Ensuring that all members of society are taken care of and are treated respectfully is crucial to ensuring the well being of society as a whole. To say that those less fortunate should be left to fend for themselves, or that it is not our responsibility as citizens and responsible members of society to assist those in need of help is simply selfish. How would you feel if you were the one in need of assistance? We the people that make up society must contribute our time, resources and effort to help others who are less privileged and more susceptible to sickness due to their living conditions and the situation that they are stuck in. Ultimately, society stands to benefit when we take care of those members of society that are in need of shelter, food, financial assistance etc. Furthermore, in doing so, we are also keeping our community safe by eliminating the need for those less fortunate to turn to crime as a way to feed themselves and their family. One can only be pushed so far until self-preservation becomes the most important factor to a person, thus pushing those who are hungry to resort to stealing, robbing and other such crimes to survive. My field trip to the Osgood law soup kitchen was truly an eye opening experience. After this trip, I took time to think about the preconceived notions I had of those who are less fortunate or as they are commonly referred to by most of society, homeless or bums. As probably most people do, when I thought of those who are homeless and or in need of food, the same stereotypical image and associated smell come to mind. The ragged/dirty clothes and bad smell is what I would commonly associate with the word homeless or bum. However, on this field trip, all that I thought I knew about p... ... middle of paper ... ...s -- the last, the least, the littlest (Mahony, 1998). I believe that we as responsible members of a society are morally obligated to ensure that all members of society regardless of race, sexuality or social status are given a helping hand when needed. Works Cited Lamont, Julian, Favor, & Cristi (2013, Spring). The Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/encylopedia/archinfo.cgi?entry=justice-distributive Mahony, R. (1998, November 12). Creating a culture of life. Retrieved from http://www.priestsforlife.org/magisterium/mahonyelectionltr.htm Field trip additional reading. (2013) Retrieved from Humber College blackboard, https://learn.humber.ca/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_11876_1%26url%3D
Since homeless people are not new to the United States we already have this stigma towards them along with drug users. One of the challenges that Bourgois and Schonberg have to face is practicing cultural relativism. As easy as it may be for them they must not pass judgment on the Edgewater Homeless because everything that they do is relative to the ...
Lars Eighner's short essay, "Dumpster Diving," reveals the stereotypes about homelessness in America. In order to confirm these known stereotypes about American culture, Eighner includes autobiographical accounts of the economically inferior class, as well as revealing his elitist rules that governs the life of a homeless person. According to Eighner, homeless people fall into the following categories, 'can scroungers', 'Dumpster divers', and 'scavengers.' (Eighner, 1993). In addition, Eighner's blatant demonstration of his superiority to the people he scavenges from reveals his true character of snobbery.
People tend to believe that homeless individuals will beg for money, only to spend it on drugs. Contrary to this, however, statistics prove otherwise. According to a recent survey across the United States, “94% of panhandlers”, or commonly known as the homeless, use the money that they receive to solely “purchase the food that they need” (Gaille). People who follow the folkway of avoiding eye contact need to understand that their donations are often for beneficial use. They also need to understand that avoiding eye contact is a means of ignorance.
