"Once a 'bum' always one"

[PrisMiQue]

My aunt said this to me before.
I m sure it's not true but what is about the alternative way of life that makes it so....addictive ?
In honesty I feel as though my life is at a stand still while I'm not traveling...ironically I felt that way before housing up too! Literally not in the same place but career/stability wise I was.
I'm working on my career here in music/art and its fufilling... But not traveling brings sort of tears to my eyes.
For the average yuppie a traveler may be just a bum to them but to others there is a distinction! Although it maybe meshed at some point.... Either way alternative.
how many of you would agree once a bum always one?
Would you say you could see going from a bum or traveler to a family Father/ house mom?
Personally I want a child but have had my heart set on breaking away from tradition and making a career that I love and can actually support my own kids without any help from anyone.
Has anyone had kids and remained travelers and is that even legal?
so does a life traveler just decide not to have kids... Cuz once a "bum" always one?
No offense with word use bum by the way

 

[Brother X]

I had a kid on the road but then settled down during the formative years. After said child was grown and on their own, I went back to traveling. Said child is now an adult and is a traveler too. We even travel together when the circumstances allow. Not saying my way is THE way, just giving some anecdotal info.

 

[Tude]

You have definitely put some thought and time into this entry. I don't think once a bum always a bum I think I prefer "traveler" or hobo better - so many people here travel - sometimes for a few weeks, sometimes for a few years, rest/recoup/be family again and may take off again or are totally on the road. So many variables on traveling. The stories and blogs and pics are what drew me here. Actually I'm getting ready to head down the street to some travelers in town busking who are aware and have been on stp - got a kid here now couch surfing, minimally (I think he is squatting with them now).

 

[wizehop]

I don't think anything in life is that black and white. Our lives take us down so many paths and give us so many options, I personally cant agree with any statement that goes "once a...always a...." there are events in ones life, whether good or bad that change the direction were going, if we like it or not, and there are other forks in the road which require us to make decisions. Either way things don't really stay the same, unless of course one really chooses that path.

I used to eat at soup kitchens and timed my days around where I could get free food. Now I not only have enough money to eat pretty much what ever I want, but I can also get plane tickets to anywhere in the world I want to go. Sharp contrast, and if you asked me how my future would have been back then, I'd have a hard time believing I'd be where I am today. And even that being said, there is nothing saying I'll be like this for ever. I could end up pour again, I could end up rich.
What I can say though, is that throwing around words like "bum" or "yuppie" tends to really only be derogatory generalizations which don't consider the diversities of life. People with money, or people who pretend to have money, like to call anyone who is a bit rough looking a bum; but they really have no idea who that person is, or what there story is.
Same goes for a lot of "our kind" on here. The word yuppie gets thrown around at anyone who either has a bit of money, or takes care of themselves in any manner. Its as if being clean or having a bit of cash has anything to do with our value as a human being. Its a weak generalisation straight up, as in both cases the human element is brushed aside and we are judged solely on our appearances. Being scruffy doesn't mean your pour or lazy, and being clean doesn't mean you've had your life handed to you on a silver platter. So all that to say, I don't think words like bum or yuppie have any real value.

Now as far as how to live, I don't think that is black or white either. If you don't agree with the standard way of living then you need to decide how it is you want to live and make your life work around it. The rest of the world doesn't matter. If you want to have a baby and still live free, then find a way.
I have a friend who's parents were total hippies and she grew up on a sail boat. She's not following in their footsteps, but I can honestly say she turned out a fine specimen of a human, so it can be done.

 

[Tude]

This. @wizehop "all that to say, I don't think words like bum or yuppie have any real value."

 

[sofarfromhome]

i have to explain the difference between a traveler and a bum all the time haha. sometimes the line is a little fuzzy, but it's there!
i know what you mean. Everytime i house up for a bit to work and whatnot it drives me insane. the hardest transition for me to make is the fact that i can buy more clothes and change clothes everyday haha. holy fuck do i love wearing the same shit every day (or every other). if it doesn't smell weird, I'm gonna keep wearing it. but Apparently that isn't 'socially acceptable' or something like that.
i want to settle down and take care of a woman And a child, and i know i will. when i find a place that i actually want to stay. i started traveling to find a place that i would like to call home, and i haven't found that place yet so, I've got to keep on moving until i do.
but i know once i do, settling down isn't gonna be a problem. so, i totally disagree with that statement.

