Quote:
Originally Posted by thedoc
Sep 18, 2007 1:52:07 AM cite
The phrasing of this OP suggests that homeless people are a problem to be solved. It expresses a kind of Bigotry, 'I have a home, a job, and a car, and if thats good for me it should be good for you, and if you don't have these things, there is something wrong with you that needs fixed'. Why are people homeless ? Some have no choice, they have lost everything and are on the street, and may need help. Some have chosen to live on the street with no stress from a job or family, and no responsability, a kind of freedom that others just talk about. Before you 'Help' someone by putting them in a shelter or a home find out what they want. You do not have the right to impose your standards on others.
by thedoc
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Actually, if they're in the church, I think that the church (which if you read the OP doesn't have a shelter attached to it) has every right to impose their standards on those who are clearly there for help. Remember, these folks voluntarily walked through the doors of the church looking for, if absolutely nothing else, a warm, dry place to sit for a few minutes. The church is providing that.
The freedom-seekers you mention wouldn't be caught dead in a church or anywhere else. They'd be under a bridge or in the shelter they made for themselves. I've known several guys like that, but they're not the norm. The habitually homeless (i.e. not folks that lost their jobs) are overwhelmingly demonstrably mentally ill and can be (but aren't by any means always) dangers to themselves and others.