S08.E28: Homelessness

[PrincessPurrsALot]

Main topic: Homelessness

Also: Meta; Biden's Build Back Better Plan; once again what happen when local news and Halloween collide

Original air date 2021.10.31 

[Annber03]

Wooooooooooow, that woman who was worried about the "class" of people who would benefit from those programs. Speaking as one of those low-income people she's so dismissive of? Fuck. You. 

This segment really further highlights just how incredibly tone-deaf Musk/Romney/Manchin's whining and complaining is regarding a billionaire tax, too. Yes. Let's all coddle the rich people. Truly, they suffer so. And we're not even going to get into Reagan's "homeless by choice" comments. John is correct that I was yelling at my TV this episode, but I wasn't yelling at him, let's put it that way. 

It is amazing, isn't it? People complain all the time about these homeless people being so "intrusive"...but they won't support any policies that might actually, y'know, solve that problem. They think it's just as simple as finding a job and getting one's mental health/drug abuse/domestic violence/healthcare needs under control, as though homeless people never once thought about trying to fix their problems on their own and it's some kind of novel idea. I've never been homeless, myself, but my family did spend one night in a car when we were struggling financially, and we've also had to stay in motels when we were in and out of places to live for various reasons, and that was tough enough as it was, and it took us a long time to get back on our feet. And even now, we're still dealing with the lingering effects from that, and still living paycheck to paycheck. I can't imagine having to spend night after night after night on the streets, in all kinds of weather, with all kinds of risks and dangers (I love how everyone worries about the homeless being a threat to them, when more often than not, the homeless are actually the ones who get threatened and attacked), and struggling to find a safe place to shield themselves from all of that. John mentioned the issues with the shelters, and another problem has been the pandemic - even if they did have room, the shelters would, naturally, be a lot more restrictive with how many people they could let in during the pandemic, because they wouldn't want to put people's heath at any further risk. That wouldn't benefit the homeless nor the people looking after them one bit. 

And that story about the guy who'd been arrested numerous times for trespassing. Does the town apparently not have any actual crime worth worrying about, that they can spend this much time putting this guy in jail just for sitting/sleeping in the "wrong place", then, or...? Good lord. 

I like the policies John mentioned that have been tried in some places to help people. Definitely something worth looking into further on a nationwide scale. You'd think the fact these policies would benefit veterans, aka, a prime example of "supporting the troops" if ever there was one, would be reason enough, but...:/. Surely there has to be some way to promote such policies, though, to where even people like the thick headed woman mentioned at the start of this post could get on board. 

Regarding the whole thing with children's music, this was the first time I heard "Raining Tacos", but I'll say right now that I'd happily listen to that over "Baby Shark" any day of the week and twice on Sunday. I was seriously expecting John to start dancing around at the end - maybe not in the aisle, 'cause safety precautions and all, but around his desk, at the very least :p. 

Edited November 1, 2021 by Annber03

[ahisma]

1 hour ago, Annber03 said:

It is amazing, isn't it? People complain all the time about these homeless people being so "intrusive"...but they won't support any policies that might actually, y'know, solve that problem.

I do not get it. Do they want people living in a nice apartment building with mental health support, and feeling relieved and supported for once? Or do they want people sleeping in doorways and pooping on the sidewalk, as they have no choice? I mean, which is worse for your neighborhood/ property values? 

Eff Ronald Reagan, so hard. When he was governor of California he closed down residential mental health facilities, with no resources for those people to turn to. And started the same government cuts he would go on to make on a national level. When I was a kid in CA, there was one “shopping cart lady” in our neighborhood. Between 1980 and 1983, the homeless population exploded and it has only gotten worse since. We sure as hell need to reverse income inequality and get back to New Deal ideals. 

[scarynikki12]

Weirdo twins who definitely shower together is the perfect description of the creepy Property Bros.

The things that are done to punish the homeless (piping music, spikes on benches) for existing while not doing a thing to help them gets more infuriating each year. And, yes, the solution to homelessness is to give them homes. People who will never be homeless struggle with addiction and mental illness so citing them as the reasons against don't work. 

That one woman who claimed she wasn't bigoted but then gave voice to her bigotry was something else. 

Ollle's 40 second tangent about Charlie's grandparents sharing a bed was Wonka ticket gold. And, yes, those four have had at least one orgy. How else do we think they were able keep their limbs from atrophying? 

