Survival Guide to Homelessness

No matter where you go, there you are.

Monday, October 16, 2006

Content Thieves

A brief note to all of you who are minded to contribute to charity, please don't contribute to Homeless Advocate, a blog. In this post, they have reprinted a post of mine, made it look as if I am one of their contributors, and placed a request for donations at the bottom. They did this without my permission, and have ignored my attempts to contact them, and refused to publish my comment at the bottom of the post.

Very nice, "Rabbi" Dale. (One of the comments below argues that Dale is not, in fact a rabbi, as he claims.)

31 Comments:

At 1:28 AM, Blogger Cheryl said...

They are not allowing anonymous comments, AND they have comment moderation on. I wanted to flame them badly for their fradulence but I guess any comment against them will simply never show up.

 
At 12:45 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Screw them. Shelters are for someone else.

 
At 2:22 AM, Blogger bonhamled said...

Tomorrow: Nov 12, Día de los sin techo
(homeless day) in Spain supported by several religious and social organizations.
Homeless people are a shame, but not themselves, We are to blame at their disgrace and our blind will of not-to-see
If you want to learn about the compaign ,and you know spanish, u can come to my blog.

Thank you and congratulations for you blog and your purpose

1+1 = 3 because you support.

bonhamled

 
At 5:19 PM, Blogger John C said...

Uhhh...read numerous sections...header...bio...and entries. Rhetoric seems to change, as well as this not looking like...

Sorry, but this looks more like someone fishing for money than an educated Jewish man of the cloth who's administrating and directing as much as is claimed.

Consider the source, know you can't control theives, and anyone who's honestly going to charitably give to him probably needs to learn a lesson in judging who they give their money to.

On that note, glad to see the site here! I'll include it in my regular reading.

 
At 12:13 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I've always found that the Bible (or in this case Torah)thumpers are the worst when it comes to people taking advantage of the homeless population. They say they want to help you, but they actually want to convert you.

 
At 2:34 PM, Blogger Anthropositor said...

Well, young whippersnapper,

Let me just say your handle, Mobile Homemaker is very politically correct but makes it sound a bit like you work in a trailer factory someplace. But who am I to talk? Very few people know for sure what an Anthropositor is, and the ones who are sure they know are definitely wrong. Google it. Some clues will pop up.

I think the poon-tang lube is just a fine idea. I myself like the warming variety, especially in cold weather. Now as to the cashier thinking I was going to have sex, I would be much more concerned if she thought I wasn’t going to. Different mind-set I guess.

I first became home-free at the age of twelve. It only lasted for a few days. It was really exciting and invigorating, not to mention super dangerous. I really do not recommend that unless you have no other options. My next memorable escape was at fourteen. That time I got out of the country. Yes, that’s right. I was an illegal alien in Mexico. It worked out pretty well actually. I have written about it now and then, but I forget where. It will turn up when I least expect it, I’m sure.

I haven’t really gotten all that much time in, being home-free. Maybe five years total, if one added up all the episodes. Of course, it was harder in many ways back in those days. Many of my associates were referred to as bums or hobo’s. Then, only a few years later the Beatnik Generation came into vogue. I went to New York and pretended to be sort of a beatnik, but I could never quite get the sniveling and feeling sorry for yourself part quite right. And I bought unclaimed white shirts and tuxedo shirts which I purchased frequently from a Chinese Laundry on Christopher Street in Greenwich Village. These were my garb when I recited poetry in the coffee-houses or hustled chess in Washington Park. Angst just does not come all that naturally to me and I just couldn‘t wear those grungy beatnik threads. I still wear Tuxedo shirts a lot, usually with a black lambskin dinner jacket. The cummerbund does not stay as flat as it once did. So usually I chop the cummerbund into a couple of coat pocket handkerchiefs which match the bowtie.

Of course, throughout all these years, I was dealing with ASD (Attention Surplus Disorder) which remains untreated, but reasonably under control now. Here I am talking about tuxedo shirts and archaic social trends. Next came the Hippie “revolution”. A time of considerable fun and confusion. But since it would take a few thousand words or more to do that subject justice, I think I ill just get back on topic.

