The entire project is incredibly insulting to all humans, particularly those who he claims simply need to "change their attitudes" and prioritize not buying "rims" for their Cadillacs.

quote:

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I am going to start almost literally from scratch with one 8’ x 10’ tarp, a sleeping bag, an empty gym bag, $25, and the clothes on my back. Via train, I will be dropped at a random place somewhere in the southeastern United States that is not in my home state of North Carolina. I have 365 days to become free of the realities of homelessness and become a “regular” member of society. After one year, for my project to be considered successful, I have to possess an operable automobile, live in a furnished apartment (alone or with a roommate), have $2,500 in cash, and, most importantly, I have to be in a position in which I can continue to improve my circumstances by either going to school or starting my own business.

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From resist racism:

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There’s a scene in the book where he threatens an employer who treats him shabbily. He has no fear that he will be arrested because he expects the police to take the word of a good-looking white man. Yet we’re supposed to believe that truly underprivileged people are supposed to follow his example.

(snip)

Additionally health was to be a huge advantage for him. He was an ex-college athlete and well-nourished, with no physical problems mentioned. Would he undertake such an experiment were he diabetic? What about if he had some other kind of chronic ailment? If you want a very graphic demonstration of one way the homeless suffer, go to a shelter and ask some of its residents to take off their shoes and socks. Shepard doesn’t know about this. On his way to his experiment, his brother dropped him off at the train station. Then he took a bus to the homeless shelter.

I think that many homeless people would have been happy to start “from scratch.” But the problem often is that they don’t start at zero. They start below zero and have to climb from there.

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Interview with Christian Science Monitor

quote:

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I was never tempted. I had a credit card in my back pocket in case of an emergency.

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For Pete's sake, those living with addiction are not even admitted for detx/rehab as long as they have chargs that have not been dealt with. Most of them would have at least five charges pending.

Barbara Ehrenreich, who did a similar undercover stunt in order to write "Nickel and Dimed", did it in solidarity with people living on minimum wage jobs, and throughout her book, she never let the reader forget that she had an escape hatch, and many starting advantages (her health, etc.).

This guy, on the other hand, sounds like a totally selfish prick, looking for a way of demonizing poor people. And he'll take up their shelter spaces and soup kitchen meals to do it!

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Would your project have changed if you'd had child-care payments or been required to report to a probation officer? Wouldn't that have made it much harder?

The question isn't whether I would have been able to succeed. I think it's the attitude that I take in: "I've got child care. I've got a probation officer. I've got all these bills. Now what am I going to do? Am I going to continue to go out to eat and put rims on my Cadillac? Or am I going to make some things happen in my life...?" One guy, who arrived [at the shelter] on a Tuesday had been hit by a car on [the previous] Friday by a drunk driver. He was in a wheelchair. He was totally out of it. He was at the shelter. And I said, "Dude, your life is completely changed." And he said, "Yeah, you're right, but I'm getting the heck out of here." Then there was this other guy who could walk and everything was good in his life, but he was just kind of bumming around, begging on the street corner. To see the attitudes along the way, that is what my story is about.

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Yeah, I know so many single mothers living on minimum wage who put "rims on their cadillacs".

This is just another "Welfare queens driving their welfare cadillacs" rant. Screw him.

[ 03 March 2008: Message edited by: Michelle ]

Actually, the first thing i thought of when i read this was that Barbara Ehrlich (sp?) did a similar experiment, where she'd try to get by on minimun wage level jobs for a year. Her experiemnt was deeply flawed from the start, but she did manage to make some good points and shine some light on an issue that needs attention.

Indiana, the details on why dude chose to do this experiment are at both links I provided in the OP.

quote:

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Originally posted by bigcitygal:
Dude did say that he was inspired by the book "Nickel and Dimed," by Barbara Ehrenreich, which is problematic in similar ways, but she is a lefty, so she took a pro-minimum-wage worker perspective rather than his right-wing "bootstraps" perspective.

