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Homeless citizens in the United States
Sociological observation about homelessness
Sociological observation about homelessness
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Although I have not experienced mistreatment of homeless people in great length, I know it exists. Since I am living on-campus at Georgia State University, I have a glimpse of the hardships that homeless people experience on a daily basis. During the short hour that I was in Woodruff Park on Friday morning, a police officer with the Atlanta Police Department approached a woman on his bike. The woman was smoking near the raft of water; smoking is understandably not allowed in public parks. What perturbed me was the way that the police officer approached the woman. Instead of politely claiming that smoking is not allowed in public parks, the police officer approaches her ignorantly and states: “public park” in a grim tone. The police officer
implied that smoking is not allowed in a public park, but in a very unprofessional and immoral manner. What is more unsettling is that homeless people need our undivided attention as they tussle to find their next meal, but often times people walk right past them. Furthermore, homeless people are even treated like criminals instead of receiving our compassion and support. Law enforcement and policymakers, who should be setting prime examples for everyone, treat homeless people with contempt ("We Shouldn't Treat the Homeless like Criminals"). Homelessness will continue to be an issue until this disdain treatment comes to end.
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 ...
The Image of Homelessness, captured by Mark Peterson in 1994, shows two perspectives of how people live their lives. In the center of the photograph you see a short, black, rounded fence, no higher than the old, brown bench placed in front of it. On the bench is a temporary shelter made of cardboard boxes, tied down with strings. To the right of the fence is a thin, sick looking tree with trash and dead leaves surrounding the base of the tree. In the bottom left corner of the photo is a box placed under the bench and reads: “Handle with Care,” which is ironic as the living conditions show a complete lack of care. Above the fence, stretching across the top of the photo, the sun shines on the blurred Burger King
They are automatically prejudged and looked at as being dirty and having diseases. According to the story “Authorities were forced to justify this action by declaring them, in the words of the city council, ‘a threat to public safety.’”(Jonathan 277). The homeless are assumed to be a threat because they have no where to take a bath and have no where to go if they do get sick. Since authorities have put this thought in American’s heads we now watch that we do not touch them when giving out change. Jonathan explains how he, himself responds to the homeless when it comes to touching them; prejudging them also. “Every so often, someone stops to put a coin into his hand. I noticed the care with which the people drop their coins, in order that their hands do not touch his. When I pass that spot some hours later he will still be there. I’ll do the same” (Jonathan 276). The fact that people watch the order in how they drop the coins coveys that they are dirty and if they touch the homeless they too will become dirty. Jonathan explains to us that they are sparingly viewed as “trash,” because Government officials makes society feel and encourages the thought of them being
First, in Gladwell’s essay “Million-Dollar Murray”, he utilizes the straw man method with the purpose of altering our opinion on how to take care of the issues of homelessness and police brutality. He begins the essay with a piece on Murray Barr, a homeless man with an extreme drinking problem. Gladwell paints the picture of a kind, light-hearted, loving old man who just happened to be a product of circumstances being helped by some nurturing and caring police officers, even writing that, “he had a wonderful smile” and “people loved [him]” (177). Gladwell’s idealistic portrayal of the loving relationship between a police officer and a homeless man supports his view that most police officers and homeless people are not causing the problem, it is the radical extremes of the groups who do. To bolster his claim that homelessness and police brutality follow a power-law (hockey stick) curve and not the customary bell curve, Gladwell markedly exaggerates the severity of the extreme cases and cuts to erroneous conclusions/counterarguments, creating a straw man fallacy. He writes that
Homeless or not, we were all raised and taught not to do the things that would hurt people. The way homeless people are being treated in today’s world is out of hand and it needs to come to an end. The homeless are humiliated, assaulted, talked badly about, and overly stressed due to traumatic experiences.
There needs to be action taken against them. "I shall now humbly propose my own thoughts, which I hope will not be liable to the least objection (Swift.) " I propose that all of the homeless be relocated to foreign third world countries. They can then be hired in American factories producing shoes, automobiles and other various goods at less than one dollar per hour. This will solve many of the problems that are mentioned in Marin’s “Helping and Hating the Homeless" and Michael Moore’s films “Roger and Me,” “Pets or Meat: The Return to Flint,” and “The Big One.”
Just because one homeless person has committed a crime or used the money he has collected on things such as alcohol or drugs does not mean that every homeless person is going to be like that. Many homeless people are Vietnam veterans, have a mental illness, or cannot survive in this economy which we are in. I have had a few experiences with homeless people but there is one which is unforgettable. It is much like when Nathaniel Ayres begins yelling at Mr. Lopez then proceeds to apologize later on (Lopez, 258). Most homeless people do not receive aid from the government or do not receive enough aid which is why they resort to panhandling. Seeing these many homeless people shows us how well our government is doing in protecting its people.
Homelessness is a bad thing and only we can prevent it. We have to spread awareness to this problem which has been a problem since forever. People spend too much time thinking of a sophisticated way to fix the problem but it is quite simple. Inhumane isn't a factor when it comes down to this because homeless people aren’t human. When people complain over testing products on animals we now know that we can just test on the homeless for a job because that is the right thing to do as cats and dogs are worth more than a homeless person’s life.
