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Will America become one huge tent city?
by Sherri B.
| Apr. 15, 2008 |
Los Angeles is known for its "tent cities". They are huge homeless encampments in which the people are usually harassed, relocated, and mocked. The 2007 homeless report for L.A. states:| |
Based on the Department of Housing and Urban Development's protocols, an estimated 141,737 homeless people in the Los Angeles CoC experience homelessness sometime during the year. This annual estimate of homelessness represents approximately 1.5% of Los Angeles CoC's total population. |
I take these numbers with a grain of salt. Why? Because the numbers are for L.A. proper, and how can they get an accurate census? I live about an hour north of Los Angeles, and I've noticed an increase in the homeless. They're on every corner, they're at the grocery store, and very often at the laundromat I use. Why should this bug me?
It's their stories. They range from having worked for 30 years in one job and being laid off, working several jobs and still not being able to survive, being vets and having trouble getting assistance. (Smelly vagrants aren't allowed on the library computers.) In every story they tell, a person has gone from having a "regular life" to homelessness in an astonishingly brief period of time.
I come home to my little piece of crap place grateful for the roof over my head, my food, family, etc. Even though I have a landlord that would boot me out in a second if it weren't for the incredibly ridiculous rent he charges, we pay it. Why? Because like many in this country our credit is good, but not great. In L.A. that's the difference between a piece of crap and something barely manageable.
I always figured I'd always have a place to stay, should something happen in my life that would make me lose
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Just how close are we to the homeless that we help, but hope like hell we never to have to live their lives?
What happens to us, the USA, as a family?
Will America become one huge tent city, manned by armed gunmen? Or a fighting, biting, screaming free for all-citizens running wild-dirty and hungry and ruthless? |
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my home. So where do all of these people come from? They have so many stories, so much pain. I have no idea which stories are true and which are figments of their imaginations, but I always wonder -- where are their families?
I know they're not all saints, but the things happening in this country right now give me serious pause. I have three backup plans, just in case I lose my living arrangements. I'm grateful to have a place to go, but in just a few months war may be raining down on our soil. What happens then? When homes, churches, places of employment, grocery stores etc are empty shells?
Just how close are we to the homeless that we help, but hope like hell we never to have to live their lives?
What happens to us, the USA, as a family? Will America become one huge tent city, manned by armed gunmen? Or a fighting, biting, screaming free for all-citizens running wild-dirty and hungry and ruthless?
Let's hope the changes that come turn us back into a family-united and prepared. I shudder to think too much about the alternative.
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If you have family, you have emergency alternatives. We have family relatively nearby, my mother- and father-in-law, and they're our only emergency alternative for housing (an emergency being, more than a few weeks without both my husband and I working). But the in-laws aren't in great financial shape either, and after a few months we'd almost certainly want to move out, even if it meant homelessness. We don't talk about such things, but if one of the in-laws dies, the other would probably move in with us, meaning that our emergency alternative would evaporate away, as we provide that alternative ourselves.
And of course, a lot of people don't have any family to fall back on. For them the emergency plan is to hang out at that laundromat you use.
Changing the subject, America has no enemies capable of waging war against it, because as a matter of policy, America never, ever picks on nations capable of fighting back. If America faced even the slightest real danger of war on American soil, the American military would be at home, defending America, instead of abroad, squatting on foreign peoples' lands. So I'm not sure what you mean when you write that "war may be raining down on our soil" in mere months. War from where, from who?
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I meant countries like Russia, China, Pakistan, etc. This coming administration may be prone to "intelligence-related" mistakes in the biggest ways possible. Iran going at it with Israel to bring both us and Russia into the fray -- just alternative theories should the next president-pyscho lose control of himself.
I do hope we'd get our men back here in time and in good psychological and physical condition to protect all of our borders but I honestly worry about the next President. We push and posture but what if someone makes a "real" mistake causing red flags to be raised and real war declared against us? It seems unreal but lately I'm ruling nothing out.
I was referring to the country as a family, that would hopefully come together in times of serious strife, but I guess you're right. If the family isn't immediate there's little chance of us having each others' backs when the fur really does fly.
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In the back of my mind, in my brighter flights of fantasy, I occasionally like to imagine that nations we think of as America's friends -- England, France, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, a few others -- might band together to give an ultimatum to America's insane leadership. Sort of an international intervention, a serious talking-to, a much-needed slap across the face... But realistically, the time for that kind of courageous sit-down came several years ago, and even assuming such a chat would be super-duper secret, I rather doubt it ever happened or ever will.
I like your thinking of America as a national family... I'll be curious to see whether America responds to the coming economic collapse with family-style pitching in and helping... I promise I'll do all I can, and I'm certain we'll have a chance to see, 'cuz that collapse is already close enough to hear, like an approaching storm.
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