There are few groups subject to more cultural stereotypes or politics of representation then homeless men and women. Homeless people are commonly thought to be dirty, uneducated, mentally ill, substance abusers, or basically the scum of society. If American culture sees rich people as ‘successful’ and poor people an ‘unsuccessful’, then it sees the homeless as ‘completely failed.’
The sight of a homeless person on the street causes an emotional reaction for pretty much everyone. People will often avert their eyes, not wanting to make contact. Parents will pull their children closer to them and walk a little faster as they pass. Often people will feel empathy (or sympathy?) for these men and women and hand them a dollar or two. Many people walk by without doing anything to help. Restaurants will often not let homeless people come inside, not wanting to scare away the other customers.
The people who stand on street corners with cardboard signs are often very much distrusted. There is a wide idea in our culture that the people on street corners only use this money for alcohol or drugs. Also, everyone has heard of homeless scam artists, who beg for money by day, and then drive home to a nice house. These stereotypes have greatly affected how people view the homeless population.
The picture above and the idea of ‘hobo-phobia’, seems to be very representative of modern American culture. Poverty and homelessness are real problems in our society, pretty much everyone agrees upon that. Politicians talk about the problems of poverty, and will often take photo-ops helping out at soup kitchens, but I would honestly not expect any US politician to go sit down next to a homeless guy on the street for a photo-op anytime soon. Our culture seems to praise food drives that collect cans of food, yet shun the dirty homeless along the street. This seems to relate back to the idea of the ‘deserving’ or ‘undeserving’ poor, an idea that originated during the industrial revolution in England, when homeless people were gathered into poor houses. Some groups, like single mothers or children, are greatly sympathized with when they are in poverty. Unfortunately, our political and social culture does not extend this same care to the ‘hobos’ on street corners; they are instead viewed in a much more negative way.
I thought this was a very interesting post. I never would have thought to write about hobos, but they are extremely subject to stereotypes. I admit that I'm one of those people who does avert their eyes and walk quickly past a homeless person on a street corner. I definitely agree with you that our society is very hard on the homeless population and that we do label them as failures. It is very hard to distinguish between those that do just use the money for drugs and alcohol, though, and those who really are just going through a rough patch and need the money to feed themselves. I feel like people wouldn't view them in such a negative way if there was some way to distinguish this, but their isn't. So for now at least, the few who do just use the money for drugs and alcohol are ruining the reputation for the entire group.
ReplyDeleteThis probably one of my favorite post so far. I also liked the title, very creative. I find this piece highly relateable and eye apealing. Im sure many of us are guilty of stereotyping homeless people. I kno i am guilty of turning a bllind eye when I see some homeless people and i stop at a light. Its not because I am trying to be mean, i just have mixed emotions about thier situations, and was also hesitant on giving them money because I wanted to know thier real motives for the money. So my opinion can be similar to Megan's above
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