The subject is, Innovative Uses for Poon Tang Lube. Certainly it works fine for shaving even without the thimbleful of water. Also there is a warming variety which should be fine in unusually cold weather. But, all in all, I am of the opinion that this is not the best use for the product.
Anthropositor
http://anthropositor-eurekaideas.blogspot.com/

 
At 11:48 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I just came across this site today. I must admit that I'm sad to see that it hasn't been updated in a while. I was really enjoying the guide. It's quite well written.

Anyway, the reason I stumbled across the site is because I'm planning a year long walk across Canada with nothing but my feet, some clothes, and a backpack full of supplies. The idea struck me that I would basically be living as a homeless person, so I thought I'd do a google search to find any and all info that I could to keep myself alive and well during my walk. Keep up the good work, and I look forward to reading more.

 
At 3:40 AM, Blogger mnuez said...

As an ordained Rabbi myself I was quite shocked by what you wrote about and went to check out the site for myself. Well, ehile there certainly are some bad Rabbis out there, this guy aint one of them. He may or may not be some sort of cheat but he is not a Rabbi. He is in fact a Christian "Jew for Jesus". These people are not Jewish. They were not born Jewish and did not convert to Judaism. They are a group of awfully strange folk who believe that the most important thing in all the world is for Jews to believe in Jesus and thus they call themselves "Rabbi"s and throw a few Jewish words around in the hope that they'll be able to fool a few of the less intelligent Semites into following them and into accepting Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. That's their goal and that's why they misrepresent themselves as Rabbis.

That such an individual - one who has dedicated his life to being a fraud - should plagerize your writing for his own personal gain is no surprise.

Hope this helps.

mnuez

 
At 8:54 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey MH, are you still around and planning to put this into book form?

 
At 1:06 PM, Blogger Mobile Homemaker said...

Still around. I'm just a bit stymied on the whole book thing. I'm also angry about some different issues right now, and my life has changed significantly. I've got family issues, issues pertaining to children's rights, issues about autism, ideas about addiction, and many personal problems. The result is that I am doing more fighting than writing, but I'm still here, moderating comments and occasionally even responding.

 
At 3:57 AM, Blogger CowHat said...

Hey MH!

I'm not experienced with blogspot, so I couldn't find a way to send you a private message. Instead I've posted here since you seem to read it.

Although I've never been homeless, I've sometimes wondered how I would survive if I was. I decided that I'd probably have to get my 7-8 hours of sleep during the day, and stay awake somewhere safe at night. Perhaps this is more feasible here in Sydney Australia, as we probably get more hours daylight then most Americans.

What are your thoughts on this?

Thanks

 
At 9:59 PM, Blogger Mobile Homemaker said...

To Cowhat,

I can't say I like the idea of turning nocturnal, unless that is how your body clock naturally runs. I recommend sleeping in a car with a cover on it at night. Sleeping in the open, either day or night, is hopelessly dangerous. Additionally, the lack of open stores, colleges, malls, libraries, and other resources at night is a significant disadvantage of night living.

My suggestion is that you try a test run. You may not be homeless, but that doesn't mean you can't pretend to be for a few days. Back in college I spent 12 hours blindfolded to experience blindness. Make yourself a plan and do the same for homelessness. Don't be too constrained by my recommendations. Advice, as they say, is worth what you paid for it.

 
At 2:10 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey Mobile Homemaker. I know this probably isn't the best place to post my comment, but I've just started reading your blog, and It's really intriguing. I am a 16 year old girl and I plan to become homeless for a while after college. I want to do this because I have always been fascinated by people, their choices, and their lifestyles. It's definitely an experience I'd want to... experience....

I was mainly wondering how i could go about getting started. I feel as though my parents wouldn't approve, fearing drugs and rape and other things, that I understand do happen. Do you have any advice?

 
At 2:41 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

As a real live Rabbi I kindly ask that you add a qualification to the offending parties name in your post, "Rabbi" Dale is not a rabbi (nor evn a Jew) and his fradulent taking of this title causes damage and distrust against Jews and their leaders from a person who has made their lifes work destroying Jews, we loose twice. Is it any wonder that he also engages in Plagarism?
Keep up the good work with your important survival tips for those who have less.

Kol Tov
Jerusalem Israel

 
At 3:18 PM, Blogger Sharyna said...

I love your blog. As someone who sees homelessness in their future, I am definitely taking notes.

sharyna

 
At 4:54 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

If his plagiarism bothers you report him to his ISP.

