m W THE NATIONAL COLLEGE NEWSPAPER
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COMMENT AND OPINION
New homeless shatter ‘psychotic’ stereotype
By Dan Morrison
■ The Daily Tar Heel
U. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Twenty-five years ago, a social work
er would have spoken of the “homeless”
in terms of foster children and run
aways. But the meaning of the word has
changed, and so have the people it de
scribes.
Americans could ignore the homeless
in 1960 and 1970 because they weren’t
considered people worth saving. The old
woman talking to herself on a park
bench wasn’t viewed as a victim of the
economy, but rather as a woman who
needed psychiatric help.
The casual observer had cause to feel
this way. The period from 1960 to 1980
was one of “forced emancipation” of
America’s mentally ill from over
crowded mental institutions.
A bankrupt Indiana farmer
... now sits next to the
confused old lady on the
park bench.
Experts estimate there are as many
as 3 million people sleeping in card
board boxes and huddling over street
vents. But in 1988 those 3 million are
not all psychotic. A growing number
cannot afford to live decently.
A bankrupt Indiana farmer who once
put food on American tables now sits
next to the confused old lady on the park
bench.
A 1986 article in Society magazine
L
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it
S'
§
entitled “The New Poor” states that ear
ly in this century, the poor were mostly
uneducated immigrants with little job
training. The ethnic barrier has been
broken. The article says that “the new
poor are a much less homogenous group
that includes structurally unemployed
persons . . . the mentally ill and the
‘voluntary poor’.”
The Society article also points to the
reduction in affordable housing. Be
tween 1971 and 1978 the number of
single-room dwellings in New York City
fell from 170,000 to 14,000 due to “tax
abatements and condo conversion.”
Society says the “voluntary poor” are
“remnants of the ’60s counterculture,
. . . who are drawn to the simplicity of
street life.” Included are people like 40
year-old Joyce Brown, a former stenog
rapher who is suing the city of New York
for taking her off the streets. Her case
brings to light a major difference be
tween the American homeless and their
brethren in foreign countries.
The United States is the only country
in the world where a citizen can legally
live on the streets. If a college dropout
wants to soul-search while living like a
pauper outside a bus station, the Con
stitution is behind him
The Latin American poor are poor
only by our standards. We see pictures
of them barefoot and carrying heavy
baskets down dirt roads and assume
they are “poor.” Most don’t even realize
they are poor until we bring it to their
attention. Latin Americans have been
sensitized to a life of poverty from birth
Ninety-nine percent of them will always
be poor. The American p<xir, however,
are a minority.
The United States is the
only country in the world
where a citizen can legally
live on the streets.
For the American blue-collar worker
who once brought home $200 a week,
the thought of poverty hits hard. A Col
ombian coffee picker has few expecta
tions placed on him by society. If he was
born into a coffee-picking family, he will
pick coffee.
An American, on the other hand is
expected to rise to his God-given ta
lents, and anything short of that is often
considered a failure.
It is true that a majority of America’s
homeless have a history of alcohol and
drug abuse, as well as mental disorders.
But among their ranks is a growing
number of economic misfits—single
adults and entire families who have fal
len through the cracks. Their plight
makes headlines and exposes a gaping
wound in American society that de
mands more than a mere Band-Aid.
Forgotten art of listening needs a renaissance
People urged to communicate better
By Stephen Buckley
■ The Chronicle
Duke U., NC
A friend of mine says the key to deal
ing with conflict is communication.
She has a point. In everything from
world crises to parent-child rela
tionships, open and honest com
munication is essential to achieving
understanding and progress.
The problem, however, is not that
folks aren’t talking. Lord knows the
world is overflowing with “great com
municators,” men and women who
possess the enviable ability to come
across with power, clarity and eloqu
ence.
Instead, there appears to be a
dearth of good listeners. Listening has
become a forgotten art, especially in
day-to-day relations.
Parents teach good manners, instill
values and shape their offspring into
responsible, upstanding human
beings. However, moms and dads
rarely encourage their children to be
good listeners. The old warning “Stop,
look and listen” has been replaced
with “Look both ways.”
One reason for the de-emphasis on
listening may be that parents refuse to
listen to their kids’ ideas and opinions.
In a great number of parent-child
situations, the deaf are leading the
deaf.
The irony is that listening is neces
sary for success in almost every pro
fession. The best doctors hold their pa
tients’ thoughts in high esteem;
lawyers must be able to hear what
their clients are saying—or not
.saying—before they can advise or de
fend.
Ted Koppel, the host of ABC’s
“Nightline,” is commonly referred to
as the best interviewer on television.
What really sets Koppel apart is his
ability to keep interviewees from
rambling off the subject or squirming
around the issue. Koppel can do this
because he is a superb listener.
Consider Jesse Jackson, whose
push for the Democratic presidential
nomination shocked political experts
and skeptical columnists alike.
Voters cited a variety of reasons for
supporting Jackson, and the most im
portant of these was the perception—
especially among the working class
and the poor—that this candidate lis
tens to the people.
Listening is just as important on a
more personal level. Some of our most
nagging frustrations occur when we
feel someone doesn’t value what we
say. In failed marriages, a common
complaint is that one spouse did not
listen to the other. The same goes for
suicide victims, who often leave notes
that essentially say, “No one was
listening.”
Some may argue that to point out
the importance of listening is tanta
mount to observing that the sky is
blue. Hut that doesn’t solve the prob
lem. The world is teeming with people
yearning to be heard. Witness the re
cent popularity of radio counseling
shows and telephone party lines.
Without question, there is much vir
tue in being able to express one’s
thoughts effectively. Nevertheless, we
should cultivate a balance in our
thinking, so that we listen as intently
to the other half of the conversation.
Our world does not only need open
mouths. It also needs open ears.