 

[VikingAdventurer]

I have to explain the difference between a traveler and a bum all the time, haha... I started traveling to find a place that I would like to call home, and I haven't found that place yet so, I've got to keep on moving until I do.

I agree 100% with these particular statements.

Also, I believe that there IS a difference between a "bum" and a "homebum".

 

[sofarfromhome]

I agree 100% with these particular statements.

Also, I believe that there IS a difference between a "bum" and a "homebum".

definitely! a bum moves from place to place, and a homebum is usually batshit insane, smells like piss and doesn't go anywhere

 

[PrisMiQue]

The terms bum and yuppie used loosely and meant no real offense. I've been called both but for sake of difference defining I used them.
I beleive you're right ... It's not all black n white and if there's a will there's a way. Although I ve heard of people getting their kids taken from them. A nightmare I hope no one has to go through.

[

 

[Sip]

I'd agree with once a bum, always a bum in a certian sense. I mean, MOST people go from traveling to housed up eventually. All you have to do is hitch somewhere and listen to all the old guys who pick you up go on about their reckless youth. I DO think though, that we never stop longing for the road a little, and that at times that longing might be a little painful. I also think that being a bum transforms you in some pretty fundamental ways, and lets you see the world for what it is. The best and the worst. You can take the traveler off the road, but you can't scrape the road dust off the traveler.... or something like that.

Also, I like your use of rainbow font. ^_^

 

[Kim Chee]

I used to use the term "bum" around people who were for the most part "bums". Many (perhaps most) of them would cringe at the utterance. I tried to condition myself to not use the word "bum" and was unsuccessful. What I was successful at was referring to them as "people". It does the job, is less offensive, commonly understood and promotes equality.

But, alas, here on the Internet I'm pretty comfortable letting a bum bomb drop every now and then.

 

[Matt Derrick]

In honesty I feel as though my life is at a stand still while I'm not traveling...

i know what you mean, i feel the exact same way right now. i'm choosing to be in austin and not traveling, but that's because i have a 'goal' of hitting the road again, but in a bigger and more epic way than before (which requires a little flow, if you know what i mean ) as well as getting some other projects out of the way.

i guess you gotta ask yourself does your job make you happy? or is it getting you towards an important goal? if not, i'd consider changing gears or at least taking the first steps towards doing so.

For the average yuppie a traveler may be just a bum to them but to others there is a distinction! Although it maybe meshed at some point.... Either way alternative.

I think that if we're going to make it as a community/movement, we gotta start correcting folks that call us bums, and let them know we're not, we're adventurers/vagabonds/hobos, etc... heck, tell them you're a gypsy if that puts it in better terms they can understand (even though it's kind of culture appropriation or whatever).

the point is that we need to let people know that we're a legitimate lifestyle, not just a bunch of bum/moochers

how many of you would agree once a bum always one?

i'm going to replace bum with traveler/wanderer/whatever but the answer to your question is that it's hard to say. i know some folks that dabble, just kind of stick their toe into the vagabond culture and never return. i know some people that traveled their whole lives and then settle down with kids never to go back. i think only the person being asked knows truly down deep in their heart if they're in this for life or just for the moment.

i would consider myself a lifer.

Personally I want a child but have had my heart set on breaking away from tradition and making a career that I love and can actually support my own kids without any help from anyone.
Has anyone had kids and remained travelers and is that even legal?

yes, that's legal, but you have to conform to a few different laws in order to get by, like homeschooling your kid to certain standards, etc. really though, it's not too difficult. i know all kinds of folks that travel and have families, both in the professional travel blogger world and in the more leftist hippie circles. heck, i know one guy that grew up in a teepee his whole life and didn't get a social security card until he was 22...

if i ever had a family, i would totally get another school bus and travel around with them in it. i think it's an excellent way for a kid to grow up (seeing different parts of the world/cultures) my only concern would be them not having regular friends all the time, but there's always a way to make everything work.

if you want to have kids and still travel there's still a ton of options; it's mostly just a matter of if there's a will there's a way...