Indiana, the details on why dude chose to do this experiment are at both links I provided in the OP.

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quote:

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For some young men, climbing Everest or sailing solo into polar seas isn’t the biggest risk in the world. Instead it is venturing alone into the deepest urban jungle, where human nature is the dangerous, incomprehensible and sometimes wildly uplifting force that tests not only your ability to survive but also your own humanity.

One cold November day, Shaughnessy Bishop-Stall heads out on just such a quest. He packs up a new tent, some clothes, his notebooks and a pen and goes to live in Tent City, twenty-seven lawless acres where the largest hobo town on the continent squats in the scandalized shadow of Canada’s largest city. The rules he sets for himself are simple: no access to money, family or friends, except what he can find from that day on. He’ll do whatever people in Tent City do to get by, be whatever bum, wino, beggar, hustler, criminal, junkie or con man he chooses to be on any given day.

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Middle class white privilege slumming it for fun profit and career advancement

[ 03 March 2008: Message edited by: N.R.KISSED ]

quote:

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Originally posted by bigcitygal:
Dude did say that he was inspired by the book "Nickel and Dimed," by Barbara Ehrenreich, which is problematic in similar ways, but she is a lefty, so she took a pro-minimum-wage worker perspective rather than his right-wing "bootstraps" perspective.

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And, she acknowledged throughout the book that there were all sorts of advantages she had that she couldn't "undo" in order to make the experiment genuine, so all the ways that both of their experiments were problematic were at least acknowledged and accounted for by her. But not by him.

quote:

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Originally posted by Indiana Jones:

No, I didn't suggest that he was "inspired" by it. I said that it made me think of the book "Nickled and Dimed." They obviously have different agendas. It jsut struck me as a similar experiment.

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Indiana, there's no argument here. I said that dude himself said he was inspired by Barbara's book. This is info I got from the link to the interview with him by the Christian Science Monitor. Why else would I link to such a site?

I'm assuming dude felt that she was too lefty and soft on the issue.

(I'm calling him dude to be polite. There are far worse names I want to call him. Tryin' to be nice here.)

NRK: I think I heard about that and blocked it from my memory because of such a high gross and ick factors. Thanks for the reminder. I guess.

[ 03 March 2008: Message edited by: bigcitygal ]

quote:

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Originally posted by Michelle:

And, she acknowledged throughout the book that there were all sorts of advantages she had that she couldn't "undo" in order to make the experiment genuine, so all the ways that both of their experiments were problematic were at least acknowledged and accounted for by her. But not by him.

Thanks for bringing this pukefest to our attention, bcg. It's good to know, and to refute, the right-wing spin machine.

---

There are many, many people who actually live the kinds of lives these people are talking about (or who have lived them) and who are entirely capable of writing about it. But for the most part, it never occurs to them to write about it, for reasons too obvious to mention. Moreover, they don't have time. And they lack the connections or the "background" that would allow them to get published. The world is full of people who could write about this kind of thing and write about it very well. But they'll never get the chance.

Probably the next best thing is the kind of thing Studs Terkel did. He let people speak for themselves and put it in books.

[ 03 March 2008: Message edited by: RosaL ]

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NRK: I think I heard about that and blocked it from my memory because of such a high gross and ick factors.

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to make amends I'm posting an excellent review that Kathy Hardill did in Now magazine

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Although it appears the author developed affection for some of his neighbours, it's baffling to me why he considered it appropriate to disclose highly personal information of the type that people divulge only to those they trust.

The book, by turns voyeuristic and sensationalist, lurches from painful retellings of intoxicated confessions you wish you hadn't heard, and which should not have been retold, to apparent attempts to titillate by recounting chipper tales of women performing oral sex for money or drugs and seemingly cavalier mothers abandoning children in the blink of an eye.

The emotional cost of squandered confidences notwithstanding, Bishop-Stall has contravened the pre-eminent code of the street: thou shalt not rat.

