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Poverty Porn

Section_31

By Section_31,
in GF - General Forum

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Section_31 Grand Master

Section_31

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Heard the phrase recently and it really struck a chord with me. You see this more and more now, students taking selfies of themselves with homeless people and recounting their life story on Facebook.

 

A councillor where my mum lives has publicly launched her own Christmas jumpers for kids collection for families. It's for when your kids grow out of their Christmas jumpers (?) So they can be donated to a smaller kid that can't afford a jumper. What kid actually wants a jumper? The fucking famous five?

 

Also, have you clocked that advert about the hairdresser giving hair cuts to the homeless. How gutted would you be if you were homeless and hungry and someone offered you a fucking short back and sides? Also, I only recently clocked that it's a big lottery advert- which means he's probably getting paid for the 'service' from grant money. What a slippery fuck. 

 

Comes to something where we're becoming a society that uses the hardship of others to get ourselves kudos. I blame Geldof.

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Paul
Paul

This thread could’ve been easily summed up in three words: Tories are cunts. 

Pidge
Pidge

The hairdresser fella has been doing that in his own time for ages and it does seem to bring a little self-esteem to people who need it.  Think Vice or someone did a little piece on him and he's been

Nunavut Patrick
Nunavut Patrick

I work as a bus driver and see lots of homelessness, you get to know the regulars. Some are homeless by choice- Shopping Cart Jesus is an El Salvadoran lad who has all his stuff in a trolley and has s

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Elite Grand Master

Elite

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People posting videos of themselves giving McDonalds/Chippy/etc to the homeless is some narcissistic shit. It's a nice gesture but then it's ruined when it goes up on Facebook to get some 'likes'.

 

That Hairdresser bloke is pretty much the hairdresser bloke out of Benidorm.

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Section_31 Grand Master

Section_31

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1 minute ago, Elite said:

People posting videos of themselves giving McDonalds/Chippy/etc to the homeless is some narcissistic shit. It's a nice gesture but then it's ruined when it goes up on Facebook to get some 'likes'.

I see very little if any movement in society to tackle the issues causing poverty and homelessness, which is what makes it all the more tragic.

 

Most people are fully paid up members of a system that exacerbates inequality and vote for a party that champions it. No amount of donating socks to people on tax credits is going to make even the tiniest bit of difference.

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Elite Grand Master

Elite

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2 minutes ago, Section_31 said:

I see very little if any movement in society to tackle the issues causing poverty and homelessness, which is what makes it all the more tragic.

 

Most people are fully paid up members of a system that exacerbates inequality and vote for a party that champions it. No amount of donating socks to people on tax credits is going to make even the tiniest bit of difference.

Yeah it's like people sticking plasters on broken limbs, thinking they've done their bit.

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Pidge Grand Master

Pidge

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The hairdresser fella has been doing that in his own time for ages and it does seem to bring a little self-esteem to people who need it.  Think Vice or someone did a little piece on him and he's been a recurrent wholesome-hipster story since.  If the Lottery give him some money that means he can do something he cares about rather than giving short back and sides to an endless stream of dickheads at Toni and Guy, good for him.

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Elite Grand Master

Elite

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3 minutes ago, Pidge said:

The hairdresser fella has been doing that in his own time for ages and it does seem to bring a little self-esteem to people who need it.  Think Vice or someone did a little piece on him and he's been a recurrent wholesome-hipster story since.  If the Lottery give him some money that means he can do something he cares about rather than giving short back and sides to an endless stream of dickheads at Toni and Guy, good for him.

Well that's fair enough. Good guy.

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Oh Buoy Veteran

Oh Buoy

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1 hour ago, Section_31 said:

Heard the phrase recently and it really struck a chord with me. You see this more and more now, students taking selfies of themselves with homeless people and recounting their life story on Facebook.

 

A councillor where my mum lives has publicly launched her own Christmas jumpers for kids collection for families. It's for when your kids grow out of their Christmas jumpers (?) So they can be donated to a smaller kid that can't afford a jumper. What kid actually wants a jumper? The fucking famous five?

 

Also, have you clocked that advert about the hairdresser giving hair cuts to the homeless. How gutted would you be if you were homeless and hungry and someone offered you a fucking short back and sides? Also, I only recently clocked that it's a big lottery advert- which means he's probably getting paid for the 'service' from grant money. What a slippery fuck. 

