Why are homeless people looked down upon in this society?

Question

Have you heard about all the pathetic teenage attacks and vulnerable, sleeping homeless people. It is a horrid commentary on today's youth, but in general society has contributed by the attitude-they are people, why are they treated/seen as otherwise in the eyes of many?

Answer 1

well i hate to tell you this but most of them did drugs and that's why there homeless.

Answer 2

To certain answerers:

Excuse me, but let's clarify a few matters...

1. Homeless people are people who lack homes.
2. Let's say you own your home, or you live in a home that your parents own. If your home burned down today, guess what? You would become homeless.
3. Let's say you rent. If you were evicted today, you would be homeless.
4. Drugs, mental illness, and alcohol had nothing to do with any of this. In both instances, the factors were beyond your control.
5. Drugs, mental illness, alcohol, and homelessness do not, therefore, necessarily correlate or correspond. To assume that they do is a gross and ignorant generalization.


To the asker:

That said, let me answer the question at hand as best I can...

I agree that it is pathetic that teenagers attack the homeless. In all honesty, teenagers are not the smartest people around. Furthermore, the homeless often lack any type of method of retaliation- or response- to these types of things.

Society has indeed contributed to this attitude, and to similar evil attitudes regarding a number of things. Homeless people are indeed people; in a capitalistic society where you have spoiled, out-of-control, reasonably well-off teenagers allowed to do whatever they want, you will have injustices like this. To make a generalization, it goes back to bad parenting, actually.

Thank you for the thoughtful question.


May God bless you all.

Answer 3

I remember once I used to see this old homeless guy who slept in the bus shelter, he often asked me for a cigarette, which I always gave him. One day I asked him how come he did not have a place to live. He told me that he was a soldier in the second world war and was overseas fighting for our freedom. When he came home he learnt that all of his family were wiped out by a bomb. Wife, children, no one left. It affected him so badly, he became lost in society and took to the streets. He was the nicest man I ever met and great to have a chat to. Many people looked down on me for talking with him, but I will always give time to a homeless person, you never really know why they are homeless unless you stop and ask them. I don't blame the teenagers, but the society which bred this type of person who would use violence against anyone, regardless of their plight. Unfortunately that's the way things are, some people are not very nice, but I do believe the majority of us are nice and do not treat homeless people with any disregard or disrespect.

Answer 4

A lot of them are just freeloaders if you will. Some of them are capable of working and choose not to. Some of them get just enough money from the public to go buy more drugs or booze. Some are just users of the system. I'm sorry but I have no sympathies for anyone who is homeless under these conditions.
Some people truly need the help and they are hurt by the actions of the people above. I have given them a sandwich or other food from time to time but I don't make a habit of it.

"It is a horrid commentary on today's youth." NOT TRUE! Not all youth are doing this . It is a certain few that have no respect for anything in life. Especially themselves.

Answer 5

I thik those teenage attacks on homeless people is an absolute outrage and I fimrly believe that modern society has a huge role in why it is happening. It is the basic popularity theory, if your popular you are whorshiped hense the rich and famous, but when your not, you are deemed unattrartive in the sense of people either ignore you or taunt you gain popularity points amoung their peers.Sadly this has become a way of life within the human condition, when we should be at least trying to teach the younger generation the joy and self accomplishment you can achieve when helping the needy.

Answer 6

This is a symptom of the death of respect. There seem to be a constant search for the answer to why is the world turning the way it is; it is the death of respect. If you look at the images of success we are taught to emulate and models we follow in the world of business and law its a small wonder that are losing respect for one another. We are shown that to rub our opponents face in his loss is appropriate. We are told that an expanding profit margin cannot be done without rushing to the cheapest possible vendors and contractors, no matter how or in which country they do their business. We are told to sue first and talk later and go for the jugular, no mercy. These are our life lessons. They are replayed like a litany throughout our existence until we believe that it is better to win than to just play the game. We lose sight of the fact that we are just a pimple on the @ss of the world no matter who we think we are.
When was the last time you said hello to your neighbour and stood to chat or struck up a conversation in a grocery line? When was the last time you slowed down and let a car go in front on a busy day in traffic? This is respect. When we acknowledge that we all have an equal right to survive any way we can as long as WE DON'T HURT OTHERS we admit that we share the most important commonality; humanity.

Answer 7

I am not familiar with the teenage attacks, but I have an opinion on why the homeless are not seen or treated as people.
Basically, I think it is easier to insult the homeless than it is to try to help them. I think most people sense that the right thing to do is to help those who need it, but since they don't, they feel they have to justify their decision by making it the homeless person's fault.
I'm not saying it is totally wrong to do this. I mean, it's hard to not think, "He/She must be an addict or an alcoholic," or, "He/She is too lazy to get a job." So, why would you give money to someone who is just going to turn around and spend it on their habit? Or is this just another excuse?