Adding insult to injury is his astonishingly naive surprise at discovering that good-quality, safe housing would improve people's lives! Only someone who has taken housing for granted his whole privileged life could be so foolish.

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Here

quote:

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Originally posted by bigcitygal:

Indiana, there's no argument here. I said that dude himself said he was inspired by Barbara's book. This is info I got from the link to the interview with him by the Christian Science Monitor. Why else would I link to such a site?
[ 03 March 2008: Message edited by: bigcitygal ]

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quote:

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Originally posted by Indiana Jones:

I don't think it's correct to lump it in with "Nickle and Dimed" and the guy whose work prompted this thread.

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It was a very autobiographical book during a certain point in his life where he had hit rock bottom and wanted to escape from society and wound up there.

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This was a marketing ploy the reality was that his mother(who is also a writer) suggested he go down to tent city to write a magazine article he decided to stay and write a book. It was completely planned from the start he could leave any time he chose, he claims he did't have contact with friends or family but how would you even prove that.

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I found it really honest and confessional and interesting and I think the very fact that he didn't set out to make any important points is what allowed him to offer much greater insight than ehrenreich or this guy.

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Her name came up in dude's interview. He may very well imagine he did something very similar to what she did. He'd be wrong, for reasons that babblers have already pointed out.

The text from the interview with dude:

quote:

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The effort, he says, was inspired after reading "Nickel and Dimed," in which author Barbara Ehrenreich takes on a series of low-paying jobs. Unlike Ms. Ehrenreich, who chronicled the difficulty of advancing beyond the ranks of the working poor, Shepard found he was able to successfully climb out of his self-imposed poverty.

He tells his story in "Scratch Beginnings: Me, $25, and the Search for the American Dream." The book, he says, is a testament to what ordinary Americans can achieve.

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[ 03 March 2008: Message edited by: bigcitygal ]

I like this from the review you posted, N.R.Kissed:

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It's unfortunate that homelessness is so often addressed by people who claim they want to avoid "being political," as if this sullies the story they want to tell. This Tent City book provides only the latest example. Its content could have served as material for a reality TV show on the FOX network.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Michelle:
Gross. I haven't read the book, but I think that's pretty unethical if he didn't get the permission of the people telling him the stories he apparently spilled in the book.

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Other people's suffering as commodity and source of profit....

[ 03 March 2008: Message edited by: RosaL ]

quote:

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Originally posted by Indiana Jones:
I have to wonder why he stayed as long as he did. I have to wonder why he stayed after being beaten unconscious. Why he smoked crack. Why he stole cars.

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[deleted something eccentric and liable to be misunderstood]

[ 03 March 2008: Message edited by: RosaL ]

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I don't know all the background on Bishop-Stall's book.

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Bishop-Stall’s parents are writers in Vancouver. He knows he’s given them some anxious moments. It was his mother who suggested he go to Tent City, but just to write a magazine piece; she had no idea he’d stay a year, get beaten up and do cocaine.

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It is clear that he had a plan from the start. Middle class boys do not go to tent city to excorsise their demons they go to Europe or a therapist or maybe even a european therapist.

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But I ahve read it and jsut based on what he says, it didn't seem like some sort of "stunt". he really did seem desperate and broken and in need of escape. if it was all jsut a publicity stunt and he could 'leave at any time' to go to his comfortable life and write his book and cash in, I have to wonder why he stayed as long as he did. I have to wonder why he stayed after being beaten unconscious. Why he smoked crack. Why he stole cars.

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I don't think you're really making the distinction between the authour and the manner in which he portray himself in the book in order to create a compelling narrative. He is a writer, I don't think he would just write a book saying he was going down to tent city so he could write a book and make a name for himself at the expense of the other residents he had to locate himself within the narrative in a way that there would be some sense of pathos, otheriwse it is unlikely anyone would be engaged.

Why did he stay? If he didn't he wouldn't have his book, I also think the bragging rights of being a middle class guy slumming it. He also suffers from delusions of Keroac.

