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Story in the Chronicle this morning that a homeless man living in a SF Shelter actually had quite an accomplished life... married, home and position of great responsibility... also close college friend of Mayor Lee...
In a nutshell... life changed when he and his wife divorced and liquidated... he had 50k from the sale of his home in Olympia WA and headed to the Bay Area were he had siblings and that only lasted so long...
The reporter said he was intelligent and articulate... the story was too fantastic to believe yet it all checked out...
This person said he is not atypical... he has met bankers, business owners, etc... on the streets.
Working in tech, I have came across a variety of individuals hired to work on short term projects. Their duties typically include basic data entry, reception work and other misc. office jobs.
From my recent experience working with a short term temp, the following should be noted :
1. Just because a person is in poverty, does not indicate low iq or lack of ability. Absolutely not. I found in many cases, and this individual in particular, something that makes one think , why is this guy not working in a good full time office job?. He is more that capable in doing it. Compared to many seasoned workers at the company, he is the only one who has any input or ideas. The others i.e full time workers, were blank and mainly robotic types , stopping at nothing to preserve their jobs. The more I chatted with this temp, I found that he was one of the most intelligent, perceptive, intuitive and positive people to come across. He did not and would not work full time. In his own words he was more than happy to take his chances as a temp and not endure the all out spiritual destruction of working full time.
2. There is a fine line between having the good and respectable life and one day, through no fault of your own, find the entire world as you know is turned upside down. It is the gamble that goes along with membership in the middle class. For single types, with no kids or mortgage, picking up the pieces and starting where you left off is much easier. If per chance , you took the big gamble , mortgage and kids and the cars, then lose your job for instance, good luck in getting back on your feet. The stress of making domestic budget cuts along with anxiety about meeting mortgage payments is tough to bear. Now factor in how the kids react to the whole situation. Not pretty at all. Without some major helping of good luck, life will take a downward turn for certain. Hence, all the tough stories revolving around those who have been "caught out" or miscalculated some steps and now will pay for it.
3. Despite what many will say, I have found some of the "cleaner" homeless people to be genuinely happy to not have to work again. I emphasize cleaner , as there are a fair number of homeless too strung out on drugs and suffering from mental illness to have any degree of personal hygiene. For those with some self respect, the idea of working in a dull office , then playing the politics and putting up with the grind of daily work is a total non runner. The rest of us just grit our teeth and get through it all. Work is called work for a reason.
Working in tech, I have came across a variety of individuals hired to work on short term projects. Their duties typically include basic data entry, reception work and other misc. office jobs.
From my recent experience working with a short term temp, the following should be noted :
1. Just because a person is in poverty, does not indicate low iq or lack of ability. Absolutely not. I found in many cases, and this individual in particular, something that makes one think , why is this guy not working in a good full time office job?. He is more that capable in doing it. Compared to many seasoned workers at the company, he is the only one who has any input or ideas. The others i.e full time workers, were blank and mainly robotic types , stopping at nothing to preserve their jobs. The more I chatted with this temp, I found that he was one of the most intelligent, perceptive, intuitive and positive people to come across. He did not and would not work full time. In his own words he was more than happy to take his chances as a temp and not endure the all out spiritual destruction of working full time.
2. There is a fine line between having the good and respectable life and one day, through no fault of your own, find the entire world as you know is turned upside down. It is the gamble that goes along with membership in the middle class. For single types, with no kids or mortgage, picking up the pieces and starting where you left off is much easier. If per chance , you took the big gamble , mortgage and kids and the cars, then lose your job for instance, good luck in getting back on your feet. The stress of making domestic budget cuts along with anxiety about meeting mortgage payments is tough to bear. Now factor in how the kids react to the whole situation. Not pretty at all. Without some major helping of good luck, life will take a downward turn for certain. Hence, all the tough stories revolving around those who have been "caught out" or miscalculated some steps and now will pay for it.
3. Despite what many will say, I have found some of the "cleaner" homeless people to be genuinely happy to not have to work again. I emphasize cleaner , as there are a fair number of homeless too strung out on drugs and suffering from mental illness to have any degree of personal hygiene. For those with some self respect, the idea of working in a dull office , then playing the politics and putting up with the grind of daily work is a total non runner. The rest of us just grit our teeth and get through it all. Work is called work for a reason.
I've had co-workers in the past when I was a very young adult who didn't want to be at the same job more then 6 months before moving on to another business/company just to do the very same thing they did at the previous job(s). Not sure if this was a mental disorder, phobia, or what. But I found it rather odd behavior at any rate.
Isn't it amazing how someone would choose living on the streets eating out of a garbage cans instead of working and paying child support? I bet there's a lot more of them out there because of that then we would imagine.
Yes... I think so... they would rather make a point and go down with the ship.
On the other hand it shows what happens or how some deal with difficult situations.
The consequence is living in a shadow economy with many resolved to mere existence.
The difference is, when communities in fly over country do not provide services for their down and out, places like California have to pick up the tab. Homeless services do not come out of federal funds. It is mostly state and local tax dollars. So working people get screwed because losers from fly over country want to get hopped up on smack and sleep under a bridge all day. Of course if they went *back where they came from*, the local citizens and police would not tolerate it. So they come here, because they can get away with their antics.
