How America grew intolerant of homeless people

The term "homeless" is fairly new, but the concept isn't. There have been different names for people who, whether through financial difficulties or through personal choice, don't have a permanent roof over their heads. The terms start out in a gentle way, or what we would call "politically correct" and then evolve into things that are harsh, and rude, and maybe even comical. I don't hear the word "hobo" much anymore, but there was a time when it was common, as were hobos. There was a time when people were indulgent of what we would call homeless people, also called transients.

Hobos weren't part of my world, and I only know about them because of my interest in history. I'm well-stricken in years, but by the time I was growing up, the indulgent attitude towards these types of people had ended. By the way, you can include this category the people who used to hang out at Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco, "flower children". The cops were already asking them to move along. Or else!

To really understand the indulgent attitude that America used to have for people who lived on the streets, or in tents, you have to go back to the Great Depression. A LOT of people were thrown out of work, stood in breadlines, and just moved around the country. And then things in America got better fast. Everything you've read about how booming the economy was in the 1950s is true, it was a golden time. Jobs were plentiful, houses were being built, there was money everywhere.

And of course the price paid for all of this wealth and activity was the kind of stress that working men suffered from - trapped in a nine-to-five job, strapped to a mortgage, raising kids who were growing with a boom. And nostalgia for the "good old days" set in, including the freedom of being what we now call homeless. There were images of old-time hobos, they were popularized in movies and on TV, but in real life they were becoming rarer and rarer.

Being face-to-face with someone who hasn't had a change of clothes in a very long time, and has been obligated to do, uh, bodily functions without the convenience of a bathroom right down the hall, is something that most of the people I've ever known have never experienced. But I've been very close to these people, quite often, and while they seem to be picturesque in old photos and drawings, in reality they're kind of frightening, even to me. And I'm a full-grown man! Having these people on the steps outside of restaurants, or sitting in parks where children play isn't exactly picturesque. 

Homeless people are not a problem to be solved. These aren't stray dogs, they're people. And it's nothing new, either. They will always be among us who are more fortunate, and the only question is how exactly to share the world with them.

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