Dehumanization Of Homelessness Essay

Mindlessly strolling the sidewalks with no destination in sight. Frail legs marching in hopes of locating a meal, a bed, a heart. Day after day, these legs march aimlessly searching for the same necessities over and over again but come to no prevail. So used to being overlooked, they don’t bother anyone anymore. They sit in silence and this fast paced work warps around them leaving them in the dust without anywhere to go. Society views the homeless as helpless creatures that do not contribute to the better of society. Their “dehumanized” appearances and state of being has led to the assumptions that their outside is a mirror image of the content inside them. This derogatory reflection has cast these “creatures’ into the shadows of the
world so that they can continuously be neglected and forgotten. This common stereotype has shown the loss of human value in the world and how many people are content with knowing that there are people lingering in the shadows that are in need of assistance. With this mindset, the homeless are stuck between and rock and a hard place with nowhere to go and no one to help them. The world today is constantly on the move.
Going through the motions attempting to get somewhere. People have become so self-absorbed that the are too busy to take a second glance around them. They have obtained tunnel vision and are only able to face what they want and are incapable of using their peripherals. Neglecting to use this wide lens has created a society that is willing to look past the people who aren’t able to keep up with the constant, fast-paced motions. The government has even contributed to the belief that the homeless should be overlooked and forgotten. The recent installation of homeless spikes across the country has shown how we, as a society, condone the mistreatment and suffering of the homeless as we remain still, comfortable in the the motions of our life. This expresses the lack of understanding society has towards homeless people. Society and the government are willing to have metal spikes placed in the ground in order to prevent homeless people from sitting there. They have treated them as a piece of garbage that can be forgotten about if they are swept under the rug. Cities have routinely removed the homeless from the area in order to “clean” the city and make it look better. The relation between the homeless and filth is horrific and clearly shows the neglect they are receiving. Humanity has clearly been lost in the eyes of the human race which resulted to the “dehumanization” of the homeless
population. The lack of humanity continues today. Some may ask “Why should I care about the homeless?” The answer is simple. Although it is not one’s responsibility to assist these people, there is a moral choice to make. Would you let another human being wither away to nothing when you have the option to help them and make their life better? People believe that they have become entitled to many things in life since they have worked and have things to show for is such as wealth. Their entitlement clearly expresses the differentiation between the homeless and the entitled. The homeless don’t expect to receive anything, are still willing to work and attempt to make their life better while these “entitled” people expect to receive a lot but aren’t willing to put in the effort for it. The classification of the homeless population clearly doesn’t reflect a lot of the characteristics that make up a large majority of the homeless population and this misrepresentation has created the horrible stereotypes that leads to a majority of the homeless population neglected and living in the shadows.