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I'm going to keep this short. I haven't blogged in a while, mostly because I've been getting the things in my life that led me to writing really shitty blogs back into shape. I'm sure I'll vent a bit about the stress of it all, but there really isn't that much stress in learning to be young and selfish. I'd be more than a bit of an ass if I complained about that. Youth is pretty much wasted on the young.
I work on a newspaper team that focuses on helping homeless people. I have since I got to college. I'm pretty good at that, you know the whole talking to destitute people thing. I'm pretty sure I was made for this volunteering opportunity, me being a social, smooth talking kid; it doesn't hurt that I enjoy writing about stuff I have no idea about, that tends to be helpful for being on a newspaper.
Two days ago I was asked to write an interview up. I interviewed a lady named MAB, or just Miss B for this blog. Her life was, like most homeless people, straight awful. Had been since she was born. Sexually assaulted at a young age. Brutally assaulted a number of times. Nearly killed twice. Kicked out of her own brother's house simply because she poses a threat to him being seen as successful. Forced to live with a crack addict. I could go on, I'll spare y'all that. Nothing will change any of that, no amount of Newspaper based small monetary aid will ever repair a life that broken.
I don't know why it has to be that way.
 
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Unlike yourself and anyone else who partakes in charity, some are perfectly content to mutter "opportunity" as they turn away from their fellow man.
Once I'm home from work I'd love to go into more detail. The point is, it doesn't have to be this way.
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Do you ever feel there was a point where they could have fixed it? Like a decisive moment?
And what do you think they could have done to stop it?
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On January 15 2014 05:33 docvoc wrote:
I'm going to keep this short. I haven't blogged in a while, mostly because I've been getting the things in my life that led me to writing really shitty blogs back into shape. I'm sure I'll vent a bit about the stress of it all, but there really isn't that much stress in learning to be young and selfish. I'd be more than a bit of an ass if I complained about that. Youth is pretty much wasted on the young.
I work on a newspaper team that focuses on helping homeless people. I have since I got to college. I'm pretty good at that, you know the whole talking to destitute people thing. I'm pretty sure I was made for this volunteering opportunity, me being a social, smooth talking kid; it doesn't hurt that I enjoy writing about stuff I have no idea about, that tends to be helpful for being on a newspaper.
Two days ago I was asked to write an interview up. I interviewed a lady named MAB, or just Miss B for this blog. Her life was, like most homeless people, straight awful. Had been since she was born. Sexually assaulted at a young age. Brutally assaulted a number of times. Nearly killed twice. Kicked out of her own brother's house simply because she poses a threat to him being seen as successful. Forced to live with a crack addict. I could go on, I'll spare y'all that. Nothing will change any of that, no amount of Newspaper based small monetary aid will ever repair a life that broken.
I don't know why it has to be that way.
Befriended a polish homeless dude in London a while ago. Same kind of stuff, absolutely hopelessly tragic life, like a nightmarish string of the worst luck possible.
Since meeting this guy, every time I hear one of those rich right wing, white, wealthy politician or business criminal cocksucker saying that the poor are responsible for their misery and that helping them is encouraging them, I want to kill someone.
Those encounters are the richest ones. You learn and understand more about yourself and the world meeting one of those people than a thousand of your usual friends. If everybody could once in his life sit down with a homeless and have an hour chat with him, this world would be a way better place.
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I know this is a horrible thing to say, and I am not saying that all homeless people are like this at all, but remember... there are two sides to every story. Especially when it comes to stories of hardship: everyone is struggling, whether it be to survive or to just get into the good life, it's kind of a free-for-all. It doesn't have to be that way, but unfortunately we as a country seem to value rugged individualism and pulling yourself up by your bootstraps, whether it's realistic or not.
Of course, tons of people simply draw a short stick in the lottery of life, and it sucks. Hard. But if you want to make the playing field more equal, you're a damn commie.
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When I was a school counselor one my clients (aged 13-14 iirc) was abused and a drug user, and had a 24 year old boyfriend. There was really no hope for her, there was no stopping her momentum, I asked our supervisor what we were supposed to do for her and she answered to say that it was simply to create as safe a space as possible for her and help her get through school and come out with something, but we were essentially powerless. I heard that she died of a heroin overdoes a few years ago.
