I used to work in a country club while I was homeless and living out of my beat-up car. It was pretty difficult to go to work and see all these other young people my age living the good life, pulling up in brand new Corvettes and BMWs that their parents gave them, spending as much money as I made for an entire two weeks on breakfast, and then heading out to play golf all day, while I was working harder than any of them to have none of the luxuries. The only thing they did better than me was be born to rich parents, yet they were set for life, and I was homeless while serving them gourmet food. Thankfully I managed to eventually fight my way up the ladder, but motherfucker is it hard!
Well, look at it from the bright side: the person in this picture does have a roof over their head.
Do I need to slap an /s on it?
What about the shareholders? … if we deal with homelessness, it will affect the shareholders!
Won’t someone think of the shareholders?!?
Boatless please help
I get your joke, really and truly, but you might be surprised to know a lot of poor people live on boats. I did it. Down at the marina was the shadiest place I’ve ever been.
Now hold on. You say “shadiest” but isn’t that a slur on the fact that a lot of those folks are permanently there instead of swanning in on a sunny day to mess around at leisure?
The good news is, homelessness is illegal in many places now which solves the “unhoused” part of being homeless.
We plan to cut all homeless people in half by 2025!
Kentucky wants it to be legal to just fucking shoot them.
Marvellous. What a Christian solution.
What a trainwreck!
I’m too European to get it. What is the message?
Edit: I do get it now. I was lost in translation.
In Germany, we got two terms that translate to homelessness in English: Obdachlosigkeit (literally “shelterlessness”), defined as living on the street, and Wohnungslosigkeit (literally “appartmentlessness”), defined as lacking a living space rented or owned. “Wohnungslose” people live mostly in communal owned homes or with friends/acquaintances.
So, for me, understanding “homelessness” as “Obdachlosigkeit”, this cartoon was hard to grasp.
I can’t imagine seeing this and immediately turning it into a international dick measuring contest. Maybe have some compassion instead of just making a “Sucks to be you” comment.
Here in Denver, people just ask whether a person “is outside”. That refers to sleeping unsheltered.
People think of the top left as homeless, and ignore the other three. Homeless people can have jobs and go to school, but can’t afford a home or might be homeless due to other circumstances like being kicked out of their home.
But people only think of the top left when someone says homeless.
People think of the top left as homeless, and ignore the other three
That’s because for most people, the question of “what to do about homelessness” is a question of what to do about people who are asking them for money on the street.
To be clear, it’s the landlord’s that are kicking the most people out in 2024. Fuck all landlords.
Kicking more people out than other groups, or than other years?
What is the message?
That you should get out more (or stop ignoring homeless people when you are out). The idea that homelessness isn’t a problem in Europe is absurd.
I never said homelessness is not a problem in Europe. On the contrary – working in a psychiatric hospital I am pretty aware of homelessness in our area. I just didn’t get the message of this cartoon, and I am shocked about what I learned today.
Wish I was able to get out more, though, your analysis is spot on.
The message is that it’s not only the unwashed pan handlers that are homeless. There are a lot of people that are or have been productive members of society that still become homeless. In the US a lot of the obvious homeless have major mental health conditions so many just assume that’s the main issue behind the majority of homless. When in reality it’s low wages that don’t keep up with inflation let alone inceases in cost of living
I’ve been all those kinds of homeless and let me tell you the ones sleeping on the street are also experiencing a totally different category of hardship than those who are homeless but sheltered.
If you think the solution to the homeless is the government, then let me point to the government letting in millions of people (in america), and almost none of them dont have homes. The government doesnt give a shit about you, they are not the solution.
The government is the cause of and solution to most problems in society. Better governments are possible, but it’s a hard fought struggle.
I agree in that the government causes problems that they solve,or at least try to solve and just make a differnt problem. I guess i have never seen a government that truly solves problems, but you could be right.
What are you talking about? If we limit this discussion to somewhat democracies, the government is a net benefit. Without it there would be anarchy.
A government is a net benefit, but we have more than just a government, america has the largest government in the history of the world.
Have you ever seen a place with no government?
Who said I want no government?
