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Homelessness....a choice?
Posted 6 months ago by Mimitz in Issues needing resolution | Submit idea in this category
I read a book recently called, "The Glass Castle" (by Jeannette Walls). It is made up of the memoirs of the author who was raised dirt poor by an alcoholic father and an irresponsible mother. In the end, she became a very successful writer and her parents ended up homeless on the streets of New York City. As much as she tried to help her parents get off of the street, they insisted they were happy and living the lives they wanted to live. Free of responsibility.

Her father seemed to be very intelligent and her mother was a certified school teacher, yet they both chose not to work. Instead, they chose to live off of the charity of society. I find this to be a very selfish act.

Call me callus and cold, but I think that if someone chooses to be homeless then they should take ownership of their decision and not depend on the charity of others! Make them eat out of the trash cans of restaurants and huddle up under the freeways to sleep. They chose that life!

Perhaps churches and other such charities should perform interviews of the homeless that come to take advantage of their offerings to find out who is in real need and who is just choosing not to take care of themselves.
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Posted by Millenial
4 days ago
I read a book called Mole People for my anthropology class a few years ago. I totally agree that most of the homeless these days chose to be there due to drug use, pure apathy, and a very small percentage due to mental illness. There are just too many institutions and programs available that are covering up problems instead of solving them. We as a political body need to stop relying on the government to solve all of our societal problems. These people need to be held to the consequences of their actions, or in the case of the mentally ill helped if they'll accept it. If not, then that's their choice. There's nothing wrong with having charity toward fellow man, but it shouldn't be forced on people due to government regulation. It's hypocritical.
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Posted by sarossell
6 months ago
Your final sentence holds the key when you say, "to find out who is in real need". All homeless are people are in real need, whether they want to admit it or not.

Everyone would love to have a comfortable life with nice things and if at all possible the fewest real responsibilities. The homeless for one reason or another, calculate that formula by removing the high end and living the low where most other "normal" people are willing to fight for the high end to live in the middle. Which is more sane? Which makes more sense? Do we really need the cars and cell phones and HD TV's, hot tubs, large appliances, 2nd and third mortgages and college loans?

Which is more difficult? Supporting a home with two incomes, building piles of debt and fighting for your right to work for a jerk at a job you hate? Or finding a place to sleep and food to eat every day, scraping around in dumpsters for recyclables, fighting the weather at every turn and taking hit to your pride every time you accept a handout. Being homeless is not easy. Neither is being home-strapped. But since there are more of "us" than "them", we are the normal and they are the sick. So it's up to us to "help" them adopt our way of life.
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