There's a film (and novel) out there called Stuart about a homeless man with the same old story. I recommend it, pulls no punch, but not in a gory sense rather than in how he sabotages every opportunity he has because he's so fucked up. He talks about a decisive moment. Its based on a true story: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0853153/
I'm sure its really rewarding work you have. I worked in adult education a few years ago and felt exactly the same way, however it taught me the true meaning of the phrase 'you can lead a horse to water, but can't make it drink.' I guess all you can do is try and make sure these things don't repeat themselves.
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On January 15 2014 07:00 Chocolate wrote:
I know this is a horrible thing to say, and I am not saying that all homeless people are like this at all, but remember... there are two sides to every story. Especially when it comes to stories of hardship: everyone is struggling, whether it be to survive or to just get into the good life, it's kind of a free-for-all. It doesn't have to be that way, but unfortunately we as a country seem to value rugged individualism and pulling yourself up by your bootstraps, whether it's realistic or not.
Of course, tons of people simply draw a short stick in the lottery of life, and it sucks. Hard. But if you want to make the playing field more equal, you're a damn commie.
So, either you support american individualism and the fuck-the-poor (and the unlucky, and the less talented, and the born-at-the-wrong-place, etc...) mentality, either you are a commie? I live in Sweden, a country where virtually nobody is left behind, and where individualism is not valued whatsoever. Didn't know people here where "damn commies". They just seem to care about their fellow man.
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I am being sarcastic. Language barrier, I guess. People in my country, at least, mostly tend to be against most programs aimed at helping poor people because they see it as redistribution of wealth (which it often is) which bears a superficial resemblance to communism, which is taboo as per the words of the holy Reagan himself.
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On January 15 2014 07:11 Chocolate wrote:
I am being sarcastic. Language barrier, I guess. People in my country, at least, mostly tend to be against most programs aimed at helping poor people because they see it as redistribution of wealth (which it often is) which bears a superficial resemblance to communism, which is taboo as per the words of the holy Reagan himself.
Ok, sorry, my sarcasm detector is broken.
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i guess a big problem is psychologic problems. People who cant work because of it and who certainly cant mount the problems they face as homeless people every day. and when they take drugs its even more hopeless.
What I mean is, that I dont know how to help them. How do we integrate people who cannot work? Cause from a medicine point of view we cant heal them yet
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On January 15 2014 07:11 Chocolate wrote:
I am being sarcastic. Language barrier, I guess. People in my country, at least, mostly tend to be against most programs aimed at helping poor people because they see it as redistribution of wealth (which it often is) which bears a superficial resemblance to communism, which is taboo as per the words of the holy Reagan himself.
Charities are great, and people can give to the poor voluntarily. You just shouldn't be FORCED to through government taxation/programs.
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On January 15 2014 10:21 TheWorldToCome wrote:Show nested quote +On January 15 2014 07:11 Chocolate wrote:
I am being sarcastic. Language barrier, I guess. People in my country, at least, mostly tend to be against most programs aimed at helping poor people because they see it as redistribution of wealth (which it often is) which bears a superficial resemblance to communism, which is taboo as per the words of the holy Reagan himself. Charities are great, and people can give to the poor voluntarily. You just shouldn't be FORCED to through government taxation/programs.
Yeah, thing is that most people aren't too inclined to help out the poor out of their own good will. Sure, practically everybody in the middle-class and above has volunteered at one point or another, and probably donated a bit too. You don't need to wow me or anyone else with how you've volunteered and made a difference.
The fact of the matter is that welfare programs in extremely diverse, socially stratified, and heterogenous societies like our own really only work when they are centralized. Otherwise coverage is sparse, likely to help those like ourselves, and really just not that substantial. It also doesn't help that many people that donate significant sums of money do so to local churches or to glorified marketing campaigns, not to programs designed to specifically help those in need.
In fact, I can't think of any time in American history (and other countries) in which people have just voluntarily helped work towards ending poverty outside of publicly funded programs (taxation). Right now, the countries that have done the most damage against poverty and homelessness are the ones with the very large welfare programs. I mean, you can school me on how all the wealth saved from welfare programs will end up creating more jobs by "just trickling down", but there has never been any evidence to support that trickle down/laisezz faire or whatever actually helps the poor (at least once the process of industrialization is done).
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I'm curious what keeps these people alive? They must have something to look forward to. But if their life is pure suffering then I would think they'd be 'happier' dead than alive (I understand the dead experience no emotion). I guess the easiest explanation is that they hope things get better though.
Well anyway I'm with you all the way, I'm sure everyone is. I don't want this to be the only way to live life, there is far too much pain out there. For every one of those inspirational success stories you hear about there are probably hundreds of failures and quiet suicides.
