On Fri, Mar 27, 2009 at 1:43 AM, Larry Colen <[email protected]> wrote: <snip> But, due to the actions of > half a dozen homeless kids, when I see someone that is homeless I'm > far more inclined that the reason is self inflicted than due to purely > hard luck. <snip>
In a way you're right. Most homeless that I've gotten to know have extremely serious substance abuse problems and/or have major mental illnesses. If that makes their decision to be homeless "self inflicted" then so be it. I tend to think that most "choose" homelessness because they simply can't function in society. None of that means that one ought not be responsible for their actions - what was done to your home was horrible and you have every right to be angry with ~those individuals~ - however they may or may not be representative of others in their situation. I think what's happening with the "tent city" that Marnie is chronicling may be something slightly different. There are likely quite a few in that community who were living "on the edge" and were pushed over that edge by losing their jobs in this fragile economy. However there are also likely a number in that "village" that have the substance abuse and mental illness problems that traditionally have plagued the homeless. I'm sure it's a very brutal place to live. cheers, frank -- "Sharpness is a bourgeois concept." -Henri Cartier-Bresson -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
