The Homeless, Apparently Unworried by Life Circumstances, Take Amorous Romps
I am completely disgusted by the tone of a Philadelphia Inquirer piece today. The headline? “No short-term fix to rid Phila. park of homeless.” How about this for a headline: “No short-term fix to find homeless people housing” or “No long-term affordable housing available in city.” Let’s examine further:
A predawn amorous romp. A bath. A morning shave.
Acceptable behavior for your home. But for a public space like Rittenhouse Square?
The above scenes played out early yesterday among homeless people there, and while residents interviewed expressed dismay, city officials suggested there were no short-term fixes.
Neither the police nor the mayor’s office offered any solutions yesterday to end what appears to be a growing problem with homeless people at the square, a jewel of Center City.
First of all, what constitutes “acceptable behavior” is entirely subjective. If the homeless were washing up in a (currently nonexistent) park at 48th and Kingsessing, you can bet your ass the Inky wouldn’t think it was unacceptable, nor would they suggest as much in a front-page lede.
But the Inky is all over this beat — yesterday they ran another crap headline: Homeless remain a problem in elegant Phila. park
I grew up on “elegant” Rittenhouse Square. I came home from the hospital and went straight into the Dorchester, where my parents put me in a dresser drawer until the crib was delivered (hence my claustrophobia, I think). I had countless friends who lived on the Square. It was our hangout. And I can tell you this: This so-called “growing problem” has always been around. And every few months or years, the extremely wealthy people who live on the Square get up in arms about it and want something done.
My parents now live at the Rittenhouse Plaza, and I have never once heard them say they wished the homeless would disappear. They see them as people who are in a bad place in their lives, whether due to addiction, mental illness, alienation from family, socioeconomic disadvantage, foreclosures, etc. And what do people need to do to preserve their dignity? Brush their fucking teeth, that’s what. Because if they don’t, and they require emergency health care, the rich people will complain about paying for that, too.
What’s sad about the way the article is contextualized — in terms of headline, photo, and lede — is that the rest of the content in the article is quite sound. For example:
Dainette Mintz, head of the city’s Office of Supportive Housing, said the city is focused more on creating permanent housing for homeless people than on criminalizing sleeping in parks.
This is a progressive attitude on the part of the Nutter adminstration, also described in the piece:
“Mayor Nutter spelled out a homeless plan that called for providing 700 units of permanent housing for homeless individuals and families.”
That’s the kind of action that’s needed. But the article also quotes Barbara Craig, who lives “near the Square,” saying, in response to a man bathing in the fountain: “As a resident, you don’t like to see it. It’s kind of gross.”
You know what’s gross? That a grown man has to clean his body in public, in front of disapproving eyes of people like Craig. Can you imagine how humiliating that could be for someone?
And what’s with this generic use of the term “homeless”? How do we know what this man’s circumstances are? There are a lot of assumptions being made in this article, but the way they’re framed — especially with the photo — are simplistic and offensive.
This isn’t the first time the Inky’s headlines and ledes have contrasted with the content of the pieces. Who’s writing the headlines there?
Fortunately, the editorial board has some dignity (not like the romping homeless!), and they ran this piece today as well. And the Inquirer has done good coverage of this issue in the past. Context, people. Headlines. Photos. It all matters.
There’s a related poll, too:
What’s your reaction when you see homeless people in public places?
-Sympathy
-Empathy
-Revulsion
-How can I help?
-Why doesn’t the city do something?
-It’s a free country, let them be
-Outrage
I’d like to use the same poll with this question: What’s your reaction when you see dehumanizing headlines and sensationalistic framing devices? Sigh.
No short-term fix to rid Phila. park of homeless
Providing housing for Phila. homeless is slow going
[Image via PhillyIMC.org]
liz | 9:58 AM | Uncategorized
It’s amazing how quickly forget what it’s like to be human when we have creature comforts—it’s so easy to take a restroom and a sink (two very simple things) for granted. In Portland, OR (where we used to live) they passed a sit-lie ordinance, which is just basically a way to keep the homeless from being anywhere private security officers or police don’t want them. Instead of fixing the housing/mental health/veterans’ programs issues, they spend money on an ordinance telling people where they can’t sit in a city??? It’s called being lazy and greedy and I think once tougher times hit more people we might wake up and realize these people, the ones who have to bathe or brush their teeth in public, are just trying to survive. I can’t imagine not having access to a restroom.