The government also constantly suppresses new housing construction. Everywhere.
Why do people like you see immigration as bad? Taking in immigrants is exactly how this country became great in the first place. It’s emphatically un-American, and unethical to blame our problems on immigrants.
I can only imagine you’re brainwashed by the GOP. Take it from someone who lives on the border, these people aren’t a problem. You’re being lied to.
You can take examples of any group and easily villify the whole. For example, 82% of all serial killers are white. “Are white people RUINING our country? More at 11!”
I have not made a comment on immigration, that is a separate question. I will directly comment on illegal immigration, its really bad and should not be done.
And then you repeat bullshit left side talking points about how if people possible disagree with you its because they are a republican, I am not, and everyone (including democrats from 10 years ago) agree that illegal immigration is bad, you should to if you were being honest.
The point of my comment was that its bullshit to claim the left side care about peoples housing sitiation when they are greatly increases pressure on housing by letting millions more people into the US.
Viewing things as zero-sum is convenient. Simple, understandable, it makes us feel smart. Aware. So it makes sense why you would think in this manner.
But anyone who is a fan of freakanomics or other academic economics focused podcasts, the types of podcasts that find where the science meets the real world would know that viewing the world this way leads to much more wrong answers than right answers. Economics is a machine of indirect consequences.
There are not X number of limited housing slots. Houses can be built.
Or can they? Is someone stopping the building of homes? Or are there any events that reduce the supply of homes? Is anyone purchasing a large supply of them?
Immigrants are always used as a racist dog whistle to avoid having people ask such questions as I mention. And it worked well, on you.
But not me. I’m not so simple.
Let me end by congratulating you, you have found your simple answer. And I suspect you don’t focus too hard on scrutinizing your own ideas. Do you? You can feel they are true, you don’t need to examine them.
My only critique, you seem angry, perhaps you should modify your world view and give yourself a better life. The only person stopping you from seeing things differently is yourself. Good luck.
I dont claim its a zero sum game, that is obviously not true. And sure you can build houses, but you can only build houses so fast, and the government makes it harder to build houses. I dont kow the number, but if we are able to build 1.5 million units per year, and we have more people coming in legally and illegally and are being born, then that will obviously have a pressure on housing availability. The issue is that people like you dont understand what goes into building housing, and jsut think “Houses can be built”. Tell that to anyone in housing and they will laugh at you.
Immigrants are always used as a racist dog whistle to avoid having people ask such questions as I mention. And it worked well, on you.
Oh gotcha, you are one of those NPCs that calls everyone racist.
And you call people NPCs.
I do, see above!
Sealioning again.
Do you know where that term comes from?
If you meet one asshole.
You met an asshole.
If everyone you meet is an asshole.
Who is the common denominator?Same idea for racism.
If you get called a racist once.
Maybe you met an unhinged person.
If you are constantly called a racist.
Well…?I don’t live in a world where myself or anyone around me gets called racist, ever.
Do you?
Finally, I never called you a racist. I called your comment a racist dog whistle, which it is. In my view, a non-racist person can say a racist thing and remain non-racist as long as they are willing to learn from it and grow. I judge actions, not people. However if such actions continuously are sourced from an individual, what is the rational conclusion to reach in that matter besides that the person shares the beliefs that generated those ideas?
To provide a bridging analogy, I don’t assume everyone holding a baseball bat is going to hit me with it, but if I go to a park and see a guy swinging his baseball bat at people. Is the correct conclusion to assume, “He’s not a person that hits people with baseball bats.”? You’re swinging the bat, if you want people to assume you aren’t going to hit them, stop doing that.
Okay here it comes. I think you’re racist because the only opposition you can conceive of to immigration is race-based.
You see racism everywhere, because race is the lens through which you view the world.
But I’m sure this is your first one, so it’s not yet a pattern and you don’t have to address it.
There’s more vacant homes than homeless people.
Homelessness is a policy issue and is a symptom of how we treat homes as a commodity, for the generation of infinite profit, rather than as a human necessity.
That is not how housing or homeless work. You cant just put homeless people in houses and expect that to do anything.
Arm the homeless.
