"The 'Professional Homeless' make me rage"

[wizehop]

Came across this thread on Reddit today while wasting time. To many comments to copy and paste so click the link

http://www.reddit.com/r/rage/comments/2igkip/the_professional_homeless_make_me_rage/

Thoughts?

 

[scummy1990]

Aren't we all professional homeless isn't definition of professional getting paid for something?

 

[Kim Chee]

Screams more like "I'm lazy and entitled" than "I'm poor and would appreciate a meal."

 

[scummy1990]

I really have no problem whatever u gotta do to hustle money whether u come from a more privileged background or not

 

[Jef138]

There were some good comments but whoever started that thread is an idiot. If we were to assume that person was "professionally homeless." Who cares. Being economically destroyed is not the only reason to be homeless (something that most of the narrow minded capitalist think). Some do it out of protest, lifestyle and etc. If a homeless person flys a sign under whatever circumstance and you don't like it, don't give em money. If they're hanging outside of your favorite restaurant and you expect law enforcement to give em the boot off of public property, well not only are you a capitalist asshole, you're also fascists.

 

[TheWindAndRain]

I dont have a problem with it other than that Kind of blatant behavior desensitizrs people and makes it less profitable. Probably thereason i have such a difficult time just spanging up enough for bus fair in portland

 

[skitter]

I don't use them when we are flying signs OBVIOUSLY but it sucks that I occasionally feel a pang of guilt over using my nintendo ds, or my outmoded smart phone. Shit I paid for, take care of, and enjoy. Like people judging me because I didnt pawn my electronic crap for crack rocks or I am not allowed to have something fun to do that isnt spending my money on booze 24/7... cos I sleep outside.

You try keeping this shit dry, charged, and functioning through a week of rain!!

2

 

[Jef138]

I dont have a problem with it other than that Kind of blatant behavior desensitizrs people and makes it less profitable. Probably thereason i have such a difficult time just spanging up enough for bus fair in portland

Sorry to hear about that... Yeah I wish people knew that spanging, busking, or whatever hustle way one might make money on the streets is harder than the majority of the coporate jobs out there.

 

[Tude]

sigh, looks like people came out of the woodwork to tell their story of when they had someone try and beg from them.

 

[Skit]

There were some good comments but whoever started that thread is an idiot. If we were to assume that person was "professionally homeless." Who cares. Being economically destroyed is not the only reason to be homeless (something that most of the narrow minded capitalist think). Some do it out of protest, lifestyle and etc. If a homeless person flys a sign under whatever circumstance and you don't like it, don't give em money. If they're hanging outside of your favorite restaurant and you expect law enforcement to give em the boot off of public property, well not only are you a capitalist asshole, you're also fascists.

The real problem here is that these people can potentially kill sympathy for the homeless people who actually NEED help. If you find out that you've been giving money to someone who is nowhere near needing it then you would be less likely to give it to others in the future. Likewise, junkies give spangers a bad name as well because I've seen those bastards follow people and bother them more times than I have fingers and toes. Asking for money should only be done as an emergency/last resort type thing.

 

[Kim Chee]

Reddit: Where karma is king and a buncha housies are gettin' ready to become street dwellers.

I see a several commenters who'll need to give something daily to the real homeless to ward off the bad karma generated.

 

[Raskolnikov]

I'm don't know why everyone is so sure this is a 'professional homeless' person. Could just be a student or maybe someone protesting - they are carrying a sign that says 'All you need is love'.

 

[Tude]

I'm don't know why everyone is so sure this is a 'professional homeless' person. Could just be a student or maybe someone protesting - they are carrying a sign that says 'All you need is love'.

Or it might be just a canned photo - but one carefully chosen to illustrate the rager's points of the nicer clothes and phone

 

[Kim Chee]

I'm not sure why everyone is so sure this is a 'professional homeless' person. Could just be a student or maybe someone protesting - they are carrying a sign that says 'All you need is love'.