 

Comes to something where we're becoming a society that uses the hardship of others to get ourselves kudos. I blame Geldof.

There's a few questions that come from this: 

  • Do people understand the nature of homelessness (e.g. why some choose to stay on the streets rather than taking up accommodation and the consequences if they do take up accommodation)? 
  • Do people know how to actually help? Does buying a coffee and a chat help? 
  • Are local services enough for those who are actually homeless? Where's the conversation about the gaps/black holes? 
  • Is the social media element just a message for self-esteem/confidence? Is it that these people just don't actually know how to help? Or is it solely for popularity and gratification? 
  • Are we doing enough to support people who are likely to be susceptible to drug addiction, mental health problems and restrictions to accessing services? 

If people knew the pathways and experiences of these folks, it may guide a conversation on how to actually solve the issue. Doing this may actually provide people with the tools/knowledge needed to help - at the moment the questions that immediately come to mind when seeing people on the street are: Are they dead? Are they really homeless? Will money actually help? Will I just be fuelling their drug habits? How can I help? 

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A Red Grand Master

A Red

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If everyone helped a little bit, however daft it might seem, xmas jumpers for example, it would surely be a good thing. To try to paint people that do these things as only doing it to further themselves doesnt help. 

 

I do agree though, there needs to be a greater understanding of why people are homeless and what help they actually do need. 

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Captain Turdseye Grand Master

Captain Turdseye

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1 hour ago, Section_31 said:

A councillor where my mum lives has publicly launched her own Christmas jumpers for kids collection for families. It's for when your kids grow out of their Christmas jumpers (?) So they can be donated to a smaller kid that can't afford a jumper. What kid actually wants a jumper? The fucking famous five?

 

To be fair, all the schools have Christmas Jumper Day’s now and it’s harsh on kids that don’t have one. 

 

It was on at my kid’s school on Thursday and there was only one kid that turned up wearing school uniform. Stuck out like a sore thumb. You won’t be surprised to hear it was the same kid who was palmed off onto us for her birthday a few weeks ago. Bastards. 

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Tony Moanero Grand Master

Tony Moanero

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15 minutes ago, Captain Turdseye said:

 

To be fair, all the schools have Christmas Jumper Day’s now and it’s harsh on kids that don’t have one. 

 

It it was on at my kid’s school on Thursday and there was only one kid that turned up wearing school uniform. Stuck out like a sore thumb. You won’t be surprised to hear it was the same kid who was palmed off onto us for her birthday a few weeks ago. Bastards. 

Fucking horrible, that. Must be able to get kids Christmas jumpers from The Asda for about a fiver?

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moof Grand Master

moof

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23 minutes ago, A Red said:

If everyone helped a little bit, however daft it might seem, xmas jumpers for example, it would surely be a good thing. To try to paint people that do these things as only doing it to further themselves doesnt help. 

 

I do agree though, there needs to be a greater understanding of why people are homeless and what help they actually do need. 

Could always try voting in a socially conscious government, I know, sounds mad. 

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Section_31 Grand Master

Section_31

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30 minutes ago, Captain Turdseye said:

 

To be fair, all the schools have Christmas Jumper Day’s now and it’s harsh on kids that don’t have one. 

 

It was on at my kid’s school on Thursday and there was only one kid that turned up wearing school uniform. Stuck out like a sore thumb. You won’t be surprised to hear it was the same kid who was palmed off onto us for her birthday a few weeks ago. Bastards. 

I should point out that her Labour council is pretty infamous for slashing funding to things like SEN provision and blaming the Tories while retaining the free bar at the Mayors' Christmas do.

 

Something else I fucking hate is slacktivism. There's about a dozen websites that allow you to auto generate an email to your MP now (I think one of them is actually called 'do gooder') on any subject from Brexit to salmon fishing in the Yemen. The MP auto generates a letter on your behalf to a minister, who auto generates one back to the MP who then auto generates one back to you. Then all is well in the world. Or not, as the case may be.

 

It's just all nibbling around the edges of real problems to make ourselves feel better while no actual change or prospect of change is achieved. 

 

Hand jobs for the homeless on the Arts council's nipple is not going to bring about any real change, except to make your own Instagram page look quirky.

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