Blogger #1 (Cain Hall)

Blogger #1

Cain Hall

English 105

            The homeless population in Long Beach, California is staggering, and remarkably noticeable. If asked to a control group of persons living in or around the area, most to all would say that they see someone who is homeless frequently. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, an individual who lacks housing is classified as homeless. That means that with this definition, there are a substantial amount of persons that are without a place to sleep permanently. A substantial amount of people, all with different stories and situations.

            Each and every homeless person is in their own situation because of factors that the general public or you and I might not know. When active in the city there is a strong chance you’ll see homeless, and what might you assume? Would you assume that the person is in the position they are in because of drugs, addiction, gambling or because they are a criminal? This is classified as a stereotype. I am not saying that it’s wrong to think that because when I walk down the street and see a homeless person I would think the same thing. Though, I would state that this train of thought is ignorant. If you were in their position would you want others to think less of you as a person? We have no clue of the actions they made or the struggles or the circumstances of that individuals’ life.

-this would be a great transition into a section exploring where these negative stereotypes come from and how they stick around to this day.  This would also be a good place to discuss how such stereotypes not only affect what we think about the homeless but how we interact and consider assisting the homeless as well 

            I had the chance to interview a man by the name of John Rogers, a homeless individual from the Long Beach area. John was courteous enough to allow us to interview him of his situation and he was surprisingly cooperative. John, before his situation, joined the military to follow the footsteps of his brother and serve in the Vietnam War. His brother was killed in action and John returned home to people with less than a warm welcome because of his involvement in the war and a severe case of PTSD. John’s case is a prime example that stereotypes of the homeless are not always accurate. 
- could we not say that a stereotype for veterans, even homeless veterans, is that they come home with PTSD?  How is he an example of challenging the stereotype? Or more specifically, what stereotypes do you feel he challenges? This section may need more detail of John's story so your readers are moved by John the way the video moved you. 

I can say that personally I was ignorant to the idea of homeless persons before. I can firmly say now that you cannot judge a book by its cover.
- here you mention personal experience as a way of showing how you recognized/became aware of negative stereotypes and their affects on you maybe more so than before.  Now, this is tied into John's story but how can you develop this notion of personal experience as another point that supports your focus/position, which seems to be that negative stereotypes and representations of veterans can lead to ignorance as well as lack of understanding and support.  
-maybe another voice/story would work as an example as well 

            John’s story shows that you cannot just throw a label onto all homeless; just like you cannot throw a label onto any other group of people. For any of us, that one person that seems to walk the street at night might have experienced something very traumatic, he might have lost everything. It is not for us to judge his or her life.

            John’s and many others’ stories out there are all unique and thinking this way of the homeless, I would hope that people out there empathize. At the end of the day anyone can become homeless from a decision or indecision and it is our responsibility as a community to empathize and cut out the stereotypes of how we look at another.

-if you are to stick with just John's story then I would say consider narrowing your focus/position of negative stereotypes even more to the veteran homeless population and then get a little more info on that current situation, specifically in Long Beach as that seems to be your focus. 
-if you want to be more broad, I would consider adding more examples of various types of homeless stories that challenge various stereotypes to further support your point