Writing about the fact that for many of those who are poor, homelessness is never far away, Diane Nilan evokes a image:
Today as I drove across Texas’ backroads, I saw lots of roadkill, including a wild boar. It got me to thinking about people in poverty–they are the roadkill on the Capitalism superhighway.
An absolutely true statement as any honest free market capitalist will tell you, and very often in evidence–such as in the post by Dan Popp in which he misappropriates the words of Jesus Christ, “The poor you will have with you always,” in the c’est la vie attitude of many who accept the idea that capitalism demands haves and have-nots.
Your thoughts?
(Get Unheard No Longer for the latest in the unheard.)
In a somewhat meandering article that looks at an attempt in Colorado Springs to outlaw the homeless by outlawing camping is public areas,
Kathy Kelly arrives at a brilliant perspective:
We can donate from our own resources to fight poverty at home and thereby deny these resources as taxable income that our government can employ in causing more despair, poverty, and displacement abroad. And we can build bonds of community and shared purpose, organizing in our neighborhoods, our cities, our schools, churches, and workplaces, to build a world wherein no one is left out in the cold.
Charitable giving as a form of social protest and peaceful resistance against a government and society focused more on spending public money on waging foreign wars than caring for its own most vulnerable people. I love it.
Your thoughts?
“Civic leaders became alarmed when the Irving school district ended classes last year reporting more than 1,000 homeless children, as poverty among students continued to climb.”
Dallas Morning NewsLet that sink in for a moment.
A woman decides to take her kids and escape from a domestic violence situation. She does not have any financial resources. Would you care to lay odds on her chances? Read more…
Unfortunately I have to agree with this writer’s assessment: “Dream on.” But as a concept, I’m in total agreement.
When a homeless person approaches you, look them in the eye. Ignoring them isn’t going to make the reality of their existence go away. Read more…
Oh, wait. 40 percent of the homeless are women and children. Let’s think about that. Read more…
That idea that widespread beliefs about the homeless could be myths could be shocking, is in itself, shocking. Coming across an excellent article titled, “Homelessness Myth #6″ has lead me to travel back in time a comment on the entire series. Read more…
Last weekend three homeless people died of exposure in Santa Barbra, California. That’s California, where the late night temperatures were in the 40s but cold enough to kill. Read more…
I often am tempted to slide into feelings of despair when it comes to the true values of this country, but then I read something like this, and it gives me a slight feeling of hope.
http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2010/01/newsom_chui_call_for_blue_ribb.php
