THE STREET
By Charles Springer
What is prejudice? According to Webster’s Dictionary: 1) Injury or damage resulting from some judgment or action of another in disregard of one’s rights; 2) Preconceived judgment or opinion; b: An opinion or leaning adverse to anything without just grounds or before sufficient knowledge; c: An instance of such judgment or opinion; an irrational attitude of hostility directed against a person, a group, a race or their supposed characteristics.
I have experienced this attitude many times in my life. I was married to a black of Hispanic descent living in Long Beach. I am from Chicago and have experienced prejudice growing up because the city is very segregated. And in both of these instances I have been able to overcome these pre-judged, pre-conceived notions by earning the respect of those who would pre-judge me. But since I have been homeless, I have never encountered so much prejudice, even when I, a white male, was married to my ex-wife in a predominately black neighborhood in Long Beach in the mid ’80s.
The preconceived notions of homelessness are so strongly ingrained in some people that even when they meet a homeless person like myself, or others who are not living the stereotypical homeless lifestyle, they can’t believe it. They seem to think we all live like animals and never shower, or are so drug-and alcohol-addicted that we are crazy, or are just plain mentally ill. And while those extremes exist out here, they are not the norm.
The homeless population is actually a concentrated mirror of society as a whole. We are as diverse as any other community in Southern California. And we also have our share of good and bad people, just like any other community. The fact that some people look at only one part of the whole picture of homelessness is a very sad testament to the neo-conservative bashing of any group they do not understand, or wishes to cover up their ignorance of not knowing the whole situation.
I have been told by more than a few people that I don’t understand the issue of homelessness, even while living on the streets for the past seven years. I often wonder what knowledge they have that would be greater than experiencing it firsthand. Do they have some kind of inner knowledge or something which I am not aware of?
I do not think so. Us homeless people have more knowledge of homelessness and its causes than the college-educated counselors and administrators who help us in the agencies. That is why I push so hard to get more of us who are homeless and formerly homeless to help with all aspects of dealing with the entire situation. We should be called upon to help solve the larger problems that cause homelessness in this country, instead of treating the symptom of homelessness as the problem.
Case in point: The ending of the feeding programs in the parks. It did not stem the tide of homeless in this city, it just escalated shoplifting from the stores. And the sleeping in the doorways ordinance just pushed us into the neighborhoods, and these people do not appreciate the intrusion into their space. Then there is the push to close certain homeless agencies, which would just put more people on the streets with no means of support or food.
This “anti-socialist” attitude stems from the neo-conservatives who act like they have knowledge, but speak with empty rhetoric. They really have no knowledge of the situation and would be hard pressed to survive out here if it ever happened to them. Look at good ol’ boy Rush Limbaugh for example. He may not be homeless, but his bashing of the drug-addicted, and then becoming one himself, is perfect karma.
Solving the homeless dilemma in this city, county, state and nation depends largely on education and “socialist” ideologies. Because if we as a city, county, state and nation cannot help our own people, we are no better than the third world countries we bash for human rights violations. And we are certainly no better than those who we have ousted from power in the past three years. (Charles Springer is a homeless resident of Santa Monica and is a freelance writer and artist, he)
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 20, 2003. Read the original PDF.