How does society view homelessness as a fear or a disgrace?

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   Leaderofmanyposted 11 years ago

   How does society view homelessness as a fear or a disgrace?
   
   Does society look at the homeless as a disgrace, a fear that they may someday be homeless or how do you feel they view the homeless?

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   WhydThatHappenposted 11 years ago

   Like anything else they don't understand, it's treated as a problem for them

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   BuffaloGal1960posted 11 years ago

   http://buffalogal1960.hubpages.com/hub/ … a-Gone-Mad

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   cat on a soapboxposted 11 years ago

   It's tough to answer. Society views homelessness as "uncomfortable" and our local "powers that be" wish to sweep it under the rug. Churches and charities want to help these groups, but hand outs seem to increase numbers and exacerbate the safety issues. Personally, I fear homelessness because each of us could face a turning of the tides through unknown circumstances. It is also a disgrace that growing numbers of people who have lost jobs/homes or are disabled should have to beg for survival and face the indignity of life on the street, esp. while others flaunt bloated and wasteful lifestyles.  We only need look at history to see the outcome of this trend.

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5. 85

   wychicposted 11 years ago

   For those who are ashamed of becoming homeless, it's often because it's a very visible sign that their lives have slipped out of control for one reason or another. I personally fear homelessness because that used to be me -- I never want to go back to that, but I've seen how viciously the rug can be pulled out from under someone.
   
   Sadly, many of the people who look down on the homeless seem to think that they must have done something to get that way -- the most common assumption I see is that the person is a drunk or druggie. It's uncomfortable for people who are doing well to think that they, with their clean living and good job, could end up homeless too with just a few twists of fate. It's sad to see how society reacts to this and a number of other signs of poverty. It seems that it's easier to look down on them than for those people to accept that they have the opportunity to help someone in true need. Yes, in my experience, society views the homeless primarily as a disgrace or a nuisance.

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   Jason Marovichposted 11 years ago

   Probably half the people in the United States view homelessness as a state of being brought on by homeless people.  The fact is, mental health care in the US is so lacking that a majority of those on the streets are mentally ill.  The new health care program will make little difference because people who are mentally ill and homeless  have been hurt to the point where they trust no one that isn't living on the street, too.  Drug and alcohol addiction, common maladies of the homeless, are the result of self-medication or a way of numbing oneself daily to 'forget' pain from the past or present.

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   Ericdierkerposted 11 years ago

   Oh honey lady, Stand rebuked. I come not bearing words of wisdom or of prophecy or disgrace or a plea.
   I come to invite you into the world of the homeless. I have a home but not always have had such walls to confine me. I am now a property owner. How strange and wrongful of man this is.
   I was raised in grass fields where things like antelope and deer and buffalo roamed. I was brought into a world at 7,000 feet where snow was land and bitter cold and heat ravaged your earth. A high desert where survival ruled the day and the crack of a stick in the night brought strangers into camp.
   A home you say? Well what do you say when you say "homeless". Is it Jesus or is it Buddha or Cochise or Ghandijji or the Dalai Lama you refer to for we are all homeless. Or Perhaps you speak of our outcast brothers. Or maybe just a man without a wife or child who has a dwelling not to call a "home".
   
   Lately I laughed too hard at do gooders complaining about one group rejecting another for giving food under their roof. Some whackos about Church versus atheists. Not one asked the "homeless" what they prefer. They are crazy out there these givers.
   
   I do not live in one of your prefabbed apartments or homes. I see stars at night. I hang with buddies who I trust. I am not confined to your crazy ass world, I am free from mortgages or rent.
   I am a man no less that the man on the hill with a pill --- to sleep. Why do you think I am a condition of a sore upon humanity. From my likes came Jesus of Nazareth and Buddha and Ghandi and Dalai Lama and Cochise and in fact every warrior who ever fought for your freedom.
   
   "homeless" you call me.  Ha Ha Ha ---- did you properly hug your home bound child tonight for I hugged mine without a home.

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      tirelesstravelerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Eric, It wasn't all that long ago that most people were homeless.  The people who dwell in houses have lost a lot of their ability to survive.

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   jansharesposted 11 years ago

   I think it is viewed as a disgrace to the community. I don't think that the majority of people who have a problem with homelessness are afraid of the homeless. They are looked down upon with disdain because they are perceived as eyesores on the downtown streets, lined with grand office buildings, hotels, restaurants, and expensive boutiques. Homeless people are looked upon, for the most part, as being responsible for their plight. Therefore, they are not often treated with compassion nor are they seen worthy of being treated with dignity.

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   lburmasterposted 11 years ago

   Depends on the sub groups of society. Most Christians view them as people who need help. Students look at the homeless with fear, a sense of forboding. Low income individuals have that sense of looming, their head just above the surface. It can be considered a problem, a regular part of society, a disgrace, a failure, etc.

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10. 86

    gmwilliamsposted 7 years ago

    
    
    Of course, it does.  Society view homelessness as the ultimate failure.  Homeless people are viewed & treated as personae non gratae.  Homeless people are viewed as unworthy at best & noisome nuisances as worst.   Homeless people are the bottom of the bottom.   They are also powerless.  In fact, they are the most powerless among humans.
    
    Besides being viewed as abject failures, they are viewed as losers.  They are disparaged, disrespected, ostracized, & even marginalized by the rest of society.   The homeless are furthermore put an example of what not to be.  A homeless person is viewed to be as low as one can descend to socioeconomically.  Nothing shouts failure & loser as much as a homeless person. 
    
    The homeless are objects of pity by some.  Others view them as less than viable human beings.  It is reasoned that if they were viable, they would have a decent job & lifestyle.  Many people FEAR the homeless because they are in a precarious socioeconomic condition.  Not only taking about the lower, working, & lower middle class but even the solidly middle class.  These socioeconomic classes are, on average, 1/2 to 1 1/2 paychecks away from abject penury & homelessness.   Only the upper middle & upper classes needn't worry about becoming homeless as they are a couple of paychecks away from homelessness.   
    
    The homeless are feared because no one wants to be that powerless & vulnerable.  Homeless people are likely to be abused because they are in abject powerlessness.   Homelessness is the extreme poor.  They have to take the indignities that others dish out to them.  Such indignities can include horrific maltreatment.  The homeless are society's weakest link so to speak.  No one wants to be that weak, powerless, nor vulnerable.

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