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Homeless in America

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Harold Washington died for you

15:24 / 13.11.02

Had one of those annoying, disgusting, brutally necessary revelations a couple weeks back. No need for explanations beyond that.

I wonder, and come to the hefty minds of Barbelith to help me wonder, about being homeless today. To paraphrase Vincent Vega, I wanna be a bum. This is directed mainly at the North American contingent: (no Greyhound buses to Europe as of yet) how and where should a self-made man, a made man himself, go to be poor? I need a short vacation in the Wilderness and also need a guide.

15:36 / 13.11.02

Yeah, cos it's cool to be homeless: all that free time you'll have, and it's gritty and authentic and you're down with the peeps! Dude! Yeah! Politically radical! And, you know, it'd only be temporary, right? You could go back to your old life afterwards, yeah? Cool. It'll be an experience, right?

You wanna know where to go?

Oh, I could fucking tell you where to go...

Harold Washington died for you

15:39 / 13.11.02

So tell me.

Harold Washington died for you

15:40 / 13.11.02

And a link to the appropriate mapquest page would be appriciated. I am serious.

ONLY NICE THINGS

15:41 / 13.11.02

Be fair, Jack. The boy has just been dumped. Show a little mercy.

15:45 / 13.11.02

*takes deep breath*

All right. You honestly want to be poor?

Then for fuck's sakes make yourself useful. Join the Peace Corps. Join a monastery. Join the Army. Make a pilgrimage. Make a sacrifice. Make a difference.

But for fuck's sake don't be a Pulp Fiction-quoting authenticity-craving hobo-wannabee. Jesus.

So what's your problem, man? Stricken with white liberal guilt all of a sudden?

Harold Washington died for you

15:55 / 13.11.02

I want to be richer than Croesus's wet dreams. I have been forced into this situation by way of poor personal choices and various psychoses. I want to find out experientially if a mane with nothing but will can prosper. If all else fails I can always kill myself.

16:01 / 13.11.02

...

I have no words. There are simply not enough synonyms for fuckhead to begin to cover this.

Harold Washington died for you

16:15 / 13.11.02

I have used all the synonyms and made up some more and used them too. There are none left for you.

I asked a simple question and you are alternately berating/sichoanalyzing me. I guess "somehwere in Mass." is out. Anoyone with useful suggestions? A big city or small town? How does Canada deal with wetbacks?

Less searchable M0rd4nt

16:23 / 13.11.02

I bet this guy could give you a few pointers, M.M. Why don't you ask him? I'm sure he'd be impressed.

16:39 / 13.11.02

I asked a simple question and you are alternately berating/sichoanalyzing me. – Morocco Mole

It's not a simple question, MM. It's an utterly asinine idea. It's tasteless, pretentious and an extremely ill-thought out method of dealing with your personal pain: You're running away instead of dealing and confronting.

If you can't even deal with your own shit, how are you going to deal with the street?

16:41 / 13.11.02

Q: Why don't people who post on Barbelith who live in "squats" for nebulous political reasons not get this kind of lambasting?

16:45 / 13.11.02

Because a "nebulous political reason" is at least a reason, instead of some idiotic will-to-power bullshit.

Note to Morocco Mole: Fight Club was a comedy, not a lifestyle handbook.

the garden gnome

16:49 / 13.11.02

gardens are always nice, in a tropical area that is.

I had my Jack Kerouac October in the Railroad Earth experience a few years back. it wasn't fun. it wasn't anything like I had expected. I was cold. I was hungry. I was wet. I smelled of brie on a muggy Texas night after a dog had shit on it. I had set out to be the struggling writer with a message to the masses, I ended up jaundiced with a bad back.

now, however, I have a gold paying career, wife and am working on the 1.7 cars in the parkway and the 2.4 kids in the bloody yard. don't ask me about the 2.8 pets, I ate them when I was " experimenting"

that's all I have to say about that...

17:10 / 13.11.02

Cabin in Alaska, Montana or Vermont - somewhere where there are no neighbors to bother you.
Gather plenty of firewood, and get lots of warm clothes before you go.

It worked for Thoreau, except he only did it in the suburbs, basically. And it worked for Ted Kaczynski, too, for a while.

There are always the Mountain Men to look to.

17:16 / 13.11.02

Jack and Haus: Just what he needs right now, eh? Be called a fuckhead and have his problems ridiculed. Well done.

17:18 / 13.11.02

It's called tough love.

Now stop whining and get on with your life, you bleeding-heart pissant.

17:22 / 13.11.02

You call it "tough love". I call it reckless, unnecessary display of self-righteousness. But then, *semantics*, eh?