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Very good blog.
Most of the reactions, though, are not my cup of tea, for the blog itself isn't amusing at all.
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On January 15 2014 11:17 radscorpion9 wrote:
I'm curious what keeps these people alive? They must have something to look forward to. But if their life is pure suffering then I would think they'd be 'happier' dead than alive (I understand the dead experience no emotion). I guess the easiest explanation is that they hope things get better though.
Well anyway I'm with you all the way, I'm sure everyone is. I don't want this to be the only way to live life, there is far too much pain out there. For every one of those inspirational success stories you hear about there are probably hundreds of failures and quiet suicides.
Suicide isn't ever a really easy thing to do. I honestly think anyone can be saved from that fate, it's just a change of environment and future possibilities. The answer to your question is hope.
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On January 15 2014 07:09 Biff The Understudy wrote:Show nested quote +On January 15 2014 07:00 Chocolate wrote:
I know this is a horrible thing to say, and I am not saying that all homeless people are like this at all, but remember... there are two sides to every story. Especially when it comes to stories of hardship: everyone is struggling, whether it be to survive or to just get into the good life, it's kind of a free-for-all. It doesn't have to be that way, but unfortunately we as a country seem to value rugged individualism and pulling yourself up by your bootstraps, whether it's realistic or not.
Of course, tons of people simply draw a short stick in the lottery of life, and it sucks. Hard. But if you want to make the playing field more equal, you're a damn commie. So, either you support american individualism and the fuck-the-poor (and the unlucky, and the less talented, and the born-at-the-wrong-place, etc...) mentality, either you are a commie? I live in Sweden, a country where virtually nobody is left behind, and where individualism is not valued whatsoever. Didn't know people here where "damn commies". They just seem to care about their fellow man.
But isn't it through hardship that some of the greatest minds were formed? Maybe it's not about helping everyone around you, but allowing people to be challenged in their own lives. Sometimes, it's better for people to figure things out for themselves then supply them with everything they need because they learn some pretty essential skills from having to survive. I say this a lot from experience in my own life where I have been provided for, and missed out on learning opportunities. The only person to blame for that however is myself because despite the fact I couldn't know that in the future, I feel blame and therefore more invigorated to right the wrongs of my past - including those moments where I needed to be challenged to learn a skill.
Sweden works right now, but how long will this last until you become more communist? You are practicing qualities of communism, and this may be a logically fallacious statement, but most countries which provide for everyone are usually overtaken by a leader - then it's turned into a dictatorship. It's not easy to see now when your country is prosperous, but such ideas have already been used countless times, and have only lead to a country being more unequal in the end through the rise of political figures that take the mass that is now equalized, and the system itself provides for, and controls them because it provides for them.
Not saying you have to agree with what I'm saying nor my beliefs, but I disagree that so called "amercian individualism" is bad. It has given rise to corporations who unanimously control our country and in a way, it's not much better than a dictator. The good news is that more states in our country are becoming more aware as most large conglomerations due, that we need to separate for the better of each other. The system in place, which the corporations control, allows this to happen, and no one can stop it due to the fact that despite their control, most people still rely on other people who are not directly a part of the system providing. Instead, it's a free reign eco system that balances itself out (with a little supervision) where not a single man needs the knowledge to make sure everything is ok.
People die every day, and it's unfortunate. Claiming you can and should intervene with someone's life, and then asserting that those who don't despite their ability to control means which would allow them to do so are a negative impact on society is simply stating that you know better than they do about their lives. How can you say someone should live? Because of your OWN creed? I bet you tout religious freedom too, but don't like people shove it down your throat. You're not any different than that because you're placing your creed above someone else's in their own lives which is simply wrong.
The same argument can be made for those who appear less fortunate than yourself. You can make the choice to intervene, but I caution you against doing it because despite your good intentions, you are violating a person's ability to abide by their own ideas. If someone wants your help, then that's different - But claiming that EVERYONE should be caring about EVERYONE is not only unrealistic, but selfish in that you believe everyone should do as you do. I understand your intention is good, but good intentions does mean good for everyone else.
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It's more of a fault of a lack in social teaching than the politic side of things.
The society put way too much shame onto those who are unfortunate.
The thing about opportunity is that once you miss out, you might never ever have another one and have to carry on living this way for your whole life.
