DieCommie said:

I think they are often stereotyped as taken advantage of and victims of the system.  But I think that's just a stereotype, and if they are victims of anything its poor health and poor decision making.

---

Rumblefishtwist said:

I had a homeless woman ask me for change/cigarettes this morning actually.  Statistically most homeless people have a high rate of mental disorders/drug/alcohol addictions - or a combination of all.  Factors like these often effect vital thought process and decision making. 

Then there are the individual circumstances surrounding each person, which you would not know unless you knew them personally.  Maybe the said person actually was a veteran with extreme PTSD who could no longer handle reality?  That is where it starts getting complex.

Personally, I know one man who became homeless via a manic mental breakdown period where he gave away all of his possessions and rejected materialism-lost his job etc.  This man has masters degrees and was a college professor/teacher for many years before this incident.  So it just goes to show how it could happen to anyone, and is a big problem for many in our society.

---

roaddog said:

Sure is easy to judge them, when you are not one of them. I believe one should walk a mile in there shoes.

---

DieCommie said:

roaddog said:

Sure is easy to judge them, when you are not one of them. I believe one should walk a mile in there shoes.

---

What if you were one of them?  I find its even easier to judge then.

---

Chillbo Baggins said:

im homeless

---

Yeah the shroomery is full of homeless people and pot heads who eat bacon

DieCommie said:

I think they are often stereotyped as taken advantage of and victims of the system.  But I think that's just a stereotype, and if they are victims of anything its poor health and poor decision making.

---

Silversoul said:

e]
Really?  I've had several people with rather liberal views chastise me for giving change to the homeless, insisting that they'd just spend it on drugs and alcohol(maybe they will, but who am I to judge?).  Homelessness is a complex issue, and its causes can range from hard times to drug addiction to mental illness.  Homelessness is usually a temporary phenomenon, and I've known several people who've been homeless at one time or another.  Long-term homelessness probably is strongly associated with mental illness, but I don't think the big increase in homelessness since the economic crash in '08 is due to an increase in poor decision-making.

---

cApTaInCrAp said:

I just dont understand why they all have dogs they cant feed 

---

I know it's like all people who smoke weed end up dying from crack and or get addicted to bacon

cApTaInCrAp said:

I just dont understand why they all have dogs they cant feed 

---

BrandNewbie said:

I think that the homeless are homeless because they are suffering from circumstances beyond their control, choose to be homeless or are suffering from mental issues.

If I were homeless I would not hang around the big city environment. I'd head to the hills, so to speak.

Living in the shadows of a bustling city populace doesn't seem like a very enriching way of life.

I'd rather live for a short three months in the woods, than for years under a bridge. 

---

FollowTheMusic said:

I feel that the homeless are people without a fixed permanent residence, who often rely on charity or social services to obtain basic necessities.

---

Jordanian said:

Define homeless. Are we talking street beggars or people who just have no regular place to stay. I was homeless for a year and a half, but I worked.  Just didn't have a car of my own and couch crashed all the time.  It's a tough rut to get out of, especially in a place with poor public transportation.

---

MisterMuscaria said:

The funny thing is many beggars have homes and many homeless dont beg.

---

Shroomism said:

I've been homeless at 3 separate times in my life (for 2-24 months at a time), one was by choice. I never begged people for change even when I was starving on the street. There was always a way, whether it was soup kitchens, or pizza places, or whatever. I made a lot of money by spanging (providing a service/entertainment for money instead of just begging people)... for example, playing guitar or drums on the street corner with a hat or something, I've made as much as $150 in a day.

And living on the streets you get to meet all the other homeless people. There are about as many reasons people become homeless as there are homeless people. It's never cut and dry. Some do it by choice, some are a result of really poor decision making, some are drug addicts or mentally deranged, some get fucked in the ass by the government/whatever and end up there as a result of circumstances beyond their control. Most "normal" people in those situations can usually fall back on family or friends to provide temporary support, some people don't have that luxury.

There are a lot of stereotypes about the homeless in our country, partially due to the class system we've created and how we project this image of hating/looking down on the poor. Most people just assume that most people are homeless because they are lazy leeches and don't want to work. That may be true in some cases but it certainly isn't true in the majority of them, in my experience. I've known some homeless people that are some of the most humble people I've known, they don't beg or leech off people, they get by on their own devices and they are content to just be alive. They may not be trying to actively better their situation, but they aren't sucking anyone dry either. On the other hand, some of the cruelest, nastiest people I've met in the world, are ones that have lots of money, and constantly rip people off and use and abuse other people to get a leg up. Pragmatically speaking, your income level has little to nothing to do with how good of a person you are.

---

Very eloquently put.This is true.Great insight from an experienced point of view.