17:26 / 13.11.02

Why don't people...who live in "squats" for nebulous political reasons... get this kind of lambasting? – Dover Thrift Edition Todd

I'll take a stab at answering that:

With squatting, the issues tend to revolve around affordable housing – people want to live somewhere but they can't afford the rent, space is available but it's not being utilized, etc. Whether or not one approves of squatting, most of us are down with the concept of affordable housing. So squatters will be cut some slack, even if Mom & Dad send a weekly check to their Postal box.

Homelessness is more complex in that there are so many variables involved besides housing: two that come to mind are health care/hospitalization (some homeless people are too ill physically or mentally to hold down a job and function in everyday society; many have been released from psychiatric wards) and domestic abuse issues (some folks out on the street are on the run from abusive spouses, parents or guardians, and are too young/scared to figure out how to find help). The concept of homelessness by choice really belongs to the realm of myth; the vast majority of people out on the street don't want to be there.

17:29 / 13.11.02

it wasn't fun. it wasn't anything like I had expected. I was cold. I was hungry. I was wet.

I love this, it's like when Leonard Bast goes for his walk and finds that the dawn is nothing special. I think it's good to find things out for yourself, even if it's finding out nothing much. Hard to express.

If you're going to Alaska, bring a map! So you don't starve in a bus like that poor Chris McCandless guy, twenty feet away from the highway. The book that Jon Krakauer wrote about him, Into the Wild, is a pretty good read.

Being rootless really was a core fantasy of mine for a long time. But somewhere along the line, I got cats. You can be rootless with a dog, even. But cats like home.

Less searchable M0rd4nt

18:15 / 13.11.02

It should also be pointed out that a lot of the people on the board who choose to squat may well be in shit jobs with shit wages, or unemployed. The kind of housing you can afford on low pay is often only marginally better than squatting in some disused office somewhere.

18:36 / 13.11.02

Mordant: That is quite true. There are many, many squatters who inhabit abandoned buildings out of need – the inability to pay overpriced rents in gentrifying neighborhoods. And it's frustrating to see them get evicted once they've put time and what little money they have making the building as safe & livable as possible.

I certainly did not mean to imlpy that ALL squatters get weekly checks & care packages from Mom & Dad! I've seen all sorts – families, the elderly, differently abled folks...

Harold Washington died for you

18:51 / 13.11.02

What is the Truth then? If a reasonably intelligent individual can be lost to the world (me) what hope is there in the libertian ethic of the Barbelith? What hope is there in any truthful inspection of the System.

I wish to be in the loving comforting arms of a super-power-figure of infinite wisdom and grace. O God, where art thou? I have realized that God is a fiction, parents and community are a worthless illusion. What is a new athiest supposed to do? The monestary is an insane asylum for the powers, the Army(Air Force,Navy,Marines) I have no need to comment on, the Peace Corpse are a tool for the "true" left who are morbidly guilty of PRIVILAGE (not my disease.) What is left? A mediocre life of service to the powers, an empty life of service to forces that do not need to ask spiritual guidance? What would I bolster by my "enforced" poverty with? This is the heart of the question. Is poverty some stigmata of consciousness? Or, to flip the "scrip", is poverty the ultimate rejection of rationality? Through the rejection of "normal society" can I somehow break free of the normal. the expected, the almost matrimonyworthy? Perhaps. I gather that most if not all of those who have responded to my simple plea for assistance have bought wholesale the script of the powers. Or I really am schizo. The question stands. What is a reject of capitalist economy to do? I am not joining the pack. I refuse to question my beliefs (as they stand.)
Who will help the widow's child?_

18:57 / 13.11.02

So why are you turning to us for help?
Community is a worthless illusion, after all.

You don't owe anything to anybody? Fine. You've opted out of the social contract, then. So do it your own goddam self and shut up about it.

18:59 / 13.11.02

Oh, and the idea of service, of being of use other people is "buying into the script of the powers"?

You've just read Ayn Rand for the first time, haven't you?

19:11 / 13.11.02

Jesus, look MM, I'm much more sympathetic to your plight than a lot of other people around here seem to be. If you need to be 'homeless' (and for what it's worth I think it's your choice of words that's pissing everybody off - as some have pointed out) and go have an adventure on the other side of materialism, go for it - go wander around; after you get hungry enough you'll do what you need to survive, and I bet you'll learn a lot about yourself you never knew. The thing is, you may come wish you'd never learned them.

As for the wholesale rejection of the system, when you do you find a workable alternative to the mediocre life of service please let me in on it; I've thought about that quite a bit too and learned only to keep quiet or face derision from anyone in hearing range. Good luck

19:38 / 13.11.02

Forget the Peace Corps, they charge to join..

