Why are homeless people discriminated ?

Question

Once I disguised myself as an homeless person ; first I went to a Salvation Army shop, bought some cheap clothes and shoes, took it home, stained, soiled and teared the clothes a bit . Also made my hair look as if I had just arrived from the jungle; I was the typical image of the homeless person. Then I left my house and walked towards an expensive restaurant that I knew well . The restaurant was half full, plenty of tables available, and I decided to seat next to one . I could see the anxiety expressed on the staff faces and without delay I called one of them . He came flying and told me that the tables were reserved, apologised, and asked me if I could leave. I swore at him and left . I will never forget the faces of those seated at the other tables, intrigued and disgusted by my presence . True story .

Now I ask , do we live in a fair society ?

Answer 1

it's easier for some to hate what they don't understand. and we tend to hate/exploit/blame the weakest for societal ills- like drug abuse,disease,crime,filth, etc...

Answer 2

I think certain people are insecure with the concept of being homeless. They harshly judge those that are homeless as being lazy, having no motivation, drug or alcohol addicts and not deemed worthy. They may view them as being disgusting with living on the streets.

I once had an argument with a family member about this. If I see a homeless person I will stop and give them some money. It may not be a huge sum (I am not wealthy myself), but if it is enough to buy them dinner, then that pleases me. I did this one time, stopped and gave a homeless man $5. This family person then was angered and said "That was a waste of your time and money.”He is going to take that money and go buy alcohol with it." I told her that you cannot say that he will or won't because you do not understand his situation and why he is in the situation he is in. I said that $5 is not going to hurt my financial status severely and if that $5 gets him a hot meal for the night, then that is all that matters.

I actually found your true story amusing and it is sad that people can be so judgmental and harsh, not seeing a person who they are, but rather putting up a wall of insecurity and judgments. This society is not fair at all. I hear people preach help the homeless, but then you have so many who just turn their face to not acknowledge that we live in a society where this is possible.

Answer 3

Our Society is far from perfect, but truth be said, it is better than many other societies in the history of the world, where homeless people would have zero rights of any kind. For someone that lost all its possessions there was only either servitude or slavery. At least you today could have sued them for unfair discrimination. Today in much of the western world at least there is the potential for a homeless person to rebuild his life since even though without possessions he/she is still a free person with unalienable human and civil rights.

This kind of discrimination is due I believe to the fact that in human nature and in human societies status quo still matters a lot (not that I agree) and those that feel in a better status will despise and deny to others the worth of the same human value as them.

The world can only change one at a time and that ONE is ourselves. the moment I change and treat others as I would like to be treated myself, the moment I recognize a person with dignity, feelings, history, plans, projects, dreamns, etc in the other person that sees me, then my friend I believe the world ahs already changed a bit for the best.

I must say that nothing disgusts me like unjustice does, and this is a terrible social unjustice that as i said, stems from our human condition and on so many factors that it would be impossible to pinpoint each and every one for everybody, however this is no excuse for societies to start treating their members with equality and with fairness. In the same degree this is done we can say that a civilizations is more or less advanced, regardless of its technological development.

I am affraid that i have to agree with St. Augustine of Hippo that any world society will never be a just society, because for justice to be true justice it has to be perfect, and since human nature is imperfect, only unjust societies in lesser or higher degree will result. The perfectly just society he called it the City of God, but...according to him, this city God can only be achieved when the Kingdom of God reigns, when will that happen? well, when the kingdom of God (in each man's heart )reigns supreme. When will this happen? According to him and the christian faith, only with the second coming of Christ.

According to other philosophical currents: Man can establish a kingdom of justice on this earth, but trully speaking, it seems to me that we have failed big time. Only 5% of the worrld population actually lives what you can call a "trully" dign, fulfilling, satisfactory and peaceful life, the other 95% is in hunger, war, poverty, misery, opression, etc.

What does the rich 5% do about it? Plain and simply NOTHING!

There is your answer.

keep on, I congratulate you for your courageaous attempt to empathize with those that need it the most, and i wish many others thought more like you. We don't have to wait for any future event to start treating others as we would k**e to be treated ourselves.

Greetings.

Answer 4

I have seen the same scenario but what happened is that the more people around are happy because of the opportunity of that person to enter in a restaurant and the capability to pay. He was a ten-year old boy and so. The staff were so graceful with that boy and they served him with utmost attention. I believe there are exceptions too. Not all have bad virtues.

Thanks for aksing. Have a great day!

