Bums and pan handlers, misunderstood geniuses or lazy social misfits?

Answer 1

Your question is what's known as a false dichotomy. You present the question as if those are the only two viable alternatives. Many homeless people have moderate to severe mental disorders that keep them from being gainfully employed. Instead of asking ill-conceived questions, try using your intelligence to help someone.

Answer 2

I don't now if they are genius but a lot are alcoholics and mentally disturbed. But there are also many homeless people WHO are broke because of job loss circumstance and misfortune. Just think if you had no money no home no help whatsoever what would you do you have no clean clothes no shower or laundry room so even if you got clothes where would you wash them. A true homeless person with the will to succeed has a 200% tougher time than a highschool dropout with no job experience. Really who would hire a bum many bums collect cans for cash so its possible to save enough money go to a hotel get cleaned up and hopefully get a job in about 3 days but if they didn't back to square one collect more cans or bum cash. It would be very difficult to climb out of that hole. The bums who are drunks or just lazy skitzoids are the stereotype of most homeless people because they are the mean population of homeless but the remainder are good people who are homeless because of misforunate events in there life.

Answer 3

I don't think you can generalize about people in this category any more than you can about people in any category.

Some may be divorced people who were ordered out of their homes, ordered to pay child support and/or alimony to the point of having little money left, and forced to have to stay with a relative - until the inevitable wearing out of a welcome and fight, which left them with no place to go.

Given the choice between a shelter and outdoors I can see how many would choose outdoors. Once someone lives outdoors its easy to see how they'd be too exhausted or stressed out or in grief or shock to be able to work.

I can see how some may take a drink in order to feel he could stay "sane" through some awful nights outside and in view of having to deal with severe loss or grief of one sort or another.

Some may be mentally ill, some may be misfits, some may be geniuses (even understood geniuses) too.

Still, though, I think if people really got to know the stories of a lot of these people they would be shocked to find out how very much like "mainstream" people they started out to be.

Its easy to say "There but for the grace of God go I - only it wouldn't be me because there's no way that would happen to me"; but the reality is it doesn't necessarily take long for a person who has no home or no job (which can lead to no home) to find himself counted among the "bums".

Nobody wants to believe that because facing that reality doesn't let us feel superior in some way or because figuring out the answer to the homeless problem is far harder if you can't just write them off as "misunderstood geniuses" or "lazy". The reality is, though, that unless someone has the benefit of a really solid financial cushion (and a whole lot of people just don't have that) its only a hop-skip-and-a-jump (or a divorce, a lay-off, or a fight with a family member) away from homelessness or at least the road to homelessness (and the associated consequences that inevitably follow).

Answer 4

Well I've seen them get money and not pay taxes, Which I'd like to do! They get free food, Not bad. And they get picked up at night for free lodging in many places. A lot of them are hiding from the law and there family responsibility's. They would rather take a chance on getting a hand out then a hand up. So I say they are understood, My money is on Lazy/Misfit.

Answer 5

I've read that according to one survey roughly one in four bums has antisocial personality disorder, which is a personality disorder very common in criminals and domestic abusers. Sociopaths believe they should be able to do what they want regardless of the consequences on others. If they want to be parasitic and lazy and manipulate the sympathies of passers-by, they will.

Of course, many bums have serious, untreated mental health disorders like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder too. Antisocial personality disorder is more a bad attitude and set of character flaws than a mental illness.

Answer 6

If you live somewhere, like I do, where you are constantly panhandled, with the word for word same sad stories, same signs you realize that it is all a scam. I am sure that there is a company running all of the panhandlers. They get together at night and assign corners and hand out signs for the next day. The company splits 50-50 with the bums. I wish they'd run them out of business so I don't have to run the gaunlet to the store without 10 guys begging...

Answer 7

90% Bums, druggies, pan handlers and lazy misfits. 9.99% Decent people in trouble. 0.01% Misunderstood geniuses

Answer 8

Neither. I read a study once that said that 75% of Americans are just two paychecks away from being homeless. I think it's a part of the downside of being overly capitalistic.

Answer 9

Don't think I'd be to far out of line thinking they (the majority) for various reasons do not or cannot get in touch with people who can help them. A night on a cot in back of a church is one thing, thinking and planning several weeks in advance to secure short term housing isn't a high priority. These priorities can be influenced by a number of things, many already mentioned.

Answer 10

I feel sorry for them. That could easily be anyone of us at some point in our lives, so we should never look down upon them!

I think they are misunderstood, yes. I wouldn't call it GENIUS though because if it were GENIUS, they'd be off of the streets and in a warm house of their own for the winter.