Go join a Mother Teresa house. They're in every country practically, and need the help. It would do some good for you and the world.

OR

Join a commune. It seems like that's what you're looking for. Being outside society while being around people and trying to get some inspiration or revelation. Do a web search or just go to Oregon, British Colombia or California. I'm sure you'll find some nice hippies/anarchists/etc. to live with.

Tuna Ghost: Pratt knot hero

02:37 / 14.11.02

Or, MM, you could give Discordianism a try.

02:48 / 14.11.02

go to San Fran...largest contingent of the working homeless imaginable. Being burned at both ends (working and poor) but the weather's a bit nicer in the winter than on the east coast of the US.

And keep in mind...stepping back is a good thing and sometimes good to be alone...but there are consequences for these actions and you'll never fully wrest control of everything. Simply impossible.

04:36 / 14.11.02

You can come to New York. Get a blanket, (if you private message me I can give you details on how to sleep in a blanket in below zero weather and still feel warm) and learn how to live on the street.

Harold Washington died for you

14:49 / 14.11.02

Yeah, sorry about that. I really am broke and I am living out of my car right now. I am unemployed and I have missed all my classes since this shit started (the most embarassing thing about being homeless is thinking what you must smell like to everyone else). Thing is, the car is not technically mine so I can't sell it and my savings are just about gone. So I can camp out in various parking lots and hope el Nino will make this a warm winter, or find somewhere new.

I am not intentionally trying to get off on the (roflmao) Ayn Rand or even Discordian trip, it just happens that those philosophies really start to resonate when you are curled up in the back of a tiny Escort under the one burned-out lamp in the Wal-Mart parking lot. If I am going to be miserable, if I have nothing left to lose(except my tiny Escort), I might as well have a real fucking adventure.

Harold Washington died for you

14:57 / 14.11.02

Almost forgot, any pointers for "safe" hitchhiking?

15:57 / 14.11.02

Moroccco: I feel bad for what you're going through, seeing as how I've been there as well. As far as advice goes, I don't quite know what to say...

I've been rexamining my opinions about lots of things lately and, after a nasty (to me) incident with a sib regarding postings here (no need to go over that), I was content to sit on the sidelines here and just, well, observe and think about conditioning and that sort of thing.

That being said, yeah, homelessness sucks. I can't imagine anyone wanting to do it by choice, unless they were dedicated to the squatter movement (which is really a whole other topic). As far as hitchiking goes, BE FREAKIN' CAREFUL! I don't know where in the world you are, but in my neck of the woods, the laws are applied selectively. Some towns/cities the cops will ignore you, others the cops will harass the shit out of you. Just depends where you are.

Also, seriously consider (if you can afford it) getting your hands on some decent camping equipment. Military surplus is the way to go, it saved my ass on many a cold night. Sometimes the Salvation Army hands out tents and sleeping bags/blankets this time of year, again, depends where you are. In Western MA. (where I'm at), they know that it will save lives. We have shelters out here, but they have a limited capacity and are always in danger of closing due to funding cutbacks.

Speaking of shelters, some are to be avoided like the plague. You never know how safe they are.

You might want to ask around and find out about church soup-kitchens if you need a meal and are totally broke. Not the best food in the world, but it will keep you alive. I don't personally recommend panhandling, but having relaxed my opinions on this, do it if you must. I'm trying really hard not to be a judgemental bastard these days. Bad karma and all that.

What else...ever consider train-hopping? I've met a few kids who do this on a regular basis (mostly crusty punks and assorted anarchists). You want adventure? Nothing beats the classic hoboe life. Watch out for the railyard cops though, they can be major assholes.

Speaking of hoboes, here's a classic hoboe cold remedy that actually works:

Make a cup of STRONG tea, add a couple of shots of ginger brandy. Really good for sore throats and congestion.

Good luck. Hope this helps.

16:11 / 14.11.02

Mole, if you want to have a life-changing "you against nature" kind of experience, try hiking the Appalachian Trail. You can get all everything you need fairly cheap, especially if there's an army-navy store around. The trail runs from Georgia to Maine and almost every bit of it is amazing. If you hike it from end to another (or even a small part of it) you will meet some of the craziest and most interesting people going.

http://www.appalachiantrail.org/hike/

16:14 / 14.11.02

Didn't mean to suggest that squatters or train-hoppers neccesarliy choose that lifestyle, I was referring more to the folks who do it for political reasons (like trying to organize squats or a network of squats, "Homes Not Jails", that kind of thing) or out of sheer necessity due to other, more complex factors.

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