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I have heard unhoused used recently instead of homeless, and thought it was strange. (I about it about it again after seeing a Trevor Noah piece on the Daily Show the other night). Is the term unhoused supposed to impart some sort of dignity to those living in tents under an overpass or something like that? I'm curious when this term for the homeless came into use and why it did. Anybody know?
It's called political correctness. This kind of crap has been going on since the 08 era. Only now has the locomotive throttle been thrown open to notch 8.
Probably for the same reason the government does not want us to use the term "illegal aliens" but instead "undocumented immigrants".
At this rate of ongoing censorship one of us is going to perform an SPAD and violate a major safety rule. (Signal Passed At Danger) and get a good earful from Dispatch.
The words 'house' and 'home' are closely associated to mean a place of a person's permanent residence.
It makes no distinction as to what a person's actual residence may be. That comes from the assumption anyone who owns a house must live in it because that was most people's intent. They built or bought a house to own as a lifetime home.
Anything other than a house, solidly built on a foundation, was thought to be temporary. Or for the poor, unattainable.
if a person lived in any other residence, the difference was described as an apartment, or a tenement, or a rental, but nothing took into account a residence on wheels or a permanent residence that could be moved easily from place to place, such as a tent.
There have always been people who lived permanently in a residence that was moveable, but there was never a description that fit them very much. That reality presented a serious problem for taking the census, which always depended on fixed addresses.
'Unhoused' was a word invented to describe those folks. Those who moved around a lot, whether rich or poor, moving from choice or necessity, with no economic distinction implied or intended. It was very useful for the census, which by law has to be as complete a counting of us all as possible.
But socially, the word took on a different meaning. It indicated to some folks to be nothing but a more politically correct way to call the homeless the homeless.
That came from the ignorance of only seeing the poor folks who live on the streets. These people never think of someone who owns a large luxury RV as being homeless, even if the owner has no other permanent dwelling.
They also never think of all the sober, working people who lost their permanent dwellings from forces they couldn't control, or from mistakes that weren't made because they were on drugs. Or, most recently, those who were forced to leave their family homes for any reason and cannot afford any permanent dwelling. Or have to survive until one becomes available.
They think all homeless are addicts, because the two words have gone hand in hand so long.
But the fact is most addicts are never homeless. They have permanent dwellings. Those who choose to leave them for a life on the streets are unhoused. They are junkies, but not destitute, and they may be working very hard every day to stay high. So the word cannot describe their actual lives. No single word could.
'Homeless' has also come to imply a person is a lazy bum who could work but won't. Again, that's not a true assumption.
A working person can still be on the job, completely sober and paying taxes, with a bank account, kids, and own everything in life but a house.
Unhoused covers all the very different conditions of homelessness in a more neutral word that has fewer social conditions attached to it. The word is new, but the conditions are as ancient as anything can be.
We were "homeless" for a year, traveling all over, staying at hotels, AirBnBs and the homes of friends and relatives.
I think calling people like us nomads would be more descriptive.
I think fortunate and privileged would be even better. Neither of these terms has anything to do with lifestyle choices of people with fat bank accounts.
I think fortunate and privileged would be even better. Neither of these terms has anything to do with lifestyle choices of people with fat bank accounts.
Nomads are not necessarily poor, but yes, I feel fortunate. I also like living in one place once more.
Politically correct euphemisms have been around for a long, long time. They are designed to shield government from the embarrassment of not adequately handling a particular problem.
George Carlin has a great routine about euphemisms.
The words 'house' and 'home' are closely associated to mean a place of a person's permanent residence.
It makes no distinction as to what a person's actual residence may be. That comes from the assumption anyone who owns a house must live in it because that was most people's intent. They built or bought a house to own as a lifetime home.
Anything other than a house, solidly built on a foundation, was thought to be temporary. Or for the poor, unattainable.
if a person lived in any other residence, the difference was described as an apartment, or a tenement, or a rental, but nothing took into account a residence on wheels or a permanent residence that could be moved easily from place to place, such as a tent.
There have always been people who lived permanently in a residence that was moveable, but there was never a description that fit them very much. That reality presented a serious problem for taking the census, which always depended on fixed addresses.
'Unhoused' was a word invented to describe those folks. Those who moved around a lot, whether rich or poor, moving from choice or necessity, with no economic distinction implied or intended. It was very useful for the census, which by law has to be as complete a counting of us all as possible.
But socially, the word took on a different meaning. It indicated to some folks to be nothing but a more politically correct way to call the homeless the homeless.
That came from the ignorance of only seeing the poor folks who live on the streets. These people never think of someone who owns a large luxury RV as being homeless, even if the owner has no other permanent dwelling.
They also never think of all the sober, working people who lost their permanent dwellings from forces they couldn't control, or from mistakes that weren't made because they were on drugs. Or, most recently, those who were forced to leave their family homes for any reason and cannot afford any permanent dwelling. Or have to survive until one becomes available.
They think all homeless are addicts, because the two words have gone hand in hand so long.
But the fact is most addicts are never homeless. They have permanent dwellings. Those who choose to leave them for a life on the streets are unhoused. They are junkies, but not destitute, and they may be working very hard every day to stay high. So the word cannot describe their actual lives. No single word could.
'Homeless' has also come to imply a person is a lazy bum who could work but won't. Again, that's not a true assumption.
A working person can still be on the job, completely sober and paying taxes, with a bank account, kids, and own everything in life but a house.
Unhoused covers all the very different conditions of homelessness in a more neutral word that has fewer social conditions attached to it. The word is new, but the conditions are as ancient as anything can be.
"Siri, show me what word salad looks like."
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