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Comment by DoreenMichele | Hacker News Reader

But realistically, I'm one person, and too small, and I don't _really_ know what's going on.

I'm just one person. I've researched this problem space for many years. I had a class on Homelessness and Public Policy well before I ended up homeless.

I think I have some good ideas, but I can't get traction because people with money and power don't actually take me seriously, either online or in meat space.

I wrote this recently and submitted it to HN.

https://streetlifesolutions.blogspot.com/2019/08/a-small-tow...

I think it got one upvote. So I'm pretty fed up and feeling like it won't get fixed precisely because people actively want it to not be fixed, not because it can't be fixed.

I'm a subject matter expert. It doesn't matter. People just want to keep justifying the status quo and calling homeless people junkies and crazies.

Having been homeless, obviously, I'm crazy. No need to listen to fuck all I say, clearly.

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Doreen, I've always found your contributions to be both insightful and refreshing, especially in a monoculture like HN. As someone who comes from a similar background, I have a deep respect for your willingness to openly talk about your experiences despite the prejudice and discrimination you face because of it.

Please keep submitting your work. The increasing reality for many working people is that they are one or a few misfortunate events away from losing their livelihood. While many HN have believe that they won't ever have to face that fate, their friends, family and neighbors increasingly will.

Vilifying the poor is part of the divide and conquer strategy of the ultra wealthy. They rely on us having a enemy other than them.

Although I am extremely frustrated with a number of things, I do not think this is true in most cases. Of course, you find awful people at all levels of society, but I think most rich people genuinely don't understand the needs of the poor, don't have good opportunities to really get a clue and a lot of what they do falls much more under the idea of "Never attribute to malice what can be readily explained by stupidity" -- only substitute ignorance for stupidity.

One of the reasons I run my big fat mouth on the topic is because I do have a much more privileged background than I understood for most of my life, so I have the opportunity to bridge that gap to some degree.

I wish to hell and back that it wasn't such a slog of an endless uphill battle. I'm tired of my life being such a drag and of feeling so burdened, etc.

But I'm really not down with simply vilifying "rich people" in a broad-brush fashion. I see that as a lazy answer and a counterproductive answer.

I'm fine with calling out specific instances, commenting on known track records of individuals, etc. I'm not fine with "those people" are "just bad people."

If nothing else, it's a pot calling the kettle black kind thing and I abhor hypocrisy.

Eh, sometimes you need to submit stuff on HN multiple times for it to get traction. Don’t get discouraged.

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