposedly educated) adults having such opinions.

Did you stop to consider that maybe they don't want to intrude on friends and family? Did you think for a second that maybe they feel too ashamed and embarrassed?
Such shame comes from the arrogant opinions of people such as yourself, unable to put yourself in any other persons shoes for one second, unable to show compassion for others because of the security of your own little bubble.

Let me say from experience, when you are living is such poverty, trying desperately to make ends meet, the LAST THING most people want to do is turn to family. It makes you feel like a failure, even though the situation could have come from the breakup of a relationship, the loss of a job, mental breakdown...

And of course, your assertion of "go get a job" is spot on
Did you notice the economic crisis from your home under that rock?
Do you know how hard it is to get a job without an address? It's almost impossible to get a job without a phone!

Seriously, it may be cruel to say it, but I really do hope all those with such a disgusting attitude to others end up in this situation. Maybe that's what it would take to instil some compassion and understanding in you people?

But you know what? Even if it is you I see on the street next week begging for a helping hand or comforting chat, I'll still do it. Because I actually don't have a heart of stone, I actually am able to recognise Human suffering and feel some constructive emotion. I don't see others as different species at my convenience, just to make me feel less guilty.

Some of you need to get an education, get out of your house and see the world. Even see your own country. So many of you are completely oblivious to reality, and I fear that has disconnected you from humanity.
So much so that you cannot feel compassion for another Human when you know nothing about what happened to them.