There are far more opportunity available to richer, smarter or even those who were lucky enough to have chose the right choice and didn't have terrible shit happened to them that broke them down and just luckily having people to support them.
You get to go to uni, you can fail some exams and units, you can mess up at jobs but your parents can support you etc.
you can afford a nice looking suit for interviews, you can afford to spent time to learn other skills not worrying how to feed yourself today.
Then we have TV shows/movies etc show about one successful case of someone coming back from the unfortunate and becoming successful.
Most of the people watching it don't realise there are millions who are still in the horrible situation and aren't lucky enough to have that opportunity or the opportunity isn't suitable for them and probably never will.
Even the TV shows/movies/books are still rich making more money off them.
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TLADT24920 Posts
Good on you for trying to help out. I think the problem is multifactorial. Some of those people are born into poverty and it's pretty hard to get out of. Others were unfortunate enough in their life and lost everything etc... and also ended up there. Donating can help ease their pain and in some shelters, you can actually get some help with getting your life on track. I think if shelters started offering education for those interested, then it can help a lot more although I'm not sure if they are offering education already. I remember this one case where a homeless man who ended up in the shelter ended up working his way up, graduating high school and enlisting in college. It made the newspaper several years back.
As to the specific lady you mentioned, human nature with environmental factors is really the answer. I like to believe that humans are good by nature however your environment shapes you big time. Two kids the same age, one living in a high or mid class and another in a low class are not going to end up the same. Their upbringing and such can also lead to the development of thoughts about trying to satisfy one's self only. In other words, you think of only yourself and less of others which means that you don't see others in the same way as yourself and don't feel the need to help them out. In that lady's case, her own brother kicked her out because it was a threat to his success. Hope I got my point across and it wasn't just some rambling lol
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Same stuff with every hobo. But can you change his life ?
If not then stop to be an hypocrite and go away.
People like to make fun of "cat ladies" but some people do the exact same thing with hobos. And then they write about it and try to make you feel bad.
BUT I DONT HAVE THE STRENGHT TO FEEL BAD FOR EVERY FUCKING LOSER ON EARTH. At one point it just becomes insufferable. How can you feel good or happy when you witness so much ugliness ? It makes you feel like shit.
Also while some hobos are true victims (weak, desperate people) there are also plenty of "profesionnal" hobos. Those guys are absolutly horrible. Worse than rats. Because rats are not pretending.
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Everyone isn't against you, they are just for themselves.
I remember seeing they quote somewhere on reddit and I think it is applicable here. Can't imagine the hardships of being homeless.
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On January 15 2014 08:22 3point14 wrote:
i guess a big problem is psychologic problems. People who cant work because of it and who certainly cant mount the problems they face as homeless people every day. and when they take drugs its even more hopeless.
What I mean is, that I dont know how to help them. How do we integrate people who cannot work? Cause from a medicine point of view we cant heal them yet
I think the most compassionate and practical approach is prevention. Like in the case of the woman in the OP, how could society have stopped her being assaulted multiple times and grown up never feeling safe? We have to change conditions that breed things like abuse and neglect... people who are happy and have purpose are far more unlikely to abuse others. I think there is too much pressure on everyone because our values are competition and materialism. People become cynical and selfish and it's self perpetuating. It's an important job to try and heal the broken, but I wish we all could be moving together to make it so that life doesn't break people in the first place.
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TLADT24920 Posts
On January 15 2014 18:07 Boblion wrote:
Same stuff with every hobo. But can you change his life ?
If not then stop to be an hypocrite and go away.
People like to make fun of "cat ladies" but some people do the exact same thing with hobos. And then they write about it and try to make you feel bad.
BUT I DONT HAVE THE STRENGHT TO FEEL BAD FOR EVERY FUCKING LOSER ON EARTH. At one point it just becomes insufferable. How can you feel good or happy when you witness so much ugliness ? It makes you feel like shit.
Also while some hobos are true victims (weak, desperate people) there are also plenty of "profesionnal" hobos. Those guys are absolutly horrible. Worse than rats. Because rats are not pretending.
I agree and disagree with your post. I think it's a good thing that he's conscious of it and is thinking about it. Ignoring it won't make it go away either. I'm not saying that you can change the life of every single person that's in the same situation but being conscious of it means that you will at least try to do something. Heck, even if he went around and gave water bottles(let's say just a pack) during the summer just for one day is much better than most are doing even if it's not a permanent change. You are correct in saying that it makes you feel like shit when you consider their sad situation.
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EPT
