Forty-five years ago we called them “bums.” We now call them the “homeless.” And we’re talking about the same breed of people. They were called bums forty-five years ago because they traversed populated areas, refused to work, and lived out of the pockets of hard-working taxpayers. Have these people evolved to a higher level and now deserve to be called the “homeless?” Or have the “politically correct” suckered us into becoming “nice” and “compassionate,” thus feeding into and promoting this social pestilence?
Nourishing A Social Monster
It is my persuasion that our society has become burdened with a self-made social monster that is not only growing by leaps and bounds, but is eating at the very fiber of our nation. And we continue to encourage this monster and nourish his appetite by equipping him with food, money, and shelter. He will never work and provide for himself as long as we supply his needs. Why should he surrender a slothful lifestyle when it is bolstered by working men and women? Like the wild animals in Yellowstone National Park, the longer we feed this monster the longer he will come back for more. I guess I’m a little old fashioned, for I still cling to the apostle Paul’s words, “If a man will not work, he shall not eat” (2 Thess. 3:10).
Three Classes
I see three classes of street people. I have compassion for the first two, but little sympathy for the third class. It is this group I am now addressing. The first two classes of street people are the mentally incompetent and those who have, for no fault of their own, lost everything—jobs, income, homes. Indeed, these people deserve help. An organized effort should be initiated to get these two groups off the street and back into a productive life. The mentally incompetent should be placed in institutions, assuming they have no kin to care for them. Those genuinely “down-and-out” should be sought out and given food, lodging, and jobs. But the third group, by far the largest, should not be encouraged to continue their lazy lifestyle by giving them handouts. These bums have
chosen their lifestyle. They want no other.
Examples
1) A reporter, in a large Southwestern city recently, walked the streets and offered work to these so-called “homeless” people. According to the press account, not one person accepted his offer. They didn’t want to work, but rather intended to continue living out of the pockets of others. This same reporter, one day, followed a man, his wife, and a daughter home after they had panhandled all day on a street corner—the same street corner they had been “working” for weeks. They drove a fancy vehicle to a luxurious house in an affluent neighborhood. Upon investigating, the local paper reported this threesome were “earning” thousands of dollars a week from suckers who played their game.
2) In Orlando, Florida, not too long ago, a hard-working taxpayer offered a job to one of these bums who was panhandling on a street corner with his wife and daughter. The panhandler asked if lifting would be part of the job, “because,” he said, “I have a bad back and neck.” The man offering the job asked him if he could file papers. He answered negatively, and added, “Why don’t you just give us the money?” (This incident was reported to me via e-mail only recently by the fellow who offered the panhandler a job.)
3) A reader of the Sarasota (Florida) Herald Tribune wrote the following letter to one of its columnists:
“Ms. Kelley: The picture of the homeless camping in the woods was a good tear jerker technique that you liberal reporters do every now and then. You should have been paying attention to the photograph because it shows that no matter how down and out they are, they can still afford beer, potato chips, and cigarettes. These people want to be homeless. They are mostly lazy and in Florida because it’s warmer down here. Otherwise, they would be on someone else’s doorstep.
“Why don’t you personally try to offer them a day’s pay for a day's work—doing anything, such as mowing your grass, cleaning along the highways, doing manual labor, and so forth? See how many take you up on your offer. Not many, if any. If any did, chances are they would work just long enough to get enough money to buy more beer, potato chips, and cigarettes. These people want to be in this situation. They love it when people like you feel sorry for them. If people like you would leave them alone, they might eventually get some incentive to clean themselves up and find a job and go to work.”—T.T. Scott.
Here’s One More Interesting Episode
A few months ago, in our neighborhood, a strong-looking man and his woman spent a whole year sleeping at night on the Bus Stop bench, across from our residence. Upon investigating, I found the man to be able-bodied and his woman had just recently quit her 14-year job at
McDonald’s. They “made their living” by panhandling taxpayers, some of whom worked at the local
Target store.
The police ran them away from their “sleeping quarters“ occasionally, but they always returned. Finally, they were forced by court order to vacate the Bus Stop bench. They then moved their “habitation” to the shade of a tree in a park, only a few hundred feet from the Bus Stop bench.
All of their belongings were carried in a Target cart. She spent the early mornings grooming herself under the tree, and he spent most of his time reading novels. Not once did either of them look for employment. The last time I heard anything about them, they had panhandled enough money from hard-working taxpayers to rent a cheap apartment.
Countless stories like these could be told until the “cows come home,” and there would still be many more to tell. But you get the picture.
Differentiating Between The Groups
But how may we differentiate between the three groups? There’s no problem here. The mentally incompetent are easily identified. The latter two groups can be identified by offering them jobs. Bums won’t work. The genuinely “down-and-out” will. A recent survey indicated that about twenty-four percent of the “down-and-outs” are working full-time, but are not making enough to afford housing—therefore, truly homeless. Some of this, I suspect, is due to their spending a sizable percentage of their income on booze, drugs, and cigarettes.
In conclusion, let us not neglect those who are authentically homeless. On the other hand, let us not throw fuel onto the fire by shelling out money to those who are addicted to an aimless and idle lifestyle.
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