Individuality and Homelessness.

 In a previous blog post, I argued the importance of recognizing the homeless population as individuals; that we may more readily apply empathy when we acknowledge the homeless as not distinctly different from ourselves. I also made the argument that we, ourselves, are not as far off as we realize from being without a home. The number of tragedies I posited that could do in a moderately put together individual is two, maybe even one… 

This recognition allows for us to minimize the stigma associated with homelessness and to begin to address the problem with a caring heart, as opposed to a cold one. Additionally, stratifying society can be very dangerous since it encourages all types of crudely based assumptions that are stereotypic and without one-hundred percent accuracy. The idea here is to encourage properly motivated action. 

My point was to move away from the vilification of the homeless population. I believed (and still do) that recognizing the individual over the group would lead to better outcomes for everyone, but I fear that I encouraged empathy too much. Too much empathy is not necessarily a good thing. If we take the assumption seriously that the homeless are to be treated as individuals with autonomy, desires, and motivations, we ought also to exercise a certain degree of harshness towards the actual villain-like behavior.

This harshness comes from the notion of treating the homeless as individuals, which I believe is a form of empathy when dealt out justly. When we separate the homeless from the group, we must acknowledge that to the degree it is possible for a homeless person to choose positively on society's behalf (as well as for themselves), they too should be held accountable. As services are provided to address the problems associated with homelessness, the beneficiaries of the services cannot be forced, and if they choose inaction and persist in community damaging behavior, leniency is a form of enabling.