Ladies and Gentlemen the time has come once again for me to record my thoughts down onto a blank word document, and then attempt to carefully construct it into something that can be considered a well-thought-out idea. With my plate becoming more and more full as the world opens up, I am once again later to the game than I would like. Looking at the list of notes I have written regarding the plights of our time, I have decided this week to take a more local approach and chat about something that impacts us all daily.
Whether we acknowledge it or not.
I want to talk about the individuals that we all attempt to avoid the gaze of, out of awkwardness. The people business owners often have to scurry around when opening their store for the day. The people pleading for change, in a world that strives to avoid eye contact. Our daily reminder is that in our world if we don’t keep ahead, we can quickly join the downtrodden pack.
I want to talk about the homeless
This week’s entry is coming off the back of an article that I read at the start of my week. One written by our very own local news outlet, The News-Review. The article I am referring to was a highlight of the recent purchase of the UCAN building located downtown here in Roseburg. There is no need for me to go into detail about the purchase itself as that was already highlighted quite well by Scott Carroll.
Instead, I want to focus on the thoughts I have on the homeless problem as a whole. While I am glad the issue is finally going to be somewhat addressed, I do believe the location is incredibly risky for the businesses that have had a difficult time keeping the lights on as it is.
It’s no secret that we have had some issues with the homeless in the past few years. Everywhere you look you see unfortunate downtrodden individuals with nowhere to be. Many of our un-housed are either mentally ill or have fallen so far into the pits of despair that every attempt to alleviate their conditions are met with heavy amounts of contempt. Many of them live with complicated addictions brought on by their newfound environment. When you have no money, these addictions are often the motivation for unlawful behavior. A tricky situation when these very members of our society have no remorse for their sometimes violent, or downright destructive, behavior.
Many businesses across all of Douglas County will be able to tell you stories about property damage, loitering, and generally aggressive behavior towards their customers, being performed by the homeless. Downtown businesses would likely be quick to condemn the actions of the city purchasing this property, as this could encourage more and more anarchic behavior in their neighborhood. It is quite easy to understand the frustrations of a business owner needing to play housekeeper for the city they operate in. Individuals with zero purchasing potential, simply causing havoc when labor is already scarce as is.
The answer should be simple then, right?
JUST GET A JOB
“The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.”
-Albert Einstein
It’s the commonplace answer of “Just get a job” that has me most curious about this situation. It is a blanket statement we often provide for a very nuanced issue. Many of our own mentally ill homeless could not perform even the simplest of tasks, let alone the more complex things we need on a day-to-day basis. What is a society to do with humans that have no real ability to provide for the community they burden?
I don’t use that word lightly, nor with any glee. The sad truth of the matter is that the more un-abled persons you have, the more resources you have to spend at a loss to the working community at large. Do I think this is right? Not in the slightest. Do I think they should be abandoned entirely at their own expense? Also no. This is an unbelievably complicated moral dilemma that should be handled with extreme care. Every single individual has a unique story, as well as a reason as to how they arrived at the point they currently are.
It is also unbelievably difficult for any one of us to imagine what life would have to be like to live in such a manner. Many of us are fortunate enough to have the comfort of a roof over our head, a full stomach, and a steady flow of money to keep it all stable. This often gives us the motivation and work ethic to push forward for more, to make these basic human needs less and less of a vulnerability.
These are not always the friendliest of people either. Many of them have received help at various points in their vagabond life, only to turn back to the bottle or drug of choice. Over time this builds an unhealthy amount of spite towards those who lend a sympathetic hand.
A recipe for disaster
We already have a large decline in work ethic across the board. With the rise of the “Anti-work movement” it’s easy to see how this can go so wrong, so quickly. When you don’t have anything to lose, it becomes rather easy to turn any motivation you had into contempt. This is the ever-present danger of nihilism that worries me deeply. When you have lost all will to continue forward in our strange society, you may very well easily turn towards malevolence at those perceived luckier than yourself.
A tricky problem indeed, that requires some Honest-To-God involvement in our community at large.
“Real Generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present. “
-Albert Camus
I remember as a teenager reading “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift. A short satirical essay that was written in 1729 to the aristocratic English and Irish members buying up new land in Ireland. An essay that comically proposed, that if the politicians weren’t going to use their wealth to change anything about the obvious inequality, they might as well just round up the rural poor and serve them as meals for the rich. I write this now, realizing that at least back then people didn’t just ignore the problem, even as a joke. I dare not attempt a similar approach because humor is often a thought crime these days.
What I can’t figure out is how we arrived at this place so late into the disaster. Not to pull a “Gretta Thunberg,” but we should honestly feel rather ashamed that we put this off for so long. It’s like we played this little game where we pretended, they didn’t exist until they were literally in the way of us conducting business. All it took was for our normal lives to be disrupted for us to finally take notice of the problem. It bothers me in a way because I generally steer away from the idea of rewarding bad behavior, but at some point, something has to be done.
But since we are so late to the game, we are dealing with an overwhelming amount of contempt and nihilism from a disparaged group that we are suddenly pretending to care about. With all the moral grandstanding we perform on a day-to-day basis with wanting to be more “woke,” We sure took our sweet time to actually do something that matters.
Ranting aside, I do wish the best for the city. Mainly because we have no choice, this either works, or it fails miserably. With the shelter being located downtown, the resources will be easier for the homeless to access. On a shortlist of pros and cons, this appears on the surface more positive than negative, so long as you pretend business downtown doesn’t exist. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them packed up on this town for good. It’s too often that saving one person who doesn’t wish to be saved, comes at the expense of others.
As I stated before, this is an incredibly sensitive situation and needs an unbelievable number of resources to pull off as more than just a quick band-aid. There is a danger in providing for those who are unwilling to provide for themselves, but there is also a chance to pull otherwise talented and skilled individuals from the pits of despair. As is likely obvious in this writing, I’m quite torn on the outcome of this situation, as I have a difficult time seeing it pan out successfully,
But maybe I’m just a Fool?
Thank you for reading,
-The Young Fool
