To conclude this group of posts...

Throughout the process of doing research for this blog, I stumbled upon a few things that made me stop and go “Holy shit”. The statistics about funding cuts to social services were pretty shocking. But further than just the sheer numbers, I ended up learning quite a bit simply by making connections through reading. One connection that I kick myself for not making was luckily pointed out to me by Belcher (I wonder if he burps a lot) and Deforge (2012)

They tell us that “stigmatization happens when a group of people feel threatened by another” (Belcher and Deforge, 2012). Once threatened, they begin to otherize, or make a group out to be the other. In the case of homelessness, the authors say that people experiencing homelessness otherized in terms of the Neoliberal, capitalist society in which we live.

 Our current social model tells us we need to work for wage in order to support the system. So by virtue of not being able to support capitalism, they are otherized. Stigmatized.

Lazy. Bum. Cracked out.

These are people that, unlike a lot of us, don’t come from a place of privilege. There is a good chance that they didn’t have parents that showed a whole lot of compassion and they certainly aren’t homeless because they want to be.

They are NOT lazy. They are NOT bums and they are NOT there by choice. They are people that are in an unfortunate position. They need help, help that a Neoliberal government like fucking Steven Harper didn’t provide.

Until next time.

Thank you.

References

Belcher, John R., and Bruce R. DeForge. "Social Stigma and Homelessness: The Limits of Social Change." Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment 22.8 (2012): 929-46. Web.