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View Full Version : An-Cap Challenge: To Help the Homeless in America...




Brooklyn Red Leg
11-29-2011, 02:08 PM
Okay,

as some of you read I became homeless again in October. Thankfully I'm now in a little better situation as I have somewhere I'm staying (cliche, I know, but it is the railroad tracks) and have a tent now to keep the damned rain off me. Also, as some of you know, I'm not a Christian but I have recieved far more charity from people who don't know me from Adam who do it because they are Christians and they take seriously the idea they help those in need. From the government, naturally, I got nothing. In fact, its been the damned government that I have to avoid (namely Cops). The local government even made it more difficult being homeless by banning roadside selling and/or panhandling except on Sundays. That meant that my plan to sell ice cold water and gatorade got flushed down the toilet because my county is run by narcissitic sociopaths.

My challenge to my fellow An-Caps is to come up with some method of helping the homeless where they live. If Christians can do it, then we better put our money where our mouth's are if we truly want to show people that government welfare is not the answer. A fellow Anarchist friend of mine (who is a Christian Anarchist, but is sympathetic with An-Caps) decided to challenge the Anarchist Atheists he knows to do the same. I have never seen an Atheist Soup Kitchen nor an Anarchist Homeless Feed. Maybe its time for that to change.

Naturally, I'm not saying this is something that will happen overnight. Churches and the like are highly organized and have donations coming in. However, the internet and other resources are at our fingertips and it should be possible. Alot more people are going to end up where I am cause they are 1 paycheck from the street and I guarantee you that the governments around the country are tightening the noose. They are turning a bad situation into a potential disaster.

CCTelander
11-30-2011, 03:47 PM
bump

Kludge
11-30-2011, 04:04 PM
The organization problem is big. If there's no presence around people in need, how could resources possibly be routed to those in need? It's absurd to expect a bunch of well-off folks in a suburb to wander to an impoverished part of towns by themselves so they can find folks in need. Christians make up 60-75% of Americans. Anarchists make up... what -- maybe 1%? Getting anarchists in a big enough collection to even start an organization in one location would be a challenge, and while many non-Christians donate to Christian charities, I think you'll have much more trouble convincing statists to donate to an anarchist charity, or Christians to an explicitly non-Christian (and non-Jewish) charity.

Second problem I see is that you're asking folks already striving for something to strive for something else. Having an anarchist-themed kitchen requires a lot of time, money, and love. That passion and those resources are already likely going toward what they really want, that being ending gov't intrusion in their lives. But, with that said, we've had a few successful ChipIns on the forum for community members in need.

It could happen. I don't see it happening, and definitely not during campaign season -- though maybe the non-voting anarchists would like a non-political charitable outreach goal. It'd be interesting to see done, though, if there are enough people with the will & resources. I'd donate to something like that.