A wild guess; he is employed yet doesn't have much in ways of options for sleeping arrangements -- maybe he catches a rest before working another job... maybe that's as good as shelter gets for that evening. Some people live in motels until they get thrown out for any number of reasons; others couch surf in an un-fun way; others give up their pride and get to a shelter. Maybe if people cared to ask why he's there, but they don't.
Now we can only care about how strong the caffeine fix is in the morning in order to slog the 9am-5pm and wonder how ever pay off student loans and mortgages.
However, the people living on society's fringes, they can't even dream of having a student loan or house with a mortgage. There's many people who are too proud, too stubborn, too desperate to expect anyone would help. So we're stuck with guilt when we notice them and don't really think they will ever to get ahead. Sometimes with a lack of education past Jr High probably doesn't help and lack of permanent address doesn't particularly induce proper study conditions when temporary de-housed. A nice politically correct phrase for homeless -- sounds more like de-loused.
When a few blogs exist where bloggers complain about fashion week being so lame or getting 2% milk instead of soy in their chai latte, suck it up.
They shouldn't complain if they don't have to know how to get rid of bed-bugs and lice from lack of places to get hygiene.
Itchy sheets are one thing, but the subject of lack of, or mis-diagnosis of mental health issues, in simple terms -- the wrong drugs won't do anything for the real problem -- educated guess. Create worse side affects fairly quickly for either numbing down the wrong part of the brain or system in the body. Worse kill confidence in someone to think they could never actively participate in larger society again.
So for the people who complain that star bucks was better before they got all trendy or whatever fashionable hang-out where cool people exist. I don't know, I've rarly even been nor will probably know where to find a bubble tea house, tapas bar (provincial Spanish buffet is in now) or chillax lounge or whatever the rage is now... at least people with wrongly diagnosised star bucks drink can function in society.
Guess what? Suck it up if there's no reservations for the tapas bar and go to Denny's.
My only complaint to the barista at star bucks was why people are more worried drunks are driving when I am more groggy at the wheel, Drunks try to stay away from driving. Don't worry, I was driving with the window open with a blast of cold air to wake up. I know... I should suck it up.
Which is pretty much all working poor people get when they sleep in their car with all their worldly possessions stuffed in the trunk. They suck it up.
Why tackle issues? With lack-there-of social housing, assistance unless someone is completely up the creek paddle-less -- with an incapacitating accidental dismemberment, mental health issue or incurable disease. there's everyone else who could use a hand-up instead of just a hand-out. Many could rant on and on about how there needs to be more programs from the government: Ways to catch those who fall through the school system's cracks and end up on crack to self-medicate.
Does coffee count as self-medicating to stay awake at work from over-working? I won't touch that one right now. I'll suck it up until i've had enough at 5pm.
The media won't touch it either because it's not a kid with cancer who may be cured if there's enough fundraising done. Proper society always will say NIMBY! There's so many safety and security concerns from those with children for valid reasons of attracting the wrong crowd of supports from pimps to drug pushers. people sketching out while in the process of rehab and cold turkey or binging as they break down and give in.
I guess for blonde barbies in a Chevy Malibu or Madza Miata, adjusting their make-up in the rear-view mirror while texting about how much it sucks to be stuck at a red-light, suck it up
It's not like they worry about when they'll next get a shower. Going to a homeless shelter has a slight chance of having all earthly possessions of a back-pack stolen or rooted through while just trying to get five minutes to shower down. Too many red-light barriers for keeping a job, not any time to do make-up either.
Not when working poor. They suck it up. Don't pity them, just keep encouraging them or at least the people who want to work with them to get them to a better place. We can only suck so much up before we need to breathe and try to find some relief. Hope it happens soon.
-- PLR --
p.s. hope this flows okay as I'm trying a writing style with this idea to put everything in perspective of this editorial. And I have nothing against barbies in malibu chevys, I admit it's a cheap shot to prove a point.
p.s.s. so update from my nursing student girlfriend, sometimes people go off meds because nobody in the community encourages them to continue taking meds, sometimes they feel better so they figure they don't need meds anymore and think they aren't 'sick' anymore, why bother taking medication if someone doesn't cold medication even if the bacterial infection isn't completely killed off, same thing goes for anti-psychotics.
Does alcohol work? Does the disease go away? Apparently there an entire unit for concurrent (dual diagnosis) in the mental health hospital, because people have the worst deal, alcoholic guy with schizophrenia got turned away from AA meeting because he was hearing voices and sitting in the corner telling the voices to stop. Just a FYI of future articles on people.
Hey Phil! Just wanted to say I love your blog. I had no idea you were such an articulate and motivated journalist. Very impressed!
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