3 ms·

I suspect you'd be kinda shocked how well-educated and intelligent and capable a lot of homeless people actually are.

• Mz 13y ago
  That's true. It isn't simple "stupidity" or incompetence that lands people on the street. It is having one too many intractable problems (like an incurable medical condition and special needs kids) and too few resources to address them.
• nickstinemates 13y ago
  Maybe! I wasn't trying to imply homeless == stupid, I apologize if it came off that way. I understand homelessness is multifaceted and for some, even though intelligent, classic employment opportunities are not available/desirable for a whole host of reasons.
  • saraid216 13y ago
    Also keep in mind that employment doesn't guarantee a home, either. And that not having a home (namely, not having an address) can be a barrier to gainful employment. There are a lot of unfortunate Catch-22s sprinkled around our bureaucracies. The impression I got from your question wasn't that homeless people were incapable of intelligence, but rather that you thought intelligence was the exception, rather than the rule. This becomes a problem when, say, a rags-to-riches story comes around and people conclude not that this one person got a lucky break, but that this one person decided to stop being as stupid as the others. This in turn suggests that nothing is actually broken and homelessness is less an indicator of societal malfunction and more a casual nuisance.
    • deleted 13y ago
      [deleted]