tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-708029347140412220.post3965618676948705311..comments2023-04-04T05:19:16.011-07:00Comments on James Deagle: Suburban Wildlife: A Very Short PrimerJames Deaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10800947010889311563noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-708029347140412220.post-2737415310421228532014-04-29T09:03:26.019-07:002014-04-29T09:03:26.019-07:00Thank you for reading and for having the courage t...Thank you for reading and for having the courage to call me out on this. This post is a critique of the smug and elitist attitude that can often arise among suburbanites, and being a product of suburbia myself, it is also an exercise in self-critique. The use of the word “derelict” was intended to convey the nascent callousness towards homeless people that had begun creeping into my own attitudes. I’m not proud of it, and in fact when I first wrote this piece in a private journal I was keeping at the time, it was something that bothered me enough that I felt compelled to confront it on paper.<br /><br />The two dominant themes in this piece are that those who have it all (homeowners and aspiring homeowners) are prone to viewing those who have nothing (the homeless) as something less than human, as mere animals, hence my choice of wording “…one of them would get loose inside our building,” as well as the idea that human expansion (either by boom/bust cycles or sprawling suburbs) creates homelessness, either in human or animal populations.<br /><br />Although I am glad this piece compelled you to share your story (even if by way of a rebuke), I am sorry for the attitudes I have held in the past. If only I can offend those who hold those attitudes now, I will have done my job.James Deaglehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10800947010889311563noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-708029347140412220.post-13392698392639918322014-04-28T12:39:35.223-07:002014-04-28T12:39:35.223-07:00"Derelicts", "one of them would get..."Derelicts", "one of them would get loose...". I am homeless, due to my husband becoming very seriously ill and my not being able to work as I am caring for him. We both come from a tech background- he in marketing mgt, myself in the legal side. I have never been called a derelict, nor have I ever called another person a derelict, now or at any time in my life. No matter what it is that you say you are doing, just your use of that word alone shows your true colors. My advice to you is don't go whistling past any graveyards. You have no idea how fast or easy this can happen to anyone.Billie Reisshttp://billiereiss39atgmail.comnoreply@blogger.com