My Gawd, we have a bunch of homeless veterans out here! All the real ones live out here in Central California! Why, just this week alone, I must have met a platoon or more of many a former Recon-Airborne-Sniper-Ranger-SEAL-Force-Green-Berets out on the street, homeless, and asking for spare change. You'd be surprised at how many of them graduated from West Point! We must help provide them with much needed beer, drug, and smoke money! They've earned it! Earned it from the Hall's of Menthol Lyptus... to the shores of Tennessee!!!
8 comments:
I've often wondered how many of them really are veterans.
Kanani- Since our store is near the train station (in da hood) I talk to them. It doesn't take long to figure out the fakers. No doubt there are some real homeless vets out there but not the high volume reported. Not out here.
Gene's right Kanani, at least in the Central California area. I dealt with a lot of homeless and very few were veterans. It's anecdotal I know but my experience was that maybe 1 or 2 percent were veterans and of those less than half were combat vets, all Vietnam.
That doesn't mean that there isn't a need for pshychiatric intervention in many cases because there clearly is. It's long been a source of irritation to me that many who could benefit from institutionalization cannot be involuntarily committed, refuse to take advantage of what programs exist, can't find a program in their area or do not qualify.
The gripping hand is that some, maybe even a majority, of those I dealt with were voluntarily homeless. That is, it was a life they chose, for a variety of reasons. There was one guy who told me that he was jobless and homeless because he refused to pay alimony to his ex-wife. I don't know if it was true but he was otherwise completely normal. Many gave me an incredulous look whenever I brought up the subject of a 'normal' life.
It's a problem that I'm not sure a solution exists for. All we can do is continue as best we can.
Good post Gene.
I agree with Six; a majority are homeless because they chose the life. I've personal experience through my step-daughter, who chose that life for many years.
from the Hall's of Menthol Lyptus... to the shores of Tennessee!!!
That's my laugh of the day, Gene! :-D
Clean Gene!!!!
Long Time Brother!!!
We have them out here and few are really vets.
Like Pamibe said, for most it's a choice.
That's probably pretty profitable in Californy.
And no taxes !
Scumbags. I would never use the military to beg, there are too many other ploys. Like I might say I'm Pelosi's son and the bitch won't gimme enough for a cup of coffee.
There are a lot down in San Diego. Thank God for Stand Down every year.
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