by Chelsea Monks
Getting off the subway in New York City there was a man asking for money, one of my classmates, Neal decided he would help him out. While he gladly threw him a ten, I started to think, why is this guy out sitting on the street corner? Later that night getting off of the same subway station the same I saw the same guy asking another one of my classmates for money, he claimed he had aids and he gave him ten dollars too.
The next day I got into an argument with Neal. He claims that when someone is born poor they have extensive disadvantages that keep them from getting jobs and becoming educated, hence they end up in the same position with their children.
My view on this subject is that its not our high or middle class, working citizens responsibility to support those who don’t want to find a job, even if it only pays minimum wage or get an education even if its difficult to obtain. I work hard for my education and my money, why would I give it to those who aren’t working for it when I’m busting my butt? during this long extensive, sunny, snowy rainy three day adventure through the poverty infested streets of New York I’ve found that I have a low tolerance for those who don’t work hard to follow their dreams.
Giving your life up to a bottle or a pipe doesn’t give anyone the right to my sympathy or my money.
Getting off the subway in New York City there was a man asking for money, one of my classmates, Neal decided he would help him out. While he gladly threw him a ten, I started to think, why is this guy out sitting on the street corner? Later that night getting off of the same subway station the same I saw the same guy asking another one of my classmates for money, he claimed he had aids and he gave him ten dollars too.
The next day I got into an argument with Neal. He claims that when someone is born poor they have extensive disadvantages that keep them from getting jobs and becoming educated, hence they end up in the same position with their children.
My view on this subject is that its not our high or middle class, working citizens responsibility to support those who don’t want to find a job, even if it only pays minimum wage or get an education even if its difficult to obtain. I work hard for my education and my money, why would I give it to those who aren’t working for it when I’m busting my butt? during this long extensive, sunny, snowy rainy three day adventure through the poverty infested streets of New York I’ve found that I have a low tolerance for those who don’t work hard to follow their dreams.
Giving your life up to a bottle or a pipe doesn’t give anyone the right to my sympathy or my money.
2 comments:
What an abundance of ignorance. This blogger has clearly made no attempt at educating herself about the REAL causes of homelessness.
Perhaps she's more comfortable living a sheltered and deeply prejudiced life. But allow me to use this opportunity to enlighten her.
First we must address these poorly founded assumptions about homelessness. Here are the facts:
Fact: A survey of 24
U.S. cities found that 15% of persons in homeless situations are employed (U.S. Conference of
Mayors, 2005). Surveys in past years have yielded the percentage of homeless working to be as
high as 26% (U.S. Conference of Mayors, 2000).
Fact: In a study of 777 homeless parents (the majority of
whom were mothers) in ten U.S. cities, 22% said they had left their last place of residence
because of domestic violence (Homes for the Homeless, 1998). In addition, 50% of the cities
surveyed by the U.S. Conference of Mayors identified domestic violence as a primary cause of
homelessness (U.S. Conference of Mayors, 2005). Studying the entire country, though, reveals
that the problem is even more serious. Nationally, approximately half of all women and children
experiencing homelessness are fleeing domestic violence (Zorza, 1991; National Coalition
Against Domestic Violence, 2001).
Fact: Approximately 22% of the single adult homeless population suffers from some
form of severe and persistent mental illness (U.S. Conference of Mayors, 2005).
Fact: While rates of alcohol and drug abuse are disproportionately high among the
homeless population, the increase in homelessness over the past two decades cannot be explained
by addiction alone. Many people who are addicted to alcohol and drugs never become homeless,
but people who are poor and addicted are clearly at increased risk of homelessness. During the
1980s, competition for increasingly scarce low-income housing grew so intense that those with
disabilities such as addiction and mental illness were more likely to lose out and find themselves
on the streets.
Fact: In its 2004 survey of 27 cities, the U.S. Conference of Mayor found that the homeless population
was 49% African-American, 35% Caucasian, 13% Hispanic, 2% Native American, and 1%
Asian (U.S. Conference of Mayors, 2001).
Fact: Research indicates that 40% of homeless men have served in the armed forces, as compared to
34% of the general adult male population (Rosenheck et al., 1996).
So what does this all mean?
These facts paint a much better, and more facutally based picture of poverty and homelessness in America. While the author of this article may have found it conventional to write an illfounded attack on America's homeless based solely on stereotypes and generalizations, any real attempt at understanding the issue quickly uncovers her delusions.
Homelessness is a complex problem. Those who are homeless have not chosen to be so. They are disproportionately veterans returning from war and suffering from unknown traumas. They are disproportionately America's mentally ill. And they are disproportionately African American, suggesting that race plays a large role in forcing people into homelessness.
Addictions DON'T cause homelessness. That's why millions of Americans who smoke are not homeless. Many other American's are addicted to generalizations, but that does not necessarily make them homeless either.
The truth is that we owe our sympathy to the homeless, because for lack of luck in being born we too might have lived a life that would lead us on a radically different direction. When we see the homeless on the streets we give them money because we know they have not had the same opportunities, and because we hope that good deeds delivered will be returned in good time.
(Zorro's note: The facts here presented are courtesy of the National Coalition for the Homeless).
Neal, get a life and stop giving your money to homeless people... or rather your mum's money.
Post a Comment