A story on a local organization reaching out to help the unhoused in my current area. The director of the organization is quoted using the term “unhoused”, but the reporter (or their editor) decided to use the more charged term “homeless” in the by-line and the article.
OMG YES!!!
I used to do security at some shelters and the local Ministry for Social Development offices (Welfare office). Through those experiences I learned that there is a big, big difference between calling someone homeless/addict or saying “experiencing homelessness/addiction”
The title says it the correct way, the opening paragraph does not. That being said, “unhoused” doesn’t colloquially imply homeless and could be misconstrued as people being evicted. Regardless, after reading the article I don’t think the author intended to degrade people with their wording.
Anecdotally, I think we do a disservice to the people directly suffering from homelessness/addiction/mental health by misdirecting our frustrations towards the journalists increasing awareness of the problem.
Similarly, I think we do disservice to a lot of victimized and marginalized people by continually ‘improving’ the language surrounding specific issues and subsequently attacking people -who are engaging the topic in good faith- for not adopting the prescribed nomenclature fast enough.
…there is a big, big difference between calling someone homeless/addict or saying “experiencing homelessness/addiction”
I agree with this – my point in bringing this up was to highlight the differences in the language we use and the images and ideas those words conjure in the reader/listener. Your experiences are much more direct than mine, and I appreciate the insight.
… I don’t think the author intended to degrade people with their wording. … I think we do a disservice to the people directly suffering from homelessness/addiction/mental health by misdirecting our frustrations towards the journalists increasing awareness of the problem.
I see your points. However, had the director of the facility also used the term “homeless”, I would have never posted this. Its the changing of the word from what was said to what was written that gave me pause.
On the other hand, you have also given me some other ways to think about this story and how it was presented. Thanks for forcing me to confront some of my biases.
It’s honestly hard to say if it was an overt political choice or simply using a more familiar term to the reader base, southern illinois being more on the rural side.
Is there places where that’s not the standard average-Joe term?
From the UK here, is there context to why it is political or shouldn’t be used over the other? I am not familiar with it being a political term in the UK. I am asking out of a desire to learn not interject with an opinion more than anything
No worries. It does rely on some knowledge of American subcultures though, and how much some of us like fucking with words. We dont give no fucks how we sound, often.
Homelessness, then, is a major wedge issue, particularly with the right, as they try to pin the blame for it on their opposition. That wedge-issue-ness is tied into feelings, how they feel about homeless. When you change the name though, that context can change. The new name doesn’t summon the old feelings anymore.
This is why you always see the right put so much focus on controlling language, to them language is perception, and is more cultural and individual than dem voters tend to see it.
So you’ll frequently get this ring-around-the-rosie where the left comes up with terms, the right turns them into insults, the left comes up with new ones, etc etc.
particularly with the right, as they try to pin the blame for it on their opposition.
How the hell do they do that? What policies are they pushing that would help the homeless?
Here, they try not to mention it as a societal problem at all, and if they do they paint it as inevitable and/or deserved.
Average joe kinda implies middle American, so no, probably not.
Are you saying you don’t think republicans try to blame the homeless problem on democrats?
