Leftist LawyerMar 4, 2023

Religions are not organizations where people learn to be moral. They are in-groups where people are taught to focus on the immorality of out-groups, thereby making themselves feel superior.

As an example, I was in my office yesterday and two lawyers (and one lawyer’s) son (all catholics) were shooting the shit when conversation turned to the “con” that is homeless people who just “don’t want to work” b/c it’s so “easy” to beg on the street, and how they’re not “really” poor, it’s all just a scam.

All our doors were open b/c no clients were around — it was the end of the day. And so I overheard the entire conversation. I stuck my nose in the office, leaned against the door, shook my head and said “Jesus is so disappointed in all of you right now. I’m pretty sure his gospel taught charity for the poor, not resentment.”

Two of them immediately blushed and shut up. One lawyer erupted. “But they’re not POOR! They’re hypocrites!” He exclaimed. To which I replied, “I thought that was god’s to judge.” He stormed off and slammed the door to his office.

It’s not about god, or morals. It’s about feeling powerful among an in-group while persecuting an out-group. It’s sick.

Show threadDarwin WoodkaMar 4, 2023
@LeftistLawyer I'm really disgusted by the people who think homelessness is a choice. It's a combination of so many factors but none of those factors really amounts to anything but being too poor to afford a place to live. Drug addiction, mental illness, pure poverty, whatever the reason, they aren't out to scam anyone.
Show threadKarl
@darwinwoodka who said it’s a choice??
Mar 5, 2023 at 1:34amWeb
Show threadWesDymMar 5, 2023

@karl There's a couple versions of this belief. The more common is that people are homeless because of choices they make, and would not be if they made different ones.

Most people who say that don't understand the harsh economic factors involved and how hard it is to escape homelessness, but some of them subscribe to the Just World Hypothesis, that everyone gets what they 'deserve'.

A different belief some people have is that some people really WANT to be homeless, which is almost never true.

Show threadKarlMar 5, 2023
@wesdym I would suspect the vast majority need mental health care. I volunteered, making meals for the homeless handed out supplies during the pandemic, and I can tell you firsthand sadly, at least half of the folks I interacted with needed mental health assistance as much as anything.
Show threadWesDymMar 5, 2023

@karl I've been homeless myself, and it's my belief that while mental illness can lead to homelessness, the converse is also true. Homelessness is a traumatic experience for many (maybe most) people, and especially over time probably degrades many people's mental function. Just surviving is a lot of work, and as a nonstop activity that's going to wear people down a lot.

We should just house people for starters, give them some functional stability to start with, and then sort out the rest later.

Show threadKarlMar 5, 2023
@wesdym could not agree more. It’s chicken and egg. Glad to see you seem to be back on your feet. Anything I may be able to do to help you continue to grow and flourish, just ask.