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Yes, it was somewhat exploitative to reveal the sorts of details about the people that he did, but that is the nature of a confessional, autobiographical book. he had a lot of good things to say about people there as well.

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"somewhat exploitive" I don't mean to be rude but did you not study any ethics in Cultural Anthropology? This is a major issue.It is fairly obvious that this is shameless exploitation. You repeat how this book is "confessional" revealing intimate details of other people's lives that were made to you in confidence is not "confessional". How would you like to have intimate and shameful details of your life published by a stranger. He even uses real names of the people he exploits.

[ 03 March 2008: Message edited by: N.R.KISSED ]

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I think everybody has an ideology, though not everyone is aware that s/he has an ideology. So there is no book without an ideological agenda.

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This chump’s stunt is a joke and an insult, with its ridiculously vain thesis, “Anyone could make it out of poverty — if you were as cool as me!”

Society’s institutions of power — banks, police, schools, landlords, government offices, healthcare facilities, placement agencies, employers, etc — are already structured to accommodate this guy’s conditioned behaviors and facilitate his journey. There are so many profound, persistent, external factors beyond simply plucking credit card boy away from his cell phone; the fact that these structures are invisible to the dude, while he centers his winning inner mental/emotional state, is a glaring example of white male normativity and ignorance of others.

Now, I know lots of people who have beat the odds and built successful lives from humble beginnings, but this “experiment” sheds no light on the challenges and difficulties such people face and overcome. This is simply a shallow exercise in self-congratulation, victim-blaming, and denial.

....

Also, this guy had

* MALE privilege. I can only imagine that being homeless and female must be “a bit” harder.

* no addictions

* mental health

In short, a deluded moron who bought in to the idea that the “American Dream” is a perfect system. I’m ashamed he belongs to my generation.

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People who yap about how homeless people are 'just lazy' and should just 'get a job' usually shut up pretty quickly when you ask them if they will hire them!

[ 03 March 2008: Message edited by: saga ]

quote:

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By the way, did I mention that I was adopted, and my birth family is actually royalty?

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quote:

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Originally posted by N.R.KISSED:

"somewhat exploitive" I don't mean to be rude but did you not study any ethics in Cultural Anthropology?
[ 03 March 2008: Message edited by: N.R.KISSED ]

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Yes, I did. And whenever I've done field work with individuals, it is my policy to not identify tehm by name or any other identifying characterisitcs.

You seen enamoured with his rather implausible narrative that he somehow just ended up at tent city due to forces beyond his control, even though he confesses in an interview his mother had suggested the idea as a writing project.

For better or worse, those people were part of his life and when writing about your life, you're gonna mention people.

I really don't see what the big deal is in his disclosing information about the people with whom he lived for a year.

And while he obviously was (and did)writing a book about his experience, I do believe that getting the story was hadly the only reason he was there. And I think teh very fact that he was this priveleged, naturally talented guy who found himself in that situation was really relatable and gave some insights into the diversity of the sorts of people who were there and showed that it's not always who we may stereotypically expect. I could relate to it very well, which is i suppose what amde it such an interesting read for me.

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For better or worse, those people were part of his life and when writing about your life, you're gonna mention people.

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They were not part of his life until he chose to make them part of his life with the intention of exploiting them. Why is that so hard to get?

quote:

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I really don't see what the big deal is in his disclosing information about the people with whom he lived for a year.

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And published the home addresses of the actual black people he spoke to so that the Klan could find them and lynch them.

quote:

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Originally posted by Michelle:
And, she (Ehrenreich) acknowledged throughout the book that there were all sorts of advantages she had that she couldn't "undo" in order to make the experiment genuine, so all the ways that both of their experiments were problematic were at least acknowledged and accounted for by her. But not by him.

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[ 13 March 2008: Message edited by: Jabberwock ]

quote:

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Originally posted by Jabberwock:
EDITED TO SAY:
Sorry, did not read downthread- my point had already been made.

[ 13 March 2008: Message edited by: Jabberwock ]

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