They are treated WHERE they currently are. You can't coerce people into moving back to Omaha because 30 years ago they lived there with mom. Here are your choices.
1) leave them on the street and hire more cops to arrest them every week or so, and more sanitary workers to pickup the crap on the sidewalk.
2) provide supportive housing and surround them with services that they are not coerced into accepting.
I've worked with the homeless and I have read more about it than I ever thought I would and I can't find any other long term viable solution. We are not going to rewrite the constitution so that we can 'deport' people to other states, cities or counties - so why go there?
And that approach will fail. The homeless will not go to those places unless driven there by the weather. Typically they are forced to leave their belongings in a common area where other residents rifle through them and steal from them, or they are physically assaulted by other inmates and the homeless with pets are not allowed to bring their pets with them. Every time I see a giant room with a hundred mattresses I want to scream, the homeless want nothing to do with those places.
One local East Bay community has been actively working with homeowners and businesses concerning people sleeping in doorways, using drugs, littering and defecating...
Police know all just about all by name... maybe 80% men and 20% women...
The routine is nothing happens until they cross a line... then they get picked up and held 72 hours for evaluation and typically released and reappear.
There are no shelters for single men around here... men are left to fend for themselves.
Working in tech, I have came across a variety of individuals hired to work on short term projects. Their duties typically include basic data entry, reception work and other misc. office jobs.
From my recent experience working with a short term temp, the following should be noted :
1. Just because a person is in poverty, does not indicate low iq or lack of ability. Absolutely not. I found in many cases, and this individual in particular, something that makes one think , why is this guy not working in a good full time office job?. He is more that capable in doing it. Compared to many seasoned workers at the company, he is the only one who has any input or ideas. The others i.e full time workers, were blank and mainly robotic types , stopping at nothing to preserve their jobs. The more I chatted with this temp, I found that he was one of the most intelligent, perceptive, intuitive and positive people to come across. He did not and would not work full time. In his own words he was more than happy to take his chances as a temp and not endure the all out spiritual destruction of working full time.
2. There is a fine line between having the good and respectable life and one day, through no fault of your own, find the entire world as you know is turned upside down. It is the gamble that goes along with membership in the middle class. For single types, with no kids or mortgage, picking up the pieces and starting where you left off is much easier. If per chance , you took the big gamble , mortgage and kids and the cars, then lose your job for instance, good luck in getting back on your feet. The stress of making domestic budget cuts along with anxiety about meeting mortgage payments is tough to bear. Now factor in how the kids react to the whole situation. Not pretty at all. Without some major helping of good luck, life will take a downward turn for certain. Hence, all the tough stories revolving around those who have been "caught out" or miscalculated some steps and now will pay for it.
3. Despite what many will say, I have found some of the "cleaner" homeless people to be genuinely happy to not have to work again. I emphasize cleaner , as there are a fair number of homeless too strung out on drugs and suffering from mental illness to have any degree of personal hygiene. For those with some self respect, the idea of working in a dull office , then playing the politics and putting up with the grind of daily work is a total non runner. The rest of us just grit our teeth and get through it all. Work is called work for a reason.
Good observations mostly.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FC76-81
I've had co-workers in the past when I was a very young adult who didn't want to be at the same job more then 6 months before moving on to another business/company just to do the very same thing they did at the previous job(s). Not sure if this was a mental disorder, phobia, or what. But I found it rather odd behavior at any rate.
Consider that contemporary society is a far cry from our basic evolved form. I don't find it a bit surprising when some people don't want to "play house" with modern cultural norms. I am one of those people. I am a high school dropout and social drop out but I found my answer successfully existing on the fringes through being blue-collar self-employed (had a little one-man print shop), and living on boats (sometimes for free "on the hook" at anchorages including Richardson Bay).
Lots of people like me in this world. Artists, writers, musicians, philosophers and many other obsessions. Not all are as practical and resourceful as I have been. *shrug* Who says you have to be? Who says you have to belong to this insanity of exploding populations driven to consume resources unsustainably while impoverishing your mind as you wallow in cheap baubles and heavy traffic?
No, most homeless aren't like me. But some are. And others prefer their art or other obsessions to full-time career employment paths. I like boats, sailing, fishing. Tell me what damage that does to the circus we call civilization.
The homeless don't start wars, poison the environment with industrial pollution, poison their fellow man with toxic food products and pharmaceuticals, they don't bundle high risk mortgages into securities that fail and crash the global economy. All those things are done by people living in homes.
Whatever happened to the concept of true freedom? Why has that become against the law of nature in most minds?
It does pose the question of can anyone really be free anymore... it's not likely a person can live off the land hunting and trapping and living in a cabin hewn from local timber.
For me the great divide started in earnest with the requirement under law that each adult secure/purchase Health Insurance under penalty of law.
Outside of Alaska and those living a nomadic life... what options are there?
What I don't understand is the filth that accumulates at these camps... filth is not a word I use lightly... I'm a live and let live person... turning my city streets, doorways and creeks into garbage dumps crosses the line.
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