[Annber03]

57 minutes ago, scarynikki12 said:

Ollle's 40 second tangent about Charlie's grandparents sharing a bed was Wonka ticket gold.

The fact he was able to rattle that off in 40 seconds without messing up had me wondering exactly how many times he's made this argument before :p. 

1 hour ago, ahisma said:

I do not get it. Do they want people living in a nice apartment building with mental health support, and feeling relieved and supported for once? Or do they want people sleeping in doorways and pooping on the sidewalk, as they have no choice? I mean, which is worse for your neighborhood/ property values? 

But, but...even if they had all that nice stuff, they still wouldn't necessarily be the right "class" or color for these people, so, y'know, that's a real problem...or something...

[letter8358]

10 grandchildren?!? Who is he fooling? Especially after he killed paid family leave...

[swanpride]

I am not sure where I should start. I mean, it is pretty much impossible to end homelessness completely. In my country, people who loose their job get a lot of support from the state, including social housing (though most of the time the state simply pays the rent until people are back on their feed), and there are all kind of shelters aso, and there are still people living on the streets for various reasons. Since I am working in the inner city, I see them regularly, because when I go to work in the morning, they are still sleeping in the entries to the businesses (who will open a few hours later). But I can't say that I am in any way afraid of them. Most of them are actually very friendly if you interact with them. Though one shouldn't confuse them with the people who turn up later in the day and pretend that they need help, they usually belong to some sort of beggar mafia. Hence I don't get this "not in my backyard" view. What the hell is supposed to happen? The moment you give homeless a place to sleep and to clean up, they don't look any different anymore. 

And honestly, even if you had zero compassion, shouldn't you just be happy that you don't have to see them anymore? If you want to feel comfortable, isn't it way more comfortable if they DON'T sleep in the streets? If you don't read news about x-number of homeless people dying in the cold? 

And finally: Playing a song about all you can eat tacos to the homeless and most likely hungry is cruel on so many levels. 

[Victor the Crab]

Man, I just wanted to slash my wrists after last night's show. Quite a bummer!!

[PrincessPurrsALot]

My brother was homeless for many years. He had a severe mental health issue.  The only reason he did not die on the streets is that a very kind man realized that he was in trouble and got him help.  Many members of my family still accused the man of trying to get something out of this.  He simply saw a young man who had always been friendly and pleasant regardless of how he was treated who was then unable to sit up or be coherent.  

It took so much to get him state help.  He had been hospitalized before but was always shipped out as soon as they could.  Like the person featured on the show, he had been arrested multiple times for trespassing.  The system is designed to keep people homeless. And so many otherwise kind and compassionate people within the healthcare system start to view the homeless as scammers or subhuman.  

We did finally get him into supported housing and got him ongoing psychiatric care.  He got a part time job that became full time. He was promoted to supervisor.  He felt a sense of accomplishment and pride in his work.  He helped out others at his group home to get settled and become part of the community.  Having housing and support allowed him to be a functioning member of society.  

He died a few years ago from a rare illness.  Until his last days, he remained grateful for the help and care he received.  The facility he was in fought to keep him because they liked him so much (they didn't even get paid for a few months for his care). 

I live in an area with a large number of homeless.  Neighbors have commented on my compassion toward them, even when they are belligerent or impaired.  Any one of them could be my brother, a kind person who lost the genetic lottery and was born into a family with limited means. 

Homelessness is always one of the top issues raised in my city.  Yet we have the same folks who are angry that people are sleeping on the street or asking for money, yet don't want shelters in the neighborhood.  You cannot have it both ways.  Mental health issues greatly reduce when a person feels safe and protected. Having a place to leave your belongings that you can come and go from as you please allows you to get a job.  This should not be difficult to understand yet so many in the US are raised to believe that poverty is a moral failing.  

Getting off my

now. 

[RedbirdNelly]

that was hard to watch. I wanted John to spend more time dunking on Facebook--that at least would be less depressing

[swanpride]

I once watched a reportage about homeless people in the US...in this case, they were sleeping in their cars in a parking lot which got closed down over night (so that they had some measure of safety there). Most of them were actually employed, they just couldn't afford a proper place to sleep on the wage they got paid. In what reality is that in any way okay????? 

