More Good (National) News... *sigh*

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Traemo said:
Let's test that theory. Using only your local public library, teach yourself organic chemistry over the next 6 months. To test the efficacy of this instruction, at the end of the period you will have to take and pass an exam with no less than a 85%.
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Go for it. I'm already an engineer by trade- one I first picked up by reading the national electrical code book from cover to cover (spoiler alert: it's a dry and boring read). After that I put myself through community college to earn a degree in drafting. Of which I got a 95% and graduated with deans honors and as a member of phi-theta-cappa. So in a way, your theory is already confirmed. The library does help, maybe not in full but certainly in part and as a good way to get someone started.
 
Slomo said:
Go for it. I'm already an engineer by trade- one I first picked up by reading the national electrical code book from cover to cover (spoiler alert: it's a dry and boring read). After that I put myself through community college to earn a degree in drafting. Of which I got a 95% and graduated with deans honors and as a member of phi-theta-cappa.
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No need to brag. As you say, any homeless person could do the same.

Kinda makes you wonder why homeless people enjoy living on the streets, especially when they're all geniuses. I suppose they find the sheer joy of begging justifies the low pay.

I met a homeless man in London once. He told me he agonised for ages when deciding whether to take up a job offer of becoming Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University, but his preferred choice was to study as a beggar, specialising in shoplifting. He earnt enough to get his heroin qualifications less than a month later! Not even Stephen Hawking is that clever! He's still studying hard and expecting to have even more letters after his name by the end of the academic year -- HIV, HEP-C, and a double OD.
 
tiny said:
No need to brag. As you say, any homeless person could do the same.

Kinda makes you wonder why homeless people enjoy living on the streets, especially when they're all geniuses. I suppose they find the sheer joy of begging justifies the low pay.

I met a homeless man in London once. He told me he agonised for ages when deciding whether to take up a job offer of becoming Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University, but his preferred choice was to study as a beggar, specialising in shoplifting. He earnt enough to get his heroin qualifications less than a month later! Not even Stephen Hawking is that clever! He's still studying hard and expecting to have even more letters after his name by the end of the academic year -- HIV, HEP-C, and a double OD.
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Apologies, I wasn't trying to brag. Only give an example in response to Traemo's challenge.

And yeah, your example drives in it is a CHOICE to be homeless. Just as it is a choice to give up and stop trying.
 
Slomo said:
Apologies, I wasn't trying to brag. Only give an example in response to Traemo's challenge.

And yeah, your example drives in it is a CHOICE to be homeless. Just as it is a choice to give up and stop trying.
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It was an absurd parody. The point it makes is exactly the opposite to your interpretation. :-/

Anyway, what were your reasons for choosing to be homeless? How come you only stuck it out for a week? Did you just change your mind? What was it that attracted you to that lifestyle?
 
I'm going to be brutally honest (About the original topic of this thread not the pissing contest that is a pointless argument about homelessness.)

I think its funny as fuck. Dude breaks into a walmart,hides in a bathroom, then the employees leave and lock up. You know, in most places its considered policy to check the bathroom before you lock up, especially since the whole drug epidemic crap. So not only were these employees negligent the day before Black Friday of ALL Days to be negligent. But then the dude goes, ransacks the baby aisle, puts on adult diapers and does whatever else you know he did that they aren't telling us. His actions put a hold on Black Friday which undoubtedly pissed a lot of people off. To that I applause this man. Black Friday is a stupid concept designed to get people to spend more money on things that will just be half price in the clearance section after the new year. So why save $1 now when you can save $100 in a month? Again, while I don't condone what this man did, I applause him for fucking up Black Friday.I also applause whoever fucks up Cyber Monday because I'm sick and tired of my internet being slow that day.
 
AddyShadows said:
I think its funny as fuck. Dude breaks into a walmart,hides in a bathroom, then the employees leave and lock up. You know, in most places its considered policy to check the bathroom before you lock up, especially since the whole drug epidemic crap. So not only were these employees negligent the day before Black Friday of ALL Days to be negligent. But then the dude goes, ransacks the baby aisle, puts on adult diapers and does whatever else you know he did that they aren't telling us. His actions put a hold on Black Friday which undoubtedly pissed a lot of people off. To that I applause this man. Black Friday is a stupid concept designed to get people to spend more money on things that will just be half price in the clearance section after the new year. So why save $1 now when you can save $100 in a month? Again, while I don't condone what this man did, I applause him for fucking up Black Friday.I also applause whoever fucks up Cyber Monday because I'm sick and tired of my internet being slow that day.
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Ha-ha! Yeah. My first thought when I read this--after giggling about the diaper stuff, of course--was: Heads will surely roll. And man...it would suck to get fired from a (literally) shitty Walmart janitorial job only a month before Christmas. Suckow could have some street-justice heading his way.
 
Starrunner said:
No one truly prefers to be homeless. It is dangerous, life-threatening and humiliationg.

Certainly, the nearly 50 percent of homeless people who are women and children don’t choose to remain homeless over being housed. The number of homeless people who are reportedly veterans would presumably prefer to re-establish the lives that they had before their military service rather than choose to remain on the streets. The LGBTQ kids who make up approximately 40 percent of street-involved youth after getting thrown out of the family home would give anything to have a roof over their heads rather than be vulnerable to street predators. And the roughly 40 percent of people suffering from clinical mental health problems and addictions do not really have the mental capacity and ability to choose being housed over being homeless. The biggest barriers to housing are the lack of affordable housing and proper supports.