 

[Wawa]

Just to put rubber tramping and traveling with kids into perspective... we didn't come up with it! Here's an example; I have an Uncle, and cousins who are baptist missionaries. The cousins have raised their kids(true to form, they all had a lot of em!) in a school bus, in african villages, in mexican jungles... and this is common in their community. I'm not saying no one ever tells them dumb shit about parenting, but generally they're not harassed about how they raise the kids.

And holy shit, was I amazed when I met the oldest cousins daughters... all multilingual, confident, telling stories about howler monkeys and the plumbing in Tijuana...

 

[Wawa]

Agreement on not letting people call us bums. People need to learn a bit more about the people on the roads and streets and woods.

It bothers me a lot, the way people and organizations talk about "ending homelessness".... hell, they make it sound awful aggressive. Stomp out homelessness! Crush homelessness! Fight homelessness! Only, it tends to turn into "just get those unsightly bums outta here". Why not talk about ending poverty, instead? You can say houseless, homeless, homefree, but none of these should be used in place of the word "poverty". Homelessness can be a legit lifestyle choice. So can the choice to not use money. Poverty is the one that isn't a choice.

Bla bla bla, short version: language matters. Bums ain't hobos ain't tramps; poverty and homelessness are two separate things FIGURE IT OUT.

 

[Mankini]

Finding girls who want to live together and live a itinerant lifestyle is hard. Many women want to settle and have stable family life.

 

[Mankini]

I once composed a short story about a bums' revolution: where bums all over tha world rise up and seize the apparatus of the state from society. Sort of an alternate reality/utopia where roles are reversed and the 1st become last/last become 1st.

 

[Deleted member 2626]

Straight up voodoo. I'm not a sex oriented guy anymore so I'm kinda in mind for a gal to roll with and it is hard to find any girls open.minded at all for people like me

 

[Odin]

definitely! a bum moves from place to place, and a homebum is usually batshit insane, smells like piss and doesn't go anywhere

It's amazing how even folks in the house-less subculture generalize a whole class of people.

It's easy to think your better than someone else... makes a person feel good about they're own situation eh? I'm young... I'm a go getter... I'm never gonna be like that. Hmmm very easy way to objectify and lower the humanity of others.

I hope in your travels you don't one day find your self sick, or facing a personal catastrophe that makes you "batshit insane, smelling like piss without the will to go anywhere."

negative adjectives like this in the community are not helpful in my opinion.

I have interacted with folks flying signs... those just looking for a beer and those in bad shape here. I don't find it at all helpful to further negative stereotypes.

Sure. many people are sick, dirty and hurt. These are humans not a subspecies you need to objectify in terms that paint them as pariahs.

Every time you feel like prejudging a person as a crazy dirty bum... remember when it comes back to you when someone better off than you looks at you in disgust as a filthy traveling vagrant.

Then you might see labels are not all that useful and harmful more often than not.

being a human being comes first.

A couple years back when there was an alleyway behind a gas station still... during the summer I used to run into Sunny. old man with cataracts in his eyes and snow white beard and hair. would share beers kickdown for food and listen to his stories. soft spoken man and polite... he was supposed to get help for his vision but don't know what happened to him.

he had a stout only slightly younger lady... rambled on often just like you would describe "crazy"... but this lady often looked out for sunny when his eyesight... specially at night made it difficult to get around.

these are the people you harm when you casually label them as only crazy dirty piss smelling..

I wonder what happened to sunny...
nice guy one of the only folks that i met in real life that rode trains and talked about seasonal work and sleeping in hay in barns.

I hope he is well.

 

[Deleted member 2626]

Me personally. It doesn't matter if you explain yourself, "I'm not a bum for this or that reason". Closet brains are still going to think it. Just because you scare them or live a way they can't remotely grasp.Or because of jealousy., They may work every day all day all year and hate life while here is some one working little, living with less and being pretty alright with it. We all die anyway but most people aren't realizing that. It'd be like explaining art or writings, its stupid to care too much and personally someone worrying what they might be labeled or thought of as is old too. I mean I do explain myself a bit, saying I do work and have a few trades under my belt but I always say, I don't work allll the time because I have a dog and that is really my only responsibility. And they can either accept it or no. And like I said most people will still have their original opinion I imagine even if they keep it a little quieter

 

[Sip]

You know what @Odin, you're right. Thank you for educating me in this matter. I feel like a douche. It's funny how we tavelers can forget that our stationary equivalents are humans too.