Liz,
thank you for pointing this out. My illness and alcohol abuse to try to tame the voices in my head led me to a sprint of homelessness in 95. I was fortunate, I was living out of my car.
I wouldn’t wish this upon my worst enemy.
Thank you for pointing out the plight of the homeless. It’s something we really need to think about but don’t because it’s easier to shut our eyes and pretend they don’t exist. I can only talk about my experiences across the river in Jersey, but it’s sadly similar.
I don’t believe the mainstream media gets much of anything right, so when I see these kinds of headlines I am truthfully a bit numb to them.
I have never been homeless. I have worked with the homeless and firmly believe that there but the grace of God go I. So what do I feel when I see homeless people? Sympathy, empathy, how can I help and why do most of our cities want to just put them out of sight vs deal with the issue?
And to Barbara Craig (”as a resident you don’t want to see this, it is kind of gross”), she should be ashamed of herself. Or better yet, homeless for a month.
Liz,
It takes a whole lot to offend me, but this
article certainly did. The snobs who are making comments regarding the
homeless are lucky to have a roof over their heads. A little humanity, people.
Dennis
Having lived in New York now for 5 years, homeless people have simply become part of the landscape. They are on the subway asking for money. They are on the sidewalk with signs lettered in bold marker saying “Hungry,” “God bless you,” and so on. If they can’t get into a homeless shelter for the night, they are lucky if they can assemble one out of cardboard.
Since it would be impossible for me to give to all of them, I try to help out those who are young, I suppose since I can relate in some way. I remember this couple – they couldn’t have been much older than 18 – who when I offered to buy them one of those $5 foot long sandwiches from Subway, they just went ecstatic. Way more gracious than I’ve ever been when someone else has bought me a meal.
Headlines like that give people permission to take the attitude that homeless people are undeserving and inferior, less than human. That is disgusting.
this article had particular sting because I read it 2 days after volunteering for a 24-hour road race sponsored by Back On My Feet, a local non-profit that gives support to the homeless. I may’ve missed it, but I didn’t see any event coverage in the Inky.
The bottom line on people’s attitudes toward the homeless—they don’t want them around. Period! The disapproving looks come from over-inflated egos due to the fact that the egotistical asses had the advantages and opportunities in life—the homeless, in many cases didn’t. Is it any wonder that many homeless have a bad attitude? It’s the accumulated effect of thousands upon thousands of negative experiences. If you can’t help, then leave people alone. Take those upturned mucus drainage pipes attached to your face, which you’re so fond of gazing down at the world from, and shove them in one of the lower orifices of your “bathed” body. The advantaged of society do not reside on Mount Olympus any more than the homeless live in the sewers at night. No one is better than their fellow man, even though people readily accept the illusion that they are.
No one to date has come up with a plan to help people get off the street. And let’s face facts while we’re at it. Most rescue missions, shelters, and day centers don’t really care about the homeless. In fact, most of them treat the homeless like crap. That’s why most homeless sleep and reside outdoors rather than shelters. Missions are set up to make money for the director and board. That’s it. They live off the money that comes in and leave the scraps for the homeless to squabble over. I know this from first-experience. The people that run the shelters have as much disdain for the homeless as residents of any town or city do.
The best way to combat homelessness is to bring back the jobs that were shipped overseas and put people back to work. Dignity is built by permitting people accomplish their dreams by effort instead of denying them the opportunity of provide for themselves. If the economy goes swirling down the toilet, as many economic forecasters are predicting, this country is going to have more to worry about than people bathing in fountains and ruining their scenic view because homeless people are in the way. In fact, some of the very same jackasses that go out of their way to scorn and deride the homeless may find themselves residing in their company. “Any fresh water in that fountain?”
I have written about the terrible treatment if the homeless: one man that I’m friendly with was even set on fire by people in a car. I think for many people the visual reminder of that which is wrong with our society brings out the worst in them. Just as the playground bully picks on the weakest, so do some adults.
One of the issues aggravating the homeless, is the desire for officials to have them clean/sober before they place them in housing. Which is patently rediculous. The good news is that they’re beginning to realize that having a roof over one’s head goes a long way toward helping a person get off drugs/alcohol.
Many people that I’ve spoken with are afraid of the “shelters” that the city provides. As the looming foreclosures build in the city, and the return of vets with health issues not cared for, I have no doubt that the lovely folks at Rittenhouse Square will be seeing more than just one person brushing their teeth.
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