However, when discussing those in positions of authority, I think their view is a bit different. They are, after all, the ones that determine and enforce the conditions under which houseless people live and shape the events that unfold leading up to houselessness. But they don’t see it like that. Their hatred of houseless people stems from whatever is most convenient to them. Do we pose a threat to your established “law and order?” Then being houseless is a character trait, and we must be dealt with accordingly. Are they doing a PR stunt to show how benevolent they are toward all us poors? Then it’s a hatred of the condition. “Look at how dirty and hopeless they are! This Christmas, give the gift of kindness.” And a lot of times it’s both. They hate seeing our crooked tents and dirty clothes, and think we’re nothing but a threat to others. It’s best to just drive us all out of town or throw us in jail for noncompliance. Whatever their opinion is on houseless people, it will always be counter to anything resembling a good opinion. Whatever is most convenient to them is good enough to help them sleep at night.

People seeing houseless folk in public makes them uncomfortable because that person isn’t from another country they can look at from a distance or a statistic they read online. They’re a real person, in front of them, here, begging for help, barely surviving, making the most of what they have; a victim of systemically violent circumstances that people acknowledge exists in their given country but ignore completely. It makes them uncomfortable because they know that they, along with most other people, do nothing to help, and that if they ever ended up houseless they’d be faced with similar conditions and experience the same inhumane treatment. Thus they develop a hatred of that condition which leads them to concoct fairytales about why people are houseless, to make themselves feel better about not doing a damn thing to make sure nobody ever ends up houseless.