Survival Guide to Homelessness

No matter where you go, there you are.

Thursday, February 03, 2005

Politics

You may wonder whether I vote Republican or Dem, Bush or Kerry, pro or anti. You may want to know where I stand on the issues, social security, capital punishment, the war, the economy, abortion, stem cells, gays in the military, Palestine or Israel? Am I Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindi, Buddhist, atheist? You may wonder. You may even think you know, but I'm not going to tell you, not on this blog with this pen name. Why?

Not because it isn't your business. Not because I don't have strong opinions that I would like to persuade you to adopt. I do. I wish you would. It just doesn't fit here. If I take a side on side issues, some of you will be alienated and I won't be able to share my ideas on homelessness with you. And that brings up another homelessness survival issue.

Do not put bumper stickers on your car.

Bumper stickers make people react to you. That is what they are designed to do. No matter how important you think the issues of the day are, you do not need to be noticed. Save it for the rally. When you are trying to get settled for the night in that nice conservative neighborhood, you don't need the people seeing Save the Whales, and Love Animals, Don't Eat Them all over your car. They will know you don't belong there.

3 Comments:

At 7:35 AM, Blogger Woolfey said...

Fantastic!!!!!! I think it is great that someone in your position ( blog with a lot of readers) doesn't feel it's time to alienate part of your readership by pushing a political agenda. I think your Blog provides a very important service. It was good for me to hear I am not the only person in a situation. I think it is good to hear of your solutions. Most folks I meet in my day to day Journey have not accepted their situations. Planning for the next "Real" house seems more important than making the present situation work. Blaming Politicians seems easier than looking for solutions to small problems. Kill enough small problems and You have less of them. Since I have embarked on my "Full time RV'er lifestyle. I have been offered all sorts of "Upgrades" For my living conditions. Mostly in the form of bigger trailers. I do have some spaces I can use for storage (outside) and to work on stuff (also outside) and Bartering has become a very viable source of "Income". Do I think politician's solutions to my problems would be something I want? Not a chance. Too many rules. First one would be : get rid of your dog. He weighs over 20 pounds. Well he does. And he is not fond of younger kids, till he gets used to them on an individual basis. But with a relative in a Nursing home and the fact that she Likes him a lot, I get a chance to get inside and meet folks. If on the way to see My wife's mom someone in the hall wants to talk, I have time. Louie likes folks who move slow. Most of these folks had animals when they were young and would like to pat for a while. I have actually considered volunteering with an organization that visits folks in Homes with dogs.
So,I went slightly of the subject , BUT to show a solution.
Thankfully this is a situation that was remedied by some politicians paying attention. In my opinion a rare thing.
I think politics can stay out of this blog . I'd be happy. Hope you still are. And to folks still outside. Stay strong.

 
At 1:01 PM, Blogger tvpartytonight said...

Thank you for your understanding. You are right in your choice.

I've always saved stickers not for my car or my musical instruments, rather, BATHROOM STALLS! That's fun and it gives people a chance to digest the message as they excrete their food.

 
At 4:46 PM, Blogger Windrider said...

I agree totally with you on this one.

If you are "residentially challenged" you need to remain as transparent, and invisible as possible. Any indication of political, or religious leanings will do nothing but harm you with the people you interact with while you are in this phase of your life.

Anything you say can, and will offend someone you rub up against. As not everyone has the same views as you do. Neutrality is needed for survival, as is food and water..

Agreed,

G-Man

 

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