Is BEING HOMELESS A CHOICE?

[darkwing69]

Homeless is a choice, now really it doesnt make sense that anyone really would choose to be homeless, and normally they dont. On the other hand they choose not to do the things one has to do to keep from being homeless.

[Istlota]

Originally Posted by Jill

If your logic is true then never, never, ever give to a "bum (your words) a dime or volunteer in a shelter or any social organization because you would become one of us. How insane.

Giving to individuals, anonymously when possible, is an admirable thing to do. But, people need to understand that it is the rare charitable organization which channels all the money you donate to people in need. Sometimes, for instance, some of the money pays the salaries of homeless shelter directors. And, need I remind anyone that billions of the dollars donated to Katrina and 9/11 relief funds have yet to be acocunted for?

Two years later Katrina, billions in relief funds missing

My last donation to a shelter was for $5000. I was a fool. A lot more poor people could have gotten a lot more help if I had just driven around town and doled out that money as cash to people living out of cardboard refrigerator boxes and shopping carts.

And, unlike homeless shelters, I would not have lectured them about their bad choices, or insisted that they sit thru my self-righteous prayers for their lost souls, nor would I have invaded their privacy by collecting all sorts of personal information for those forms shelters fill out on the people who come to them for help.

[Istlota]

Originally Posted by Jill

Question: What "good choices" leads to homelessness?

You are unfamiliar with the life of Guatama Buddha, born rich as the son of a king, who --- recognizing the illusive power [Maya] of this world --- chose to live an ascetic life, literally begging for alms on the street?

It was from his choice to lead the life of an ascetic that the Buddha came up with his Four Noble Truths. These Truths reveal that the sufferings of this mortal life can not be alleviated by money, job, or a home. The sufferings of this life cease when I Realize the I AM Who I Am.

Choosing to separate from the way of this world -- from its focus on making a living, getting paid, and getting laid -- is one way, one choice, one Yoga, which may quieten the noise of the senses so that the glory of the Light of Life may be revealed.

But, if you have no respect for the wisdom of the Buddha, perhaps, you have at least heard of the choice of another brother to be homeless:

Matt 8:20 - And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

[Istlota]

I have been following the unfolding story of this brother, Rickey Green, 33 years old, who happens to be homeless by choice. His story illlustrates the hostility our society programs into its citizens against the homeless.

A homeless man is beaten in a hippie haven: Why? - San Jose Mercury News



Green was a Sonoma Valley yuppie, working as a graphics artist. But, he left all that, strapped a guitar to his back, and chose to live on the street in Bolinas, California -- s small town of about 1600 with the reputaton of being a home for ex-hippies. His thing was wandering about the town, speaking of his "spiritual journey", and performing on open mic nights.

From comments the media has gathered from the townspeople, it sounds like some townspeople liked him and some hated him.

Things took a turn for the worst when a group of youths beat up a homeless friend, also black, of Ricky's. The next day, Ricky approached a group of partying youths on the beach and, according to their version of what happened, asked who wanted a piece of Ricky. Their answer was to stab him, beat him with a skateboard, bottles, and a flashlight, and then kick and beat him some more after he went down. Twenty other people on the beach witnessed the beating, but chose not to attempt to stop it.

Strangely, I have read reports from six different news outlets and none of them mentioned a word about anything Rickey Green has said about what happened. But, I am not that surprised. Our society does not care about the views, values, and/or motivation of the homeless.

What the media is saying is that, after Green was released from the hospital, he went right back to living on the street in Bolinas. Now, that seriously intrigues me. I would LOVE to sit down with this brother and find out what motivated him to approach those young thugs on the beach. None of the media reports mention a word about him fighting back. It is as if he decided to offer himself up as a sacrificial lamb to protest the beating of a fellow homeless black man.

The media has printed pictures of Ricky Green. But, so far, I have not found one picture of any of the six people the cops arrested. Nor has their race been revealed. At least two of the assailants are 21 years od age or older, so their pictures are not being withheld because of any concern for the rights of minors.

CBS interviewed a hispanic man in front of whose house the first beating took place. He said that there were two reasons for the beating --- race and the fact that the town does not like outsiders. He also said his spanish friends are now making sure they're home before dark.

[afrocentric]

islota, i'm coming back to this. i need sometime to marinate on this. see ya.