Tuesday, 5/27/97 Why society equates ‘homeless’ with ‘worthless’
DISCRIMINATION: Greed, fear of being poor drives hatred of
vagrants
The other day I was on a city bus and a vagrant attempted to get
on. When he approached the door, the bus driver stopped him and
asked him where he wanted to go. Before he had a chance to try and
explain his destination, the bus driver slammed the door in his
face and exchanged a derogatory comment with a woman sitting near
him. That was the most blatant prejudice I had ever seen in my
life. Now I’m not meaning to down bus drivers. I don’t think they
are any less compassionate than any one else and maybe this
particular bus driver had had some recent problems with the
homeless. But I don’t think that that should be an excuse. I think
that this was a perfect example of the public’s general attitude
toward the homeless and was symptomatic of a deep loathing and
distrust that is held for these people, which is particularly
problematic here in Westside and in other affluent areas around the
country. Why are we disgusted by homelessness? I don’t think the
answer is as simple as it may seem. Of course there are the excuses
commonly given: the physical appearance of derelicts, a lack of
good hygiene that repulses us. And there are the superficial
rationalizations, like "poverty breeds crime" and "the homeless
need to commit crimes to survive." But I think that if we could see
these "reasons" for what they are, our fundamental humanity, logic
and compassion would overcome these prejudices. An entirely
different, perhaps simpler, but often avoided, explanation exists.
We don’t see them as human beings. Their loss of land, of a home,
of prosperity, and, most importantly, cash, mutates the homeless
into a state of being that’s less than human. In a world were
everything and everyone is a commercial, our most wise and sage
prophet is Bill Gates, and international relations has become a
global marketplace. It’s not hard to see how we can’t understand
existing without money. Man’s mantra is "I own therefore I am."
Man’s purpose is to prove his right to be here, his right to take
up space on this increasingly overcrowded planet. And today’s
method of proving our worthiness is by proving our superior
purchasing power. Of course I am more important than you if you
dedicate your life to convincing me that some worthless shit is
worth buying. Of course this planet is meant for me if I own more
of it that you anyone else. Man is better than beast because,
although he may not be stronger, he has managed to gain more
territory and more things. This is man’s constant race, acquire
more, to prove himself worthy of his legacy of dominant species. So
what of those who have fallen behind or aren’t even in the running?
What of those who don’t own land, have no territory? Even animals
have territory, although we’re taking more and more of it from them
everyday. Are these spaceless, propertyless beings less than
animals? It’s also easy to see why the Westside is more vulnerable
to prejudice against the homeless. One summer in high school, I
worked at a fast food restaurant in Westwood, and this particular
place was frequented by the homeless. As a cashier, I served them
when they were allowed inside, and I became familiar with the
regulars. It became evident quickly that they were as diverse as
any other segment of the population, not just in terms of
demographics but also in terms of personality. Some were mentally
ill and couldn’t interact well with others. Others were mean and it
was hard to have sympathy for them. But some were just struggling
to stay alive and stay human, and, if given half a chance, would
command respect. Yet everyone around them treated them all
superficially, with the same disdain and disgust. These creatures
were taking up valuable space, wasting air. They had no claim to
this planet. They couldn’t control their own destiny; how could
they control the earth? And perhaps the strongest thought of all
was the knowledge that it could happen to anyone, even if you’re
from Beverly Hills. The dread of becoming like "those people"
propels us to reject them from society. We create laws that kick
them out of parks and off beaches and off San Vicente because we
say that they ruin the beauty and corrupt the area. But these same
laws don’t apply when the government gives industries the right to
chop down forests in order to put up factories. Is business more
important than people? Or do we not see them as people? We feel
sympathy for them from afar, donating huge sums of money to
charities to build shelters like they were wild game preserves. But
we won’t come too close, as if the inhabitants were untamed
animals. We don’t want to be reminded that we too can undergo a
metamorphosis into these vagrants and that perhaps our claims to
our lands and our property are not as divinely ordained as we would
like to believe. We must re-insert a sense of perspective in our
images of the homeless. They are as human as everyone else and that
should be evident by their vulnerability. Not to be preachy, but
everyone has the right to be here. Everyone has the right to exist.
Letting go of our egos and admitting that we are not all powerful
and all-owning may make us more human. It is our humanity that
allows us to recognize and accept the similarities among us even
when our fear won’t let us. Kester is a first-year undeclared
student. Alicia Kester