CMV:Homelessness should be a protected class

Those with cars to store their belongings can pass easier due to not having to carry any belongings with them, but still face discrimination. Their cars often have giveaways for example. Imagine frequenting the coffeehouse near your work most mornings and one day the manager is on break and notices you have all sorts of clothes in your car and you forgot to put away your pillow this particular morning, you now face discrimination Everytime you return as the manger discreetly points you out to other employees so they can keep an eye on the homeless guy who might steal something or do drugs, just like security guards do to any black person (including Oprah) at high end stores.

But the most common tale is four or five homeless people hanging out, it's easier to tell that way if even one looks obviously homeless, or just having other homeless approach your car when they see you.

I am open to having my view changed but so far but everyone is focusing on hygene which was never an issue for many or any of the homeless people I hung out with. I don't feel I should be discriminated for years at an establishment for having a clean backpack and amazing looking long hair that is always in great condition, just because I don't pretend not to know the more homeless looking girl that waves as she passes by, yet it happens a couple of times over a month and some staff member realizes your not the cool attractive college kid they assume I am, and realizes "oh shit he is homeless" and now you face discrimination no matter how unhomeless you appear in the future.

I mean I experienced this myself across multiple establishments over those four years despite me passing well enough to have 5 successful dates with a doctor, convince the security guard of the parking garage I slept in that I lived in the apartment across the street (I learned his schedule and always had all of my things hid except perhaps a joint or ciggs, which we would smoke together. He thought I just didn't smoke inside and always chose the empty garage out of convenyence) and was almost always the guy strangers would ask to watch their laptops when needing to leave a coffee shop for a few minutes while traveling solo (to the horror in the eyes of staff that suspected I was homeless). So I guess my point is I reject the idea that the only homeless who face discrimination are the dirty ones because I have faced it despite being very attractive and well groomed. The area I stayed in had enough nightclubs for me to never go without weed (high grade stuff given by people I would interact with outside nightclubs) Food (I was actually called the food magician by the other homeless. I was so good at simply building rapoor and bonding with strangers that I could get someone to purchase me whatever I asked for from whatever restraunt I was near, and would do this for other less charismatic homeless when they asked, ciggarettes ( I always figured it was a better vice than crystal or beer and $10 for a pack was 1 minute of work on a good day or an hour on a bad one) good looking clothes (there was a cheap thrift store nearby) entertainment ( a drunk homeless guy I had known for maybe an hour asked me if I could watch his bag for 15 minutes one day and never returned, so after stories g it at my camp for a week and not able to find him anywhere I opened it to see if there was anything useful that a germaphobe like me would find sanitary enough not to throw away and look and behold a brand new laptop. It had been used but not much, no stains or scratches, original stickers still on, very clean, zero dust. So I used it to keep up with all the latest shows like GoT, Westworld, House of Cards, and so forth) and transportation ( let an elderly man who was temporarily trapped in the city after having issues with his debit card and was terrified of sleeping outside for first time when the library we met in closed, stay in the safety of my camp for three days until he was able to finally get in touch with friends who wired him more than enough for his plane ticket. Dude paid me back by purchasing a senior bus pass (the kind without a photo) for me, so I could renew it for $20 a month instead of the normal $80 and thus take buses and trollies anytime. Having all I did in one spot meant I would be worse off moving around and so stayed in the same vicinity most of the time since I could provide for all my needs and wants there in between real jobs. Despite appearing indistinguishable from any other middle-class 22 year old I still faced massive discrimination after a year or so just because little things here and there like me talking to a homeless-looking homeless here, or some canned food falling out of my backpack when getting my laptop out there, or being seen doing my comedic panhandling one night by a girl who works in five guys (ate there so much back then, can't really afford it with a real job and rent) and so on over a long time got various prejudice employees to realize I was homeless and begin to treat me like one despite my appearance and charm. So I will not give any Delta's who base their claims on hygeiene and appearance being the problem, there are just as many classist's that just gate all homeless people no matter how friendly, polite, and good looking they may be as there are racists who do the same to minorities, or homphobes I who discriminate against LGBT folk. I will not delta victim blaming or saying all homeless deserve to be treated based on the actions of the visible minority. Reddit is against profiling the current protected classes so the homeless do not deserve it either.

I just want one decent answer that could not also apply to one of the other protected classes by changing two words.

/r/changemyview Thread Parent