Cleaning up trash or people?

This article describes San Jose’s growing problem of homeless encampments and the public’s reaction to them. There are several encampments in the San Jose area which are becoming more and more polluted as the number of homeless increases. The article is riddled with quotes and phrases from people that expose just how badly the homeless are stigmatized and how little is done to help them. The people interviewed for this article go on and on about how dirty the people in the encampments are and how dirty they’re making San Jose, yet there is no movement to help them. How can you expect someone to stop “defecating” on the sidewalk near your house if there is nowhere else for them to go? One person complains about homeless men washing themselves in public bathrooms during his team’s baseball games: “I leave the bathrooms open for parents, and they’re in the bathrooms stripping down naked, washing themselves. And I’ve got little kids going into those bathrooms. I just can’t have that.” This line frustrated me. Does he not understand that if he were in the same situation as the people he is so disgusted with, he would be forced to do the same things? The only way these people can “get rid of” the homeless near their homes is by providing a place for them to be relocated to, such as affordable housing. The article does not even address this issue, though. It focuses on depicting the homeless as criminals who are “luckless, dispossessed and often mentally ill.” It disregards any reasons for helping these people by criminalizing them: “Those people are homeless, but they’re also part of a criminal element.” This pushes the blame to the individuals, since they are all allegedly criminals. Overall, this article was frustrating and did not offer the point of view of anyone except angry homeowners who do not understand that homelessness is a structural issue, not an individual one that can just be “cleaned up” like the trash that is left behind in the encampments.

One thought on “Cleaning up trash or people?

  1. The end of the article states, “…the anger they feel is about bad people, and we need to be angry about the system”. Though the majority of the opinions expressed in the article are ridden with anger, disgust, and disdain, it is encouraging that one of them recognizes that the problem is ridden within the system. The purpose of our Teaching Projects is to educate people about the causes and solutions to homelessness, as well as ways to combat stereotypes. It makes me wonder how difficult it would be to enlighten and inform a community as large as San Jose about issues of homelessness. How do you change their minds when the community is convinced the problem is the people? In a controlled setting like our classroom, it’s easier for people to recognize and analyze all aspects of homelessness. What are the most effective ways when a controlled setting isn’t an option?

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