Much of what we do day-to-day and deem as "normal" is based on social norms of this culture. Social norms tell us that you go to college after you graduate high school, and after that you get married and have children and a career. Social norms tell us you eat birthday cake on most birthdays and get drunk on your 21st and what is acceptable to wear in public and to value money and well-esteemed jobs.
If we look at homelessness in that frame, we might see it as a counter culture. These are people refusing to adhere to the social norms of paying money to live in a house or apartment with personal belongings and a lock and key.
It might not be that simple, but those living on the street or living nowhere (or everywhere, as the case may be) have their own ideas about survival and the importance of certain things we automatically view as necessary (money, for example).
We, those with homes, and those that value homes, are the ones who coined the term "homeless," giving it a negative connotation by using one characteristic about select individuals as a defining characteristic.
People in this situation have their own set of norms and standards. They know the safest place to sleep, they know where to go for a free meal, and they know where to stash their belongings when they need to go somewhere else. People living on the street have learned to live with less; they are surviving, after all, but their lives look much different than what we are shown as normal.
And just as it would be very hard for someone like me to be thrown out on the street, it is often quite hard for someone who is homeless to conform to four walls and a bed to sleep in. Some don't want it, some can't stand it, some don't understand it. Offering a chronically homeless person a place to live, to call his or her own, isn't solving any problems. This person would have to undergo major lifestyle changes in order to live comfortably in a house.
Counter cultures and sub cultures are often given a negative connotation by mainstream thinking. They live differently, by definition, and this often puts off others. Seeing homelessness in this light might help one to understand why so many people who are perpetually homeless live this way. To someone who has a distinct set of values and social norms, the mainstream social norms might seem bizarre and undesirable. For example, working in an office everyday for money to pay someone in exchange for a place to live might seem complicated and unnecessary.
Helping people and bettering a community becomes blurry when using this perspective. How can you help someone who doesn't value living indoors and working? Should you, or is it better to accept their lifestyle as a choice?
--Megan
If we look at homelessness in that frame, we might see it as a counter culture. These are people refusing to adhere to the social norms of paying money to live in a house or apartment with personal belongings and a lock and key.
It might not be that simple, but those living on the street or living nowhere (or everywhere, as the case may be) have their own ideas about survival and the importance of certain things we automatically view as necessary (money, for example).
We, those with homes, and those that value homes, are the ones who coined the term "homeless," giving it a negative connotation by using one characteristic about select individuals as a defining characteristic.
People in this situation have their own set of norms and standards. They know the safest place to sleep, they know where to go for a free meal, and they know where to stash their belongings when they need to go somewhere else. People living on the street have learned to live with less; they are surviving, after all, but their lives look much different than what we are shown as normal.
And just as it would be very hard for someone like me to be thrown out on the street, it is often quite hard for someone who is homeless to conform to four walls and a bed to sleep in. Some don't want it, some can't stand it, some don't understand it. Offering a chronically homeless person a place to live, to call his or her own, isn't solving any problems. This person would have to undergo major lifestyle changes in order to live comfortably in a house.
Counter cultures and sub cultures are often given a negative connotation by mainstream thinking. They live differently, by definition, and this often puts off others. Seeing homelessness in this light might help one to understand why so many people who are perpetually homeless live this way. To someone who has a distinct set of values and social norms, the mainstream social norms might seem bizarre and undesirable. For example, working in an office everyday for money to pay someone in exchange for a place to live might seem complicated and unnecessary.
Helping people and bettering a community becomes blurry when using this perspective. How can you help someone who doesn't value living indoors and working? Should you, or is it better to accept their lifestyle as a choice?
--Megan
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