Homelessness is not a disease. It is not a virus, not a condition, nor bacteria. Homelessness is a state where a person does not have a permanent residential. This includes people who live in shelters, motels and on the streets. They do not have homes because of the rising prices of housing. In New York City alone, 61,931 people are homeless as of September 2016. This is an epidemic in New York, not because of the sheer number of homeless people, but because of the lack of support from the local government. Homeless people are ignored by citizens, attacked by youth and abused by police officers. The New York Police Department even instituted Move Along Policy where homeless people who are idle for too long are forced to move their locations. This could be sitting on a bench for too long or falling asleep in a train station. So displaced citizens are not only homeless, but they are not allowed to reside in familiar locations without fear of being harassed by policemen. The youth of New York City find entertainment in harming homeless people. They would attack them, throwing bottles at them, hitting them, in hopes of knocking them unconcious. And these homeless people who do not have jobs often ask for money in the streets. And people just walk past them without even bothering with them. Because
?Over the past year, over two million men, women, and children were homeless? in America. (NLCHP) Homeless people face an intense struggle just to stay alive despite the fact that society turns its head from the problem. The government makes laws that discriminate against homeless people, which make it, illegal for them to survive. The mistreatment of homeless people is an issue that is often ignored in our community. When you see a homeless person on the streets how do you react? Do you turn your head and ignore them? Do you become angry that they are living on the streets? Do you feel frightened and avoid the situation all together? Or do you see these people as human beings and treat them in that way? Homeless people are ?subjected to alienation and discrimination by mainstream society?. (NLCHP) Most alienation and discrimination comes from the lack of education about homeless people. There are numerous untrue myths about homeless people. Many people believe that homeless people ?commit more violent crimes than housed people.? (NLCHP) The reality is that homeless people actually commit less violent crimes than people with homes do. Dr. Pamela Fischer, of John Hopkins University, studied arrest records in Baltimore and discovered that even though homeless people were more likely to commit non-violent and non-destructive crimes, they were less likely to commit violent crimes against people. (NLCHP) The crimes that these people are committing are necessary to keep them alive. These crimes include sleeping, eating, and panhandling. Making it illegal to perform necessary daily activities in public when homeless people have no where else to go makes it impossible for homeless people to avoid violating the law. (NLCHP) Another myth about homeless people is that they do not work and that they get their money from public assistance programs. A study done in Chicago discovered that ?39% of homeless people interviewed had worked for some time during the previous month?. (NLCHP) Many of the people who do not work are actively trying to find jobs, but are discriminated against by the work force. In an interview done at the River Street Homeless Shelter I found many people who have experienced this discrimination. ?People can?t get a job without an address. When they use the shelter?s address they get turned down.? (Mike) Speaking...
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
American society today is epitomized by the growing divide between rich and poor. What is significant about this fact is that both ends of the spectrum are accelerating away from each other, with poor individuals sliding further still into the doldrums of poverty, while those that have enjoyed success in the past to a large degree continue to accumulate even larger sums of riches.
I myself, a concerned citizen have seen and have had experience with homelessness. Unlike many I stopped and I will remember the day forever. It changed my outlook on the issue of homelessness. It was late at night, I was working at Dairy Queen at the time and I went out for a smoke break, out of nowhere an older woman came across the parking lot and asked me for a cigarette. I lit another cigarette and gave it to her. As she sat? down beside me in silence and the feeling I had sitting there beside her tugged at my heart. She wore clothes that were more rags
People experiencing homelessness face violations of a wide range of human rights. The injustice in society can mean that they are subjected to discrimination and disadvantages in the form of financial and social as a result of their living situation. This report demonstrates the ways in which social injustice impacts on the life of the homeless population in the areas of criminal justice, education, socioeconomic status and health. In order to address this inequality, it needs to be recognised that Homelessness is not a choice but rather the result of disadvantage in the community, and one of the most important markers of social exclusion. Strategies must be put into place to ultimately reduce social inequality and increase opportunities for employment, economic participation, education and social inclusion.
While the average person may be able to grasp the concept of vagrancy, it is fair to say that the concept of homelessness is far more complex and cannot be as easily defined. The stereotypical image of homeless people is of those who are sleeping rough on the streets, however this is only one part of the problem. The Housing Act 1988 provided a much criticized legal definition of homelessness, which according to ‘Focus Ireland’ should be more inclusive and detailed. Focus Ireland suggests the homeless community can be split into three groups, the ‘visible homeless’, ‘hidden homeless’ and ‘at risk of homelessness’ The ‘visible homeless’ can be described as people who are sleeping rough and those who are accommodated in emergency shelters (hostels), or private emergency accommodation (bed & breakfasts). The ‘hidden homeless’ are those that are reluctantly sharing with family and friends (sofa surfers), squatters, and individuals/families living in substandard inadequate housing. ‘Focus Ireland’ also highlights that those who are ‘at risk of homelessness’ already have accommodation but could become homeless due to economic difficulties, increases in rent, insecure tenure, and leaving state care (Focus Ireland 2014).