The myth that people choose to live on the street allows us to turn our backs on the most vulnerable in our society. With another bitter cold winter just around the corner, there is little doubt we will see people die from exposure and hunger. Homelessness also puts people at risk of violence, theft and assault.

Homelessness requires creative solutions, not condemnation or the perpetuation of stereotypes. The Housing First model, for example, has been highly successful in taking people with a wide range of mental health issues off the streets and housing them in rental units while providing ongoing and comprehensive support services. The vast majority of the clients have retained their housing, stayed off the streets and gotten help for their mental health challenges and addictions. In addition, the program has been proven to be more cost effective than the shelter system, hospitalization, and incarceration.

http://homelesshub.ca/solutions/housing-accommodation-and-supports/housing-first

Going further, we need to get to the root causes of homelessness and recognize the triggering factors. A high percentage of homeless people were in government care as children. People who have experienced neglect are also at a higher risk than the general population to experience homelessness, while physical or sexual abuse have also been shown to significantly increase the likelihood of homelessness. Those who have experienced more than one of those things are approximately 25 times more likely to experience homelessness in their lifetimes. If we want to help homeless people get off the street, we have to stop blaming them for their state of homelessness and instead, recognize the precipitating factors.
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While the majority of people prefer not to be homeless with the circles i hang around in i know of a few people who have become homeless out of choice/squat buildings, they busk and do jobs off the books.

They do it because they disagree with how society is working, i would suggest you give squat the planet a google, it will give a bit of information on these type of people who prefer to live a nomadic lifestyle.
 
tiny said:
It was an absurd parody. The point it makes is exactly the opposite to your interpretation. :-/

Anyway, what were your reasons for choosing to be homeless? How come you only stuck it out for a week? Did you just change your mind? What was it that attracted you to that lifestyle?
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I was court ordered to move out (due to a heated disagreement I had with my brother playing loud music while I was sick with the flu).

And you're right, I did choose to be homeless for a week. I knew it would be easier to save up money sleeping in my car, than paying someone for an actual roof over my head. I did not enjoy that lifestyle, but it allowed me to quickly save up enough money to relocate to another state. And once I had enough money (after that one week), I left. Found an immediate move in appartment, and went to work at a temp agency.
 
So Slomo, all those who are so medically infirm they are physically incapable of working, to the point of being unable to pay their bills and thus being made homeless - what, pray tell are they supposed to do? Same for those who are suffering from severe mental illness or disabilities who have slipped through the cracks of any support systems, who couldn't even look after themselves let alone hold a job. Do THEY just choose to be homeless?

Also, generally employers, regardless of the industry, require you submitting a resume followed by an interview if they like the look of you before you can get a job. Good luck getting contacted for an interview when you don't have any sort of phone number, and good luck making a good impression when you're wearing what you've been sleeping in for the last 3 months. Prejudice is rife, and if they can tell you are homeless, you usually won't get a second look.
 
Shard said:
So Slomo, all those who are so medically infirm they are physically incapable of working, to the point of being unable to pay their bills and thus being made homeless - what, pray tell are they supposed to do? Same for those who are suffering from severe mental illness or disabilities who have slipped through the cracks of any support systems, who couldn't even look after themselves let alone hold a job. Do THEY just choose to be homeless?

Also, generally employers, regardless of the industry, require you submitting a resume followed by an interview if they like the look of you before you can get a job. Good luck getting contacted for an interview when you don't have any sort of phone number, and good luck making a good impression when you're wearing what you've been sleeping in for the last 3 months. Prejudice is rife, and if they can tell you are homeless, you usually won't get a second look.
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He can't answer you — he's been banned.
 
OmiOMy said:
He can't answer you — he's been banned.
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What happened, we have talked before and he seemed fine.
 
Another thing to keep in mind is the outrageous cost of housing in many places. You have to go where the jobs are but that job is not enough to pay the exorbitant rent of the cheapest place you feel safe enough to rent. Even the rat traps are over priced. Wages have not kept up with the cost of living--and that leads to the even bigger, but related subject of income inequality. I was lucky since my wife is a tribal member and we were able to get into tribal housing--after a several-year wait on the waiting list. We were always just a step away from homelessness.

There are lots of things that can go wrong here in the states that can erase your income, leave you destitute, and leave you homeless.

When you get back Slomo, not everyone can do it. I have physical and mental issues holding me back and I have tried to hold a job--it just doesn't work well no matter how hard I try. I'm just lucky that my wife is able to work and I still have a tiny bit of my disability money trickling in. I lost half of my disability since my wife got a job and "makes too much money." It works in the long run but I now also have to pay my formerly subsidized Medicare premium and I had to find a new insurance plan--since I was kicked off of my former health plan due to our income increasing. Now I have high co-pays and my out of pocket costs will spike, but all of this just makes me want to ignore my medical problems or shuffle off my mortal coil. So we try to take a step forward and we are batted further back into poverty even though my wife works full-time. That and since she is working, our rent has been climbing up.
 
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