Item — HN Reader

I think this post is missing the distinction. People might say they hate "homeless," but I don't think anybody cares if you have a house.

People care if you are unshowered, drunk/high, schizophrenic/screaming, asking for money, going to steal, etc.

It just so happens that the two correlate a lot.

This doesn't negate the question of how to help these groups, but real solutions do require us to be honest with ourselves.

3 comments

I think that’s a fair statement.

As a human justice issue, I care that people get basic needs of living met. Whether that’s a house or some sort of communal arrangement doesn’t interest me. This is an intellectual feeling though - I have recurring donations to appropriate organizations, and sometimes I volunteer my time, but it’s out of a general feeling that I need to help my community.

But I do find it far more pressing that I not be made to feel personally uncomfortable or unsafe. That’s not an intellectual commitment - that’s as immediate a need as water when parched.

I care about homelessness; I -! Care !- about that other stuff though.

And you are correct that they are correlated but not the same. I used to live across the street from a halfway house, and a block up from an assisted living facility. It was not uncommon for people housed and fed there to come out for the day, sit on sidewalks, pretend to be homeless, and go back “home” at the end of the day. I saw it daily. They exhibited all the things I’d want to eliminate, which a casual passers-by would associate with homelessness.

I mean, sure, people dislike annoying behaviors regardless of the home situation, but I think many will still treat you differently if they just happen to know you're homeless, regardless of the actual behavior, and I'd bet Doreen (the author) experienced it first hard.

People also care if you are not well groomed, wear clothing with holes, are sitting in public for too long. It just so happens that the two correlate a lot.

> going to steal,

Think about the thought process that leads someone to believe you are "going to steal", and how much prejudicial stereotyping that entails.

> unshowered, drunk/high, schizophrenic/screaming,

All things that people who have houses are free to do without being punished. So yeah, anybody does care if you have a house, practically speaking.

> All things that people who have houses are free to do without being punished. So yeah, anybody does care if you have a house, practically speaking.

I don't think so.

If I go to a restaurant and am refused service, it's not because I couldn't present a deed. It's based on whether your state makes everybody around you uncomfortable.

Maybe if you have a suit, then you can get away with yelling or more drinking, but that's a stereotype about attire (or really class-ism), not about having a house. Houses actually have very little to do with any of this.

It seems the GP's point was that you can be drunk, unshowered, and yelling at home, and nobody cares. It's when you don't have a home that it is seen as an issue.

A homeless person could be drunk, unshowered, and yelling out in the woods by themselves and no one would care. It's the drunk, unsanitary, and loosely coupled with reality around other people that is a problem. No one cares about these things unless there's a chance it's going to turn into violence or a public health/sanitation issue.