In order to be radical about poverty, we need to understand the difference between wealth and income. Income is a transfer of money by working or by gifts. On the other hand, wealth is more of a total of accumulated assets that has been stored for a period of time (Conley, pg. 253). Wealth is not distributed equally among the public. (NCH, 2016, http://nationalhomeless.org/about-homelessness/). Declining wages has also caused a lot of stress and increase people’s inability to pay for their housing or other needs. If there are affordable housing, it’s usually in an unsafe and polluted environment or it’s extremely overcrowded that people have a higher chance of being homeless or inadequate housing arrangements than getting their applications accepted (Why Are People Homeless Research, 2016, NCH). Also, privatizing housing will increase the accumulation of wealth of the power elite or those that own property and lands by their pricing in rents. Most people go through depression because of loss of home, jobs, or a sense of self. Often times, the lack education about health and they don’t receive adequate support for medical care if they are homelessness. Poverty is also treated as a criminal offence and if people were to ask for public assistance, they have to prove their eligibility. If they have a criminal record, they are
Statistically, over 670,000 Americans are homeless with a growing number. 48 million people go to bed hungry every night. Although we do provide shelters and opportunities in America, millions of people are homeless worldwide. Even on a more minor level there are still hundreds homeless within hometowns. Everyday we encounter the homeless whether by seeing them holding their personal signs at stoplights, confronts with beggars, or viewing them from afar under bridges. In her essay titled “On Compassion”, writer Barbara Ascher uses rhetorical techniques detailing some of her personal homeless experiences within the city life, Asher does effectively use logos, pathos,
Homeless individuals are known for taking hand outs and they prefer to plead for money rather than to go work for it. People assume most of the the money that is given to homeless people they spend it on drugs and alcohol because of the fact that many homeless people have drug and alcohol addictions. It is not uncommon to come across homeless youth and older homeless population that are known to abuse substances like drugs and alcohol. Because of the fact that homeless people have substance abuse problems, they tend face illnesses and infections. Many hard working Americans ask themselves “why don’t homeless people just get jobs?” The assumption is they are just lazy and unmotivated. Homeless people choose to live the life they live. Everyone goes through problems but not all people take the path homeless people do. The problems homeless people face is not an excuse for them to be helped and maintained by other hard working people. Although homelessness might be a choice to some, no one knows the hardships these people have gone through. Some assume these people are just lazy but in reality a lot of these homeless people have jobs of their own, they just can’t afford housing and a decent life. Everyone has their own opinion on homeless people, but that does not change the fact that one should still serve the homeless. Not because homeless people need help but because we are
Another major cause for begging having a shameful connotation in America is for the reason that many pretend to be homeless or panhandling when it is obvious that it is not necessary. Matthew J. Reynolds recor...
.... The homeless community is a growing problem that only worsens with time. If we don’t make an effort now, to help the most vulnerable among us, then we are only contributing to this problem. With our unsure economy, nothing is guaranteed, so just be considerate for others who are in an inferior situation, because who knows when you might need a hand.
“Homeless is more than being without a home. It is tied into education needs, food, security; health issues both mental and physical, employment issues, etc. Don’t forget the whole picture.” (“Boxed In” 2005 pg. 108)
In society, the whole( being society) takes responsibility for all its members. Hunger and Homelessness. The United States can be seen as having an unhealthy society with the factors of hunger and homelessness being present. If only some people of a society belong to a community, it falls short of a community status. Following this idea of a community status, every individual has a responsibility to act in a way that beneficial to society and not solely themselves.
There are over 500,000 homeless individuals that roam through streets without knowing where their next meal is. To many it doesn 't make a difference whether they see homeless people on the streets. Some even have hatred towards them, furthermore hurt them greatly. People view them as disgusting individuals that need to learn the way of life, however they are just like every other human being they are, citizens, they live in the residency, they just don 't have a place to live at or food to eat. So tell me how they are disgusting if they are helpless individuals that don 't have a hot water (let alone any water), food, shelter, clothes, or assistance. The ones that seem disgusting are the individuals that frown upon these homeless people
You shouldn’t depend on others nor make other’s problems your own. However, in the case of homelessness, ultimately it affects everyone directly or indirectly. Currently, society is picking up the tab for the homeless and it is in our best interest to rid ourselves of this burden and put an end to homelessness in America. For instance, the homeless are more vulnerable to contracting diseases and since they cannot afford treatment, they put the rest of the population at risk. When a homeless person gets hospitalized, they tend to stay there on average, four days longer, than normal patients. It then becomes the responsibility of taxpayers to pick up the
People should help the homeless by aiding them with healthcare, housing, and childcare. Homelessness is not a new trend and is growing more everyday. Homeless people should not be different from anyone else when it comes to getting a helping hand.
When my mother saw beggars standing at the intersection asking for help, my mom would try to help them by giving them the money, but my father would argue that you should not help because this would only encourage them to rely on other people’s help. My father says they should be helped by the government, instead of helped by individuals. It is not our responsibility to take care of them. I disagree with both of them because they do not look at or think about the problem closely enough. I think people are not only facing problems with wealth, but diseases, and war.
More fortunate people must also be willing to help their fellow citizens in need. Volunteer programs should be overflowing with people who want to help. For example, Habitat for Humanity is one organization who builds houses for the needy. If everyone dedicated some of their extra time and money in organizations that help "poor" people, poverty would begin to see a decrease. There are many other organizations that help "poor" people, and if everyone pitches in, one world problem may be diminished in the future.