Sure, the faceless picture could be a doctor, attorney or other good wage earner who isn't homeless at all. Even so, the professional homeless do exist and it wouldn't be difficult to find more examples. The post has very little to do with the person in the image and more to do with a nice smartphone, nice clean clothes, a freshly showered body and what looks like a Bose music player of some sort. The things in the image require money, upkeep and probably shelter if they are to remain in that condition very long.

 

[Dameon]

It's entirely possible that pic was staged. But really, some people just don't realize we've reached an era where even homebums have smartphones because they're ubiquitous, cheap, and people just give them away. Not to mention supremely useful when you're homeless. Some people just assume that if you possess anything more valuable than a shopping cart full of useless crap you should be selling it for a meal.

 

[Raskolnikov]

It's entirely possible that pic was staged. But really, some people just don't realize we've reached an era where even homebums have smartphones because they're ubiquitous, cheap, and people just give them away. Not to mention supremely useful when you're homeless. Some people just assume that if you possess anything more valuable than a shopping cart full of useless crap you should be selling it for a meal.

Agreed on the smartphone bit, but why do they have a $300 bose speaker?

 

[Dameon]

Because the photo was staged?

Although it could still have been a kickdown, or stolen, or from before going homeless, or even dumpster dived. Judging from the stuff they've got in the picture, they're not even homeless. If I saw that person in real life, I'd think "another oogle that ran away from home because they didn't want to do chores and thinks being homeless is cool."

Really, what all this ignores is that person is not the majority of homeless people you see. The huge majority are visibly mentally or physically ill, and their possessions consist mostly of nondescript lumps in garbage bags. One asshole who doesn't need the money flying a sign for fun doesn't invalidate millions who actually need help.

 

[sucuri]

It's pretty easy to posses a $400 smartphone, a lot harder to pay a $900 rent each month. You think if I got evicted I would just leave my valubles in the apartment for the landlord?

The photo is definitly staged, also. But that's besides the point.

 

[Kim Chee]

Thanks, @wizehop. This is good.

Agreed on the smartphone bit, but why do they have a $300 bose speaker?

Often, people who are new to houselessness bring their belongings that they think are important only considering that they paid good money for them or that they can't replace them easily later.

I'm not making excuses for anybody who is faking homelessness, they are leaning on the financially weak.

 

[Matt Derrick]

i definitely hate these people that are like "omg, i hate these people that ask me for money", but at the same time, they have some legitimate gripes. most of the valid complaints (in my opinion) revolve around sudo-homeless that spange for beer money every day. they're basically taking money out of the hands of the real homeless that have legitimate problems like mental illness, drug addiction, destitution, etc.

i know there's going to be a ton of kids pissing all over me cause they "don't want to participate in the system" or whatever (i know because i was one of them), but there's all kinds of things you can do to make money and not "sell out" and still travel and have a good time. you don't have to be a leech to have a good time.

i've been under the opinion for a long time now, that we need to discourage ooglish-spanging (ooglanging?) as a community. now that means, not saying "hey you can't do that" because, we all have needed to do that at some point or another. but rather just calling out people for being fucking lazy and asking the general public to support their booze habit (that isn't even a habit (like alcoholics), they just do it for fun). people need to be a little more responsible and see the big picture around them rather than just be concerned about themselves.

as for the iphone thing, the general public needs to realize that we live in the most privileged country on the fucking earth. the fact that homeless people have any of these things is just a sign of the times. like daemeon said, they're cheap, even free, and the internet is so pervasive in our lives that it's practically up there with other base needs like food, water, and shelter. if you want to get a job and get off the streets, you need a phone, and you need the internet to find and get a job.

and just like others have said, we're not in a third world country, and we should be able to have a few nice things without being fucking shamed about it. even a nintendo ds isn't that fucking luxurious, it's a game system that came out like 7 years ago (and retails for about 50 bucks used).

overall i hate people that pass all kinds of judgement on others because they're committing the crime of not having a box surrounding them and their stuff.