Several weeks ago a coworker and I were having a discussion about the homeless and beggars around campus. His thoughts were that the people should stop lying about expecting handouts and go get jobs and that if he gave them money they would likely just end up spending it on drugs or alcohol. Last week he emailed me this picture he had stumbled upon that he believed illustrated his point.
The image sends a strong message about how we feel about and perceive the homeless. Stuart Hall says that classification of subgroups of humans is a natural cultural impulse and upon viewing this image (or any homeless person for that matter) you classify the person as being lazy, uneducated, dirty and the list goes on. The sign demonstrates the laziness of the homeless; they are looking for something for nothing. They are only deserving of your loose change or small bills with which you are willing to part. Hall also mentions Mary Douglas theory of “matter out of place,” and the image shown here shows how in this case matter is in its place. A homeless person in the streets is acceptable, and in this image the person could be seen symbolically as a piece of societal garbage, sitting in the street among other literal bits of trash. However, when a homeless person attempts to use a lobby or underground parking garage for warmth and shelter, they become matter out of place and need to be cleansed and order needs to be restored.
The man is also visibly dirty. His clothes are ragged and his beard is unkempt and just the sight of him conjures up that smell of a person who has not bathed in weeks in your mind. The man is poor and homeless because he is gross, dirty and lazy. Unfortunately, he may not be lazy, but he is gross and dirty because he is homeless so nothing is going to change for him anytime soon.
I myself would have to agree with the friend who is talked about at the beginning of this post. I find myself being reluctant to giving a homeless person money because I think that they will probably just walk down to the local bar and spend it on a beer rather than on food. I have no clue what homeless people actually spend the money they are given on but I don't understand why I should feel obligated to give someone my hard earned money. I find this image interesting though because it does play into the stereotype that many people have towards homeless people.
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree as well. I, though, am guilty of giving a few dollars here and there to people as I see them on the street with their signs.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with what is said in your post though, why don't these people spend their time looking for jobs instead of being on the side of the street. But the other thing is, we don't know their life, mental or physical health, history, story, or anything about them. I'm sure that most of them are scams, for drugs, alcohol, you name it. But who's to judge that there are people that are doing it to try to get there feet back on the ground. We can't say without knowing them.
Like all of those who have commented, I would also have to agree with the idea that majority of society today views homeless people as scams and people who are "lazy" and just free-loaders. I also agree with the fact that homeless people can make a change and do better if they actually try to attempt in finding a job or source of employment, even if it is hard or impossible with the circumstances they live in. I understand that we get this instant view because of what others have told us and how we are influenced but their vies. However, there are only two opposing sides to this, the arguments and positions we take, based off our how we classify things/people, and either has a negative view on Homeless people or positive views, in which these people had uncontrollable situations. It's true we don't know every story and everyone has a story behind their lives but then there's those, like this man in this picture, who has a story and the nerve to blatantly display is honest need for beer. Which position can you really take and how do you classify such peoples, based off on images like this, images in reality and images you hear from others?
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