Answer 8

Because in today's society so much is seen as expendable with our youth. We live in a world of convience and disposable. Think about it, just about any product excluding appliances and electronics and Automobiles, is disposable from plates to toilet brushes.

I remember and I am not that old, 45, when you valued things and also people. The youth may not have agreed with their elders, but they showed them respect.

It seems that our youth today have no empathy for others, or even what empathy means, it is not that hard of a lesson to teach but many do not because they feel it is to hard and inconvenient.

This is a very good ? and I applaud you

And for the most part I do not believe that homeless people are mainly mentally ill, more people need to open their eyes and see that it is made up mostly of two categories now the teens, which run from unsafe homes due to the drug epidemic in our country, and two families because the so called good economy was not shared with them. Minimum wage does not come close to being able to pay for things like shelter, food, clothing, etc.

Answer 9

yes, but society as a whole cares. Teens are confused and always looking for something horrific to do. Don't know why. Too much reality T.V. I suppose. But certainly most people care...... just not enough of us with the resources we need to go around helping homeless find a home. Most homeless are mentally ill, and refuse help in most cases. Some choose this way of life. And like anything risk is involved. Hope this helps, and I know you feel helpless in this matter but reaching out to others may help get through your feelings of sadness. I am going to help a co-worker tomorrow with her financial situation. She was beaten by her husband. So every little thing you can do helps the world in small ways and gives new hope to others.

Answer 10

There are stereotypes and myths perpetuated about homeless people. Like they are drug or alcohol addicts and ect. There is also a perception that people are responsible for their own behavior and all persons are in control of what happens to them. There is also the belief that most homeless are men and people who refuse to work. There are many women who become homeless as well from domestic violence.

The reality is the homeless are often the mentally ill, families and more. I was once homeless with four kids. It happened to me when i was working a low minimum wage job and i was pregnant with no maternity leave. The babies father was head injured while i was pregnant and this left me to care for everything on my own. I lost everything a week after I had the baby. Including my job. It was very hard and a painfull moment in my life. Most homeless shelters only deal with families.

A huge percentage of mentally ill persons become homeless. They have lost supports as in medical care, mental health care and housing due to government cutbacks. These happen becuase homeless is not a priority to people. They would rather pay more to take care of their pets.

I talk about this today with a very sad heart. yesterday my mentally disabled son left home, leaving his education, family and SSI behind thinking he can do without all the help. Now I wait daily for the phone call telling me he was beat on the streets or shot by a cop. or at the very least living on the streets with no where to go. I am hoping he decides to come home before it is too late. But he is 18 and at that age he has free will to go. There is nothing i can do to legally protect him or make him finish high school.

an end note. There was a homeless man whose memorial i attended last summer. He was an amputee in a wheel chair and was set on fire by two young men. He died in the burn unit a few days later after suffering horribly. He probably fit the stereo type to many however he was a human being.. wnd what human truly is to be considered so unhuman, unloved, .. deserve to die in such a horrible way. And the next question to ask is what kind of people are we to think that is ok. It shows the quality of the type of person we are inside when we can not stand up and speek out against this.

The Sliammon First Nation have a story wherin the chief is beat over the head by on old woman. HIs daughters were upset by this and yelled at the woman and struck her for hitting the old man. The chief though instead of berating the old woman for her indecency instead turned to his daughters. He made them cook all the food in thier house and gather all the blankets they had and take it to the old woman and apologize for their behavior. He also made them clean her home and chop her wood. The daughters confused asked him why he said or did nothing to the old woman and instead turned on them. He told them that the old womans behavior did not allow them to behave badly.

The moral is that just becuase one individual behaves wrongly it does not excuse or allow another to behave badly as well.

This to me is the nutshell of the problem with homeless. we attribute it to bad behavior then excuse ourselves that it is acceptable to behave badly to them because of this or excuse anothers behavior toward them.

Look up sliammon first nation if you wish the full version of the story

Answer 11

Homeless people are a vivid image of what we all fear the most, loosing everything we have ever had. So they are labled as losers and that provides kids with some one to hate, after all, no one likes losers. problem is the real losers are the kids who would do such a thing. I feel more pity for those kids being in the mental space where this type of activity is OK, than I do for the unfortunate Homeless person, because he can work his way out of his situation, the violent youth losers, will always be losers and clog up our jails