 
At 3:39 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

The "DCW Street Children Mission" is NOT a 501C3 nonprofit, as his site claims. These charities are recorded by the IRS here:
http://apps2.irs.gov/app2/pub78

This is simple fraud, and it's illegal.

Do the world a favor; report his site to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center:
http://www.ic3.gov/
(You can do it online.)

While you're at it, you could also report him to Blogspot and eBay (where he's also running his scam) and knock this scumbag off the web.

I'd do this myself, but I bet you'll enjoy it more.

 
At 6:02 PM, Blogger doctressjulia said...

HEY, just found yer blog... LOVE IT. I lived homeless in NM for 2 years, and it was challenging but wonderful. I am way tougher now... I am linking you to my blog, K? Thanx! :)

 
At 6:00 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I run into this problem quite frequently. You can contact Google, who takes a very dim view of this and will remove them from the index:

http://www.google.com/dmca.html

Hope this helps - and excellent site by the way!

 
At 9:54 PM, Blogger diode said...

Hey, MH. Love your blog as it's informative without being cheesy or sensation seeking. The only comment I have is that there are websites devoted to living in your car/truck, living cheap on the road. Your experience was not all that different except it's framed as homelessness while others see their existence as freedom to be on permanent vacation or mostly so. Any comment on that?

 
At 2:19 PM, Blogger Mobile Homemaker said...

Yes, I have a comment on that. Happily going to live on vacation ignores the civil rights issues, the undeserved social stigma, and the psychological effects of living on the fringe of society. It diminishes the importance of coming to terms, personally, with these problems. The fact is that most people who enter a lifestyle like this do so, initially, out of necessity, and face powerful hardships, physical, social, and mental. Some people stay in the lifestyle after they have the means to leave it because, as I said in the stolen entry Changing Your Life, a lifestyle is an investment. This doesn't mean that it is all fun, and all trivial.

 
At 5:51 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey Mobile Homemaker, I have gotten a lot of value from these posts and I would love to see you continue blogging. I hope your life is going well and that you write a new post every once in a while to at least let us know that you're alive!

Thanks for everything,
- Patrick

 
At 8:06 PM, Blogger Jehan said...

where are you?
will you ever post again?

 
At 6:13 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I love your blog. Like everyone else, I'm wondering where you went.

Now that at university, it would be very convenient for me to go homeless. The only problem I see is storing papers and clothes.

I don't want to depend on lockers as their availibility is not guaranteed, and I don't want to store them in someone else's room, as that could be inconvenient for the other person. Some classes, mainly art classes, have dedicated, locked classrooms, but I currently don't plan on taking them. Getting a car just for storing these things seems like overkill.


Do you have any other ideas of where to store things?

 
At 10:55 AM, Anonymous hx said...

off topic. im a little sad that you stopped posting. while the general population is horrified by the idea of homelessness and the homeless this is the first perspective that ive heard of that give credence/validation to the homeless life style or at the very least the alternative living situation.

 
At 2:27 AM, Anonymous Elisa said...

tse, a shame! how can that be?

 
At 1:37 PM, Blogger ancient clown said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

 
At 5:49 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Blessings:

I encourage people not to donate to charities...PERIOD. It's been my experience that the good stuff coming in ends up going right back out with the ones who are supposed to distribute it...instead of going to the ones who need it.

Give directly to the people that need it. You see someone fishing through the garbage looking for food...Feed them. You see someone sleeping under newspapers for warmth...Give them a blanket. ETC,ETC.

I think you get the idea. I helped fill freezers with donated food at a shelter, only to come back the next day and found quite a bit missing. In Victoria, B.C. numerous volunteers were dismissed for stealing donations...not arrested, like the homeless are for going through the garbage, taking stuff that has alreaady been discarded...just dismissed.

your humble servant,
ancient clown

P.S. I also have a blog fighting for the Right to Sleep

 
At 8:29 PM, Blogger Sim said...

a quick look into the address shows it's a shopping center in Arizona. there is a listing for a charity called ripe for harvest inc. i think this is just a case of paying someone to maintain a web page and he ripped content off.

 
At 8:26 PM, Blogger Boring Aaron said...

Why don't you use the "report abuse" link at the top of their page?

 
At 8:53 AM, Anonymous John said...

Not sure if you are still using this, but you could file a DCMA takedown notice with Google - http://www.google.com/blogger_dmca.html

 

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