Sign of the Times

by Shannon Moriarty

Published October 18, 2008 @ 01:13PM PT

The Seattle Post told the story this week of two young panhandlers who have