There Is No Homeless Problem
There’s a hullabaloo in New York that I think again underscores the importance of dropping labels and dealing with reality. It pits Mayor Rudolph Guiliani against his ostensible Senate opponent Hillary Clinton. And it’s a matter of reason challenging anachronistic postures.
A few weeks ago, apparently for no sane reason, a homeless man hit a woman in the head with a brick. She will live but her life will never be the same. The 32-year-old man who did this is charged with a variety of felonies, and is being held without bail. Hillary, the ACLU and the rest of the liberal establishment feels that Rudy is being insensitive to the homeless. The other side says enough is enough, and they’re up to here with the failed warm-’n-fuzzy do-gooder approach to the homeless.
But let’s back up a second. The brick wielder isn’t in trouble because he was homeless. If the facts are as reported, one can presume that this man was what we used to call "crazy."
The distinction is very important. For too long, we have failed to deal with the reality of the people living outside, in the alleys, under cardboard, under ground. We call them the homeless, but that’s ridiculously uninformative. Why are they homeless? That’s where we begin to come to grips with the problem.
The homeless are no more homogeneous than the population of Palm Springs. They are basically five very different groups. First, people who simply haven’t the intellect or social skills to do better, though they would like to; many could be raised out of their circumstances with assistance and training. Second, drunks, who refuse to stop drinking; they may or may not be recoverable. Third, drugs addicts, who refuse to stop taking drugs; some can be rehabilitated and others not. Fourth, people who are genuinely crazy and are unable to live in society; Governor Reagan dumped tens of thousands of them out of mental institutions onto the streets of California in the 70's. And finally, there is a segment of the homeless who genuinely prefer the way they are living; at least we can offer them a clear choice.
While these people -- most of whom seem incapable of blending easily with the rest of society -- all have different needs, so does the society. We have a right to safe and clean streets, to feel secure walking in our own neighborhoods after dark. We have an obligation to help those who need help, but we can do it on our terms. No loitering, no sleeping in parks, no using the sidewalks as toilets. We can convert redundant barracks and other unused facilities into safe shelters where we can sort them all out, and deal with the problems that made them homeless.
And that’s SetonnoteS...I’m Tony Seton.
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