Let's not get it twisted - your kindness is always appropriate. The last thing that thugs need is an excuse to clear-up our streets of the homeless in the form of a "government issued theme tune and mantra"
Many of the homeless that I interview report malicious attacks on them by random haters in Bournemouth. Now the government has the audacity to launch a campaign entitled 'Kindness Kills'; is that at all wise in this current climate? Not only have we just experienced one of Britain's worst recessions, but there has also been an accompanying increase in teen depression and suicide. Are we really saying that we are to withhold kindness from the victims of either?
And what of your high hopes for your own family members coming up? Can you imagine a day when they go through a slump that ends up to be fatal, because we fail to monitor our streets for the homeless? "David Atkinson’s father, Neil,said the family were devastated.The father-of-four said his son, a former pupil at Winton Boys’ School, had a breakdown last month but seemed to be turning things around" (Bourenmouth Echo 27.8.14) .All it takes is a spell of vagrancy for one of our promising youths to be snuffed out. Hatred kills, Kindness heals!
We can't say yet whether murder or suicide is involved in today's Echo reported death's of the 2 young homeless men (aged 27 and 21); What we can recognise though is:
- The marginalisation of the destitute
- The current climate of promoting the unkind,
- Our local government putting good money behind anti-kindness campaigns to promote unkind agendas
Couldn't agree more with the title...kindness does heal though there is a tipping point at which kindness stifles. Is that the point of the govt campaign...don't take kindness too far. I agree...we don't go far enough and between your view and the govts view there is much to be done so can you blog about how me/we/thee could be more kind? Mr Majestic
ReplyDeleteA good point and I reckon it is exactly the sentiment behind the government's recent kindness kills campaign; I also appreciate your call for a more proactive approach, that's precisely what's needed. Here in Bournemouth that would require active steps to open back up the homeless shelter, offering ad hoc respite to the homeless at £3 per night. This week I am looking into why it closed and what it would take to get it re-opened. I will update on my findings so the audience can get on board with tangible solutions.
DeleteIn the interim, I will also be looking at ways to provide very incremental and practical solutions like raising funds for hot drinks flasks, dry socks, toiletries and the like.
In recognition of your point that kindness stifles - there are many issues why some people have fallen out of societal norms of living. The issues are rarely just one - like finances, addiction or depression - they are usually a combination of interrelated factors combined with social isolation. We have all experienced marginalisation and societal rejection to various degrees; the homeless simply don't have any reserves to shore themselves up against the worst types of vulnerabilities of being ostracised.
There are two factors that add urgency to the current Bournemouth homeless situation - the imminent Winter weather conditions and the recent bout of street violence that's been reported; resulting in injuries, loss & damage, rapes and even deaths. I don't know whether the governments assertions against the moral fibre of the typical homeless has encouraged these recent attacks, but I doubt very much that it's discouraged them either