Oh, and, btw, hostile architecture is disgusting. You aren't solving the problem by preventing homeless people to sleep or sit down, you are just moving it. 

[JustHereForFood]

I agree with everyone that this was sad to watch. Regarding the attitude of those that don't want homeless people to get housing, especially those that struggle financially themselves, it seems to me that many of them think something like "Why should they get a place to live for free, when I can barely afford my own small place that I work hard for". Which I completely get, but it's not like they will not work afterwards and will just live for free in their new home forever. It's just a help for those that want to work, but, as has been said in the segment, often can't get work if they don't have a home, which is like a no-end cycle. I think that this Housing first strategy is probably the best idea to help at least those people, though probably not others that are also addicted or have other problems.

And, as has been already pointed out here, it is quite infuriating to watch this combined with John's short segment about billionaires earlier in the episode, since it just highlights the enormous inequality of the living conditions of people at the opposite ends of the income spectrum. On one end we have billionaires that got their money by a combination of priviledge, luck and ok, maybe some of their own hard work, but definitely not in a normal proportion. Who often try their best to not pay any taxes that would not make any real difference to their lives (seriously, how much money can a person need to live even a luxurious lifestyle?), but might make some real change for people on the other end, that often are not in any way responsible for their own living conditions.

Another thing that I think has not been pointed out about shelters - they are often run by religious organizations, which can be a problem for a large group of people that are homeless, mainly the LGBT+ community, who are often homeless after being thrown out by their families, even as teenagers. I am not particularly knowledgable about homelessness, but I have seen this pointed out many times, especially regarding transgender people - they are more likely to end up homeless and/or unemployed than cisgender people and are then more likely to face struggles finding a place to live, when even the shelters that are meant to help can dictate their own rules about who can and can not apply.

[DoctorAtomic]

What societal ills can't be traced back to Reagan? 

[angelamh66]

3 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

What societal ills can't be traced back to Reagan? 

This! I was a child during his presidency but the more I read about his policies and rhetoric the more appalled I am. Definitely set the stage for what’s going on now. Homeless by choice? Ok sure Ronnie. Ugh. 

Edited November 2, 2021 by angelamh66

[swanpride]

There are a few...but yeah, trickle down economy really did a number of the US and the UK. 

[peeayebee]

20 hours ago, JustHereForFood said:

it seems to me that many of them think something like "Why should they get a place to live for free, when I can barely afford my own small place that I work hard for".

I think that's part of it. I also wonder if the idea of giving the homeless houses is abhorrent to some people because it's an indictment against capitalism and the US, and is saying "We and our system have failed." But to rectify that is to admit failure. It's better to blame the homeless and, of course, to ignore their presence in our neighborhoods and towns. 

I'm also sickened by the refusal to get millionaires, not to mention billionaires, to pay taxes. How can anyone say that's right? So shouldn't the government do SOMETHING to get them to pay SOME? Rhetorical question. 

I hadn't seen the images of Romney as Ted Lasso, and that makes me sad. I'm currently watching that show, and it is awesome. 

[Brandi Maxxxx]

On 11/2/2021 at 10:58 AM, DoctorAtomic said:

What societal ills can't be traced back to Reagan? 

Iran-Contra, supposedly.

[paigow]

6 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

Scarier than George Clooney trick-or-treating by himself...

as Batman?

[Lantern7]

There's only enough depression that can be warded off by the thought of John Oliver dancing down the aisles as he high-fives audience members, then gets a knife to the neck from Ellen. Kudos to the people who made that pic of her sharpening her knives.

On 11/1/2021 at 1:35 AM, scarynikki12 said:

That one woman who claimed she wasn't bigoted but then gave voice to her bigotry was something else.

I once heard a comic who said that if anyone started a sentence with "I'm not racist, but" or "I'm not a bigot, but" . . . it never ends well. That might have been from more than a few comics.

On 11/1/2021 at 1:35 AM, scarynikki12 said:

Ollle's 40 second tangent about Charlie's grandparents sharing a bed was Wonka ticket gold. And, yes, those four have had at least one orgy. How else do we think they were able keep their limbs from atrophying? 

This SNL bit is where my mind went. Not an orgy, but still pretty disturbing. 

Local news and Halloween. Scarier than George Clooney trick-or-treating by himself? I'll say this much . . . the Clooney running gag is less disturbing than John's obsession with Adam Driver last year.