Answer 5

Well, if you live in a city, as I do, where there are huge numbers of homeless, it's easy to see why at least some people get prejudiced against them. A lot of them use the streets as an open sewer, it's a little hard to be sympathetic when you look out and see someone squatting in your yard and taking a dump as if they were a dog. And there are panhandlers every block, it gets old. Or when a fellow who gets on the bus smells so bad that people have to leave the bus.

I'm a little unclear about your example too, restaurants (and in fact all businesses) can serve who they want to, they are not required to serve someone who is dressed as shabbily as you describe. I mean, I've been homeless before, but I managed to keep myself looking presentable and you wouldn't know I was homeless unless you asked. Are you asking why people are prejudiced against smelly dirty people?

That being said, I don't discriminate against them and frequently give them money, the less people have, the more of  crime it is to rob them of what little dignity they have. It's a shame that all people don't view the homeless as what they are, living proof that our society has serious problems. Sadly discrimination of all types is rampant in at least USA culture, not just against the homeless.

Interesting question.

Answer 6

GREAT QUESTION!

For the past 20 some odd years I've dedicated a good chunk of my free time and volunteer/philanthropic work to helping the "untouchables" and the socially-abandoned; and although my small gestures of solidarity do NOT qualify me as an "expert" on the plight of the homeless, I have, nonetheless, been privileged enough to gain a unique practical perspective on the subject.

Not unlike most festering social diseases in this country (e.g. Public Health, Public Schools, etc.) homelessness, too, is a complex issue that deserves a far greater and more detailed national attention / treatment that we can possibly offer it in this limited YA forum.  

So let me be brief and to the point:    As long as people/the cynics believe that the homeless are a bunch of no-good lazy bums - thanks in part to a republican administration that hardly even acknowledges their very existence - no real progress can ever be made.  ... People DO NOT live in misery in America because they are too LAZY to help themselves!!!   … Yes, there are always the exceptions to the rule and those who abuse the system, but the overwhelming majority of the homeless, that I've personally come across, either suffer from a serious mental illness, chronic chemical/alcohol dependency, devastating physical ailments, and/or otherwise extreme social prejudice (e.g. if you, per se, think it's easy for a homeless person to just walk into a joint and get a job as a dishwasher or a short-order cook, think again America).   Not to mention, many a decent, hardworking, and law-abiding families in this country are a couple of paychecks or a major illness away from being the honorable guests of the streets.  

There has to be some well-organized halfway homes in this country dedicated to the task of reintegrating the homeless back into the society at large AND care for the rest who are beyond recovery for the remainder of their days in a humanly-dignified manner.   And for those of you who think that’s not the government’s responsibility and believe that the churches and the private organizations are doing a fine job of it already:  Next time try swallowing a lousy meal to a hideous preacher with a loudspeaker shouting “Jesus will save your soul, brother” the whole freaking time.

But to address your specific question concerning the extreme prejudice and social stigma suffered by the homeless:

I cannot really say I blame those folks in the restaurant for not wanting to sit next to (what they PERCEIVE to be, and usually is) a dirty, lice-infested, nasty-smellin', emotionally-troubled, germ-galore of a homeless vagabond, while enjoying their quiet / romantic / anniversary (who knows what) dinner.  

You cannot bring a festering social issue to the focus of a conclusion by examining an artificial and/or isolated incident.   What we all need is a Solution, but that is NOT gonna come anytime soon as long as the government keeps washing its hands of the issue and the sanctimonious cynics (most of whom have never ever gotten involved or so much as even talked to a homeless person) continue to callously tag them as lazy b******s and somebody else’s problem.

.

Answer 7

No society has ever been fair.  NEVER!  

Only the points of discriminations differ.  Some have Caste System where even poor Brahmins are respected and a wealthy well-dressed Shudra is still shunned.  Discrimination based on Caste,  Colour,  Race, Gender abound in almost every Society.

Mahatma Gandhi faced discrimination when he boarded a train in South Africa,  reserved exclusively for the White Men.  He was thrown out unceremoniously.  This insult was what hardened the resolve of this frail-looking man and culminated in the Independence of India.

What you are talking about is a minor issue...in the sense that poor homeless do not dare to enter such grand hotels,  clubs or restaurants.  Every one knows their boundaries...just as the rich would not dare enter a poor/crime-infested area.  Not that I am condoning the behaviour or something.  

Not many people know this,  but in my religion i.e.  Sikhism,  the caste system was done away with,  by our Gurus.  Everyone is treated at par.  There is this unique concept of Langar i.e. Free Kitchen where food is served to all...where rich and poor sit together to eat.  It is said that even Emperor Akbar was made to eat with the commoners when he went to meet our Guru.

