I have been ruminating on the concept of “de-civilisation”. The backwards movements of modern society, the degeneration of norms, standards, mores.
I have been doing my usual reading-up on the topic. Researching and trolling the www for discussion on this topic. Of course no one has yet started calling the “homelessness” plague “De-Civilisation”. Not yet.
Here’s some references I have dug up: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9142163/Photographer-spent-TEN-YEARS-LAs-notorious-homeless-hotspot-reveals-work , https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/mar/22/california-homelessness-crisis-unhoused-and-unequal. , https://www.lamayor.org/Homelessness
As I look at the photos in these articles I am struck by the similarities I see/ have seen in “developing countries”…
I have spent the majority of my life living as, I call it, a LDC Junkie… LDC = least developed country. I lived through the 80s as a barefoot, ragged-arsed, off the grid, “aid-worker”. I lived so far off the beaten track that very, very few folks ever got as remote as “Susuka”.
Susuka is my wife, Gracie’s, home village. Her people have been living, surviving, existing on the north coast of Choiseul, for a long, long time. On the island of Choiseul there are no roads. None, anywhere. Other than logging operations where the tropical rain forests are raped, pillaged, and plundered, there is no vehicular transport of any kind. Not even bicycles.
There are very few areas, villages, towns that have running water. Folks live off their rain catchment. And use ground water where and when possible.
There is no “power grid”. Of course there are some private generators providing power for modern necessities like video and cell phone charging, but most devices are battery powered. Most folks have a small radio to “stay in touch” with the world. A small solar panel charging a standard car battery is not uncommon.
There is no rubbish collection, no council by-laws, no speed limits, no stop lights or speed traps or any other symbols or symptoms of modern civilised society. But I dont think there are many folks on Choiseul who would be “homeless”.
If the Solomon Islands is a LDC, then Susuka is a least developed area in a least developed country. With zero homelessness
And it kinda looks like the pictures of LA… but prettier… https://www.gettyimages.com.au/photos/homeless-los-angeles
Not as bad. LA looks much worse than Choiseul.
For decades we have been shown pictures of homeless folks, living in boxes, on the highways of Manila…
Not very different to LA?
Or the shanty towers from South Africa…
A few years ago, 2018 I was in LA. Passing through, visiting the US and preparing to ride my motorcycle a bit. For a number of years I had a small apartment in Pasadena. I kept a nice Triumph motorcycle in the underground garage…
I know a guy in LA that does airport pickups/ drop offs. We met by chance and for years I always would call Lamont up, have him meet me at the airport, take me to Pasadena, talk about the city and the state of the Nation. Always a useful intro to the US, a long chat with BigL, as we drove through LA traffic. One of the things BigL talked about then, in 2018, my last trip to the US, was the increase in homeless folks on the streets.
I saw it in Pasadena, a supposedly “up market” area… more people setting up shop on Colorado Blvd. Sorta like the days before the Rose Bowl parade, but in June… small areas of the wide sidewalks along Colorado Blvd marked off, claimed, secured by physical barriers: a bit of card-board laid on the ground, a blanket or a rug, a packing crate turned on its side, an umbrella propped sideways to give shade…
Pasadena was a nice neighbourhood, rather affluent, up-market in many ways… I walked around a lot when I was there, as I prepared for a road trip on my bike, or as I shut down things after a couple weeks of riding, Id walk the city blocks north and south of Colorado Blvd… The closer I got to the freeway(s) the more homeless Id see… I surmised that the homeless used the large undercover places – stairwells, underpasses, train and bus stations as shelter. These folks would come out during daylight hours and practise the ancient art of Pan-handling.
“Panhandling” is the practice of imploring others to grant a favor, often a gift of money, with little or no expectation of reciprocation. A person doing such is called a beggar or panhandler. Beggars may operate in public places such as transport routes, urban parks, and markets. Besides money, they may also ask for food, drinks, cigarettes or other small items.”
If I hung around Pasadena enough I would get to know some of the Panhandlers… one I recall had a dog, Id stop and say g’day, pet the dog. The owner was a young woman. Her sign said she was trying to return “home”, to the Midwest. Id ask how things were going, make a small donation, never much, never enough to cause trouble…
My elder brother has a past of being homeless, living rough, panhandling, living on the fringe. A combination of substance abuse and situations led him to being “on the streets” for a number of years. As with a lot of folks trapped n the world of substance abuse, he’d come good, get cleaned up, accept help, get off the streets, only to return at a later date. He has told me that “giving too much”, offering too much help, money, time could be harmful for all involved. So I developed a habit of saying hello, exchanging pleasantries, offering a handful of change. A couple dollars…
In the Solomons I had developed the habit to always have some “small change” in a seperate pocket, away from my main cash reserve. If someone asked for a handout, for “help” I could pull out of one pocket just enough to remain polite but not get caught up. A few dollars at most, but enough to help. Not enough to hurt.
I think there is a huge difference between helping and enabling. I know that people who are living on the streets, who are living homeless are not there by great and glorious planning and design. They are where they are through mishap, misunderstanding, and mistake.
A large percentage of those living in a homeless manner are where they are by mistake. Bad luck, even… but there is always, I believe, a modicum of choice is involved.
Unlike those in developing countries where life carries on in a sad, minimal level due to the environment and circumstances of their world, The Developed World decay comes from a lack of making good choices. In the lap of excess and comfort. Running water, power,education, employment opportunities abound in the modern world, just inside the doors where the homeless now reside…
So why the de-civilisation? Why the retro-grade movement?
I see more and more similarities between the streets of the US, the streets of LA, and the streets of Manila.
I am confounded when coming to try to explain this phenomenon.
I’ll read and think about it more. Write more… later
Smiles
The Native Iowan 
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