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The image of crime revolving around homelessness |
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Written by John
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Sunday, 24 February 2008 |
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 Henry Bemis posts a blog on Livejournal.com and included an exerpt from the NY Times a few days ago, but the story by the Times painted a one sided picture of the criminals both involved and revolving around the homeless residents of many communities throughout the world.
While it's true we hear of teen age angst, drug and alcohol induced acts of aggression, and motives of hate or fear being the root causes we don't hear about many of the other criminals or their motives.
That's because it's simply not politically correct. When a person experiencing homelessness is found stealing, there's more than enough armchair quarterbacks to stretch the issue like a piece of taffy.
What about those committing crimes against people experiencing homelessness, theft of services or assets originally for the provision of being received by people experiencing homelessness? That's when human nature shows it's ugly side the best. Values are minimized, backs are patted, and victims of crimes become 'ungrateful'.
The people experiencing homelessness.
When an employer fails to pay an employee and gives excuses on a regular basis, it's unacceptable. When the employee is someone experiencing homelessness, the story turns to one of the employer being unfairly slandered.
When an employee from Wal-Mart takes a television or groceries out the back door without paying for it, it's called theft. When an employee of a service provider does likewise in front of digital video cameras the matter is hushed...the person experiencing homelessness who witnesses it and comes forward through due process of established grievance procedures ends up either intimidated or denied services. CEOs down to employees then become branded as using propoganda tools for policies that are non-existant except when used for their purposes.
These are practices I've seen personally that have affected the lives of many people experiencing homelessness. It's a matter that transcends borders and communities, while undermining what everyone trying to resolve the problem of homelessness throughout the world accomplishes.
Trust. Relationships. Fairness. "Us and them"ism.
Crime is crime. Victims are victims. Decades ago society in this country pointed the finger at skin color. Later they pointed it at people of sexual preference, gender choice, or lack of. More recently we've pointed at those wanting to escape poverty, persecution, and life threatening situations from our closest bordering neighbors.
 When it comes to people experiencing homelessness, in my opinion, things won't change until they themselves begin collaborating and organizing for themselves and get taken seriously as a threat to people who've chosen to victimize them for decades in some cases.
Riots based on color have occurred. Financial organizing and blackballing based on sexual preference have occurred. How people experiencing homelessness will effect change in the future with it's options available to them will be only limited to what's available as time goes by.
If...they ever get it in their heads they're a force as equal to any other throughout this country's history. |
