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Homeless. Hungry. God Bless
Aug. 4th, 2006 09:39 amI have been noticing more and more people here in George Bush's America, standing at busy street corners and holding signs to panhandle money. What is so striking is how similar all the messages are that are scrawled on the cardboard signs. What, is there a rigid style sheet or something out there for homeless people that they all think they have to follow? The messages address the coded anxieties about class, even as they ask for help.
"Homeless."
[I'm not a slacker scrounging for change for a cup of coffee and a video game. I really need help.]
"Hungry."
[ditto. A definite appeal to pity. Meaning: This is a real, serious problem.]
"Will work for food."
[Message: I'm not lazy]
"Veteran."
[I'd guess that somewhere between 50-80% of the guys' signs say this. As![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
brithistorian points out, many of them wear Army surplus jackets, to cement the impression. Probably many more claim to be veterans than are actually veterans. The underlying message is, "I'm a good, virtuous, civic-minded citizen who has served his country, who is just down on hard luck right now." The message works, too, because so many people have heard that many veterans are homeless]
"God bless."
[This one is ubiquitous. Just about EVERYONE has it. Translation: "I'm a moral person." (And probably: "I'm not going to use this money to get drunk.") This, I think, is an attempt to answer the common cultural anxious perception that those who are homeless are "homeless by choice" as Reagan put it, often because they are too lazy to work. It also appeals to morality in the passersby, subtly reminding them that their religion might require that they give money to beggers.
Edited to add: I would also like to hasten to assure my atheist friends reading this entry that I certainly don't assume that you have to be religious to be moral. But I think that many Americans do--and this message, "God bless," addresses that.
Edited to add, II: Asnmsunbear points out, this last message can also simply be a way to say "thank you."]
What other messages have you seen, and how do you interpret them?
"Homeless."
[I'm not a slacker scrounging for change for a cup of coffee and a video game. I really need help.]
"Hungry."
[ditto. A definite appeal to pity. Meaning: This is a real, serious problem.]
"Will work for food."
[Message: I'm not lazy]
"Veteran."
[I'd guess that somewhere between 50-80% of the guys' signs say this. As
brithistorian points out, many of them wear Army surplus jackets, to cement the impression. Probably many more claim to be veterans than are actually veterans. The underlying message is, "I'm a good, virtuous, civic-minded citizen who has served his country, who is just down on hard luck right now." The message works, too, because so many people have heard that many veterans are homeless]"God bless."
[This one is ubiquitous. Just about EVERYONE has it. Translation: "I'm a moral person." (And probably: "I'm not going to use this money to get drunk.") This, I think, is an attempt to answer the common cultural anxious perception that those who are homeless are "homeless by choice" as Reagan put it, often because they are too lazy to work. It also appeals to morality in the passersby, subtly reminding them that their religion might require that they give money to beggers.
Edited to add: I would also like to hasten to assure my atheist friends reading this entry that I certainly don't assume that you have to be religious to be moral. But I think that many Americans do--and this message, "God bless," addresses that.
Edited to add, II: As
nmsunbear points out, this last message can also simply be a way to say "thank you."]What other messages have you seen, and how do you interpret them?