I get so tired of seeing all the homeless here....

[TwixVoy]

I get so tired of seeing all the homeless here. Literally it's almost every stop light now. I went over and talked to one at the gas station today. Ex-nam vet. Everything he owned was in plastic bags strapped to his shopping cart. Got used up and kicked to the curb.

Americans treat each other like shit. Happy to use people up if they are useful. Very few people seem to have any ethics or concern for others.

WTF is wrong with this country....

[glowing]

1. Capitalism and having neighbors who are "smaller" than you.

[patrice]

2. There is no America. We're just a bunch of people who happen to live on the same continent.

There is nothing that binds us together into anything like national personhood.

[handmade34]

3. so sad

[patrice]

5. Yes, it is, for us and for our children even more.

[inna]

17. Actually, that's a very interesting idea. I haven't thought of it in these terms before.

The "melting pot" thing always seemed as a great thing, but lack of "national personhood" may actually explain some discrepancies (such as the fact that capitalism in other wealthy countries has a human face; not so much here in the US.)

[Joe the Liberal]

22. So true, I've never thought about it like that before but it's true. n/t

[KingFlorez]

4. I see it a lot too

I moved to my current city ten years ago and I still see some of the same people on the streets that I saw those years ago. Homelessness doesn't get addressed enough, it needs to be a more front burner issue.

[frazzled]

8. When you see the same people on the streets ...

chances are they are a part of a group of chronic homeless people who have mental illness. It's really hard to help this population, because often they cannot make the choice to be helped, because they are so suspicious.

A 2007 survey of 23 cities — conducted by the U.S. Conference of Mayors — revealed 30% of the homeless population have a mental illness. According to the Detroit Department of Health and Wellness Promotion, approximately 60% of chronically homeless people in the Detroit area have underlying issues of mental illness and/or substance abuse.

Mental disorders prevent people from doing everyday things like going to work and school or taking care of a home and family. The closings of psychiatric hospitals over several years, diminishing community-based programs and outpatient services, and a lack of affordable housing options leave the mentally ill with no place to go and no hope of getting better. Many are distrustful or too afraid to seek help and react irrationally toward those trying to help. This pushes them into a life on the streets.

http://helpinghomeless.wordpress.com/2009/04/09/mental-illness-and-homelessness/

I suspect this applies to a large number of our veterans, who suffer from PTSD and other issues. This is a separate issue from people who have lost their homes due to unemployment and foreclosure during the economic downturn. Those people will probably be only temporarily homeless, and they do seek help. It's the chronic homeless that are a real problem: it's truly hard to help them.

[KingFlorez]

11. It's very unfortunate

[Cirque du So-What]

6. Lots of Americans are sick of seeing the homeless

Especially conservatives, who wish they would just fucking vanish. They don't give a flying fuck about their plight, mind you, but they just don't want to see them; it troubles their beautiful minds and offends their sense of decorum. They pass laws designed to drive them out of sight and to deter decent people from feeding or sheltering them. The Humane Society is a better advocate for animals than some municipalities advocate for human beings.

[patrice]

7. They don't want those thoughts in their "beautiful minds".

[indy legend]

10. That's conservatives for you.

They will scream and yell and jump up and down for the rights of the unborn, but the after the second that person takes their first breath conservatives don't give a flyin' fuck about them anymore.

[lbrtbell]

20. You've summed it up perfectly n/t

[Cirque du So-What]

23. Yep

The moment the baby's head emerges from between the mother's legs, it's 'WELCOME TO YERONYEROWNISTAN!'

[lpbk2713]

9. Where I live they made it a crime to be in possession of a shopping cart.

That is, if someone is caught pushing a Wal-Mart cart down the street and there is no Wal-Mart
anywhere nearby they can be arrested. Just another way to persecute the poor and homeless.

[handmade34]

12. no easy answers

my partner and I move every three weeks for work (I consider myself one of the more fortunate homeless) and we have had the opportunity to see the worst of the worst. We are in Baltimore City right now and just this morning, working downtown passed more than one person sleeping in door stoops. Portland, Or, San Francisco, Yakima, WA, Milwaukee, New York, Miami, Los Angeles... had some of the most obvious homeless populations but they exist in rural areas as well. We have to make choices about who we can help in even little ways because our money is limited. We usually will take somebody in to a restaurant with us for a meal or offer them some food or clothing we have with us. We have been in cities in the morning and watched all the homeless filter out of the shelter that has allowed them in for the night. I yell to no one in particular, ""So, where do you expect them to go now...!"" You are right to ask WTF is wrong with us? Usually the next block over from what we are seeing are very large, expensive houses, large shopping malls and conspicuous ??? and somehow I can't wrap my mind around what I see. I see hundreds of empty houses, buildings, warehouses, etc. that would make suitable housing. I see people needing work and much work to be done. I see excesses and indulgences everywhere except where there is extreme poverty...

I see people needing to work together but lacking a leader. I see ignorance and no one to provide guidance or lessons. There is work for everyone if we could just work together to organize it. WE need to help each other, create jobs for ourselves and those around us. We need to refuse to participate in corporate exploitation. I understand your frustration.

[Greyhound]

14. Wow, great reply.

:kick: & R

[lbrtbell]

21. My God, what courage you have

I've been temporarily homeless, myself, so I have a glimmer of understanding of your plight. It's a terrifying thing, and it makes me so sick that so many people in our society just don't fucking care!

[Kali]

13. ...

Tuesday night.

http://www.homelessnessmarathon.org/

where to listen
http://homelessnessmarathon.org/2008/09/where-to-listen.html
KXCI Tucson streams at http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kxci/ppr/index.shtml

I will start a new post with this info, as well.

[handmade34]

15. thanks for the link

[havocmom]

16. Thanks for the heads up, Kali. KXCI is THE best radio station in the US

Real Radio For Real People. They boldly go..... Just like them to be streaming this too.

PM me link when you post and I will kick it if it sinks.

[Go2Peace]

18. We have deeper problems than simply "politics". We have serious "values" issues in America

[lbrtbell]

19. What's wrong with this country?

Reagan made heartlessness cool. :mad:

[SammyWinstonJack]

24. Greed, self-serving greed, on all levels.

All for one and none for all.

[Odin2005]

25. We are a country of heartless, soulless, materialistic assholes.

[donheld]

26. I see them all over Denver. It's really very sad.