Your experience brings to my mind that scene in "Pretty Woman" where Julia Roberts goes to a High-end store to buy clothes but was refused contemptuously....

Answer 8

: )  You seem to have the answer.  Strange you're asking.  But I'm not so sure everyone would be disgusted.  I know I wouldn't.

Answer 9

Many many Years ago, I was living on the Streets,

and yes, snubbed by society,looked down on,

treated as though I had crawled from the very gutter

and verbally abused for my situation.

Which is exactly what it was at that time.

I often think back to those times, and Wish the ignorant and arrogant could see me now!

I can hold my head with pride,I am where I am Today,

because I fought to get here.

Nothing to me was ever handed on a plate.

And to all you Homeless out there,I say,God Bless!

Edit: vj288 How naive you are!There but for the Grace of God go you or I!

Answer 10

I think it's simply the social instinct at work.I don't know even if such a term exists,but what I mean is that society excludes members it believes threaten it(not necessarily the existence,but also the form of it).People who are viewed as outcasts, are people whom the positions the members who enjoy social acceptance would never like to assume.I don't see it as a question of fairness.

Cool experiment, by the way.I don't know if I would ever had the courage to perform it.

Answer 11

I don't think we live in a fair society by any means, but I also don't think your story is an example of it. The reason someone would be homeless is lack of money, and they would not be spending the little they had at a fansy resturant. The fact they are denied sevice is not fair, but leaving the resturant without paying is also unfair. There is a chance you had the money to pay, but a greater you didn't. As for the looks of disgust from the costumers, the tell themselves the reason you are homeless because you screwed up your life and choose the path because it was easier or the only one you left open.

Answer 12

fear, I think poor people are the most hated group of people in our society look at the things the republican party says on here everyday. They will say they pay taxes because of lazy people who collect money from the government & yet ignore the millions that go to rich people. Most poor people don't get anything....I have a son that died & I was helped by some people who prayed for me while I had went through the things that led to his death. I decided to learn how to pray for others & was on the path to becoming a minister. I wanted to hit the city streets & help people to know their is any inner guidance system that can help them no matter what....I was told by the minister in charge that I could not go on unless I styled my hair, wore makeup & dressed like a minister. You can't see me but my appearence is very appropriate....I went to my vanity to put makeup on the next day which I hadn't worn in a while & I couldn't do it. I called & said some people can not afford jewlery & makeup & they are the people I am called to work for so I don't need that. So that was the end of my work with that church. I was giving $60 a week (tithing) & involved in every volenteer project & drew people to me. So I was discriminated against by a church that claimed we are all ONE.  

Answer 13

The vast majority of nations currently on this planet have been greatly influenced by the Western ideals of capitalism, commercialism and consumerism/materialism.

Ones importance and social status is determined by ones possessions, bank account and the ability to acquire more of the same whether or not doing so brings one happiness or not.

Despite that obvious fact that enough exist for all to have what they need, and that more is always accomplished by cooperation than by competition and it is accomplished in a manner that is more beneficial to all the "winners" in life are deemed to be those who "die with the most toys" just as a one time popular bumper sticker read and despite the fact that you never see a hearse with a luggage rack...

Society has seldom sought to be "fair", just as it has never truly sought to be just.  Society is, sadly, all too often simply a commercial enterprise based on greed and the inability of many to see themselves as a part of all else that is or to even imagine themselves walking in anothers shoes.

Be well and, please, be wise.

Answer 14

Gosh JL, maybe you over played the dishevelled aspect of homelessness. There is a homeless gentleman in this town, much respected who stands in a shop doorway, all stop to talk to him and exchange pleasantries, and offer twenty pound notes and gratuity. He is well dressed clean, albeit sans home.

Recently, having witnessed his success a couple of ageing women have installed themselves on a bench opposite to where he stands in a hope to harvest the monetary donations the gentleman is given. They wear heavy makeup, flimsy attire and are obviously passed their prime. Indeed men stop and offer a fiver for which these peasant women are grateful and lavish {{{Hugs}}} clasping each victim to their ample bosoms, and loudly placing slurping kisses upon their passing benefactors... whom more tragic can we say ... JL

Monied Be ...

Answer 15

Hello!

I don't know and he/she would like to know also,because I feel a lot of sorru for them.

Kisses.

Answer 16

We live in human society, such as it is as it is what it is whenever it is. Humans have needs for safety and security and if you contradict that order and structure that satisfies those needs, you are in trouble. Look at you the s****t intentionally going to all that trouble to inflict what you predicted would be unsettling emotion. Even McDonald's has a dress code. By the way, should you misrepresent the poor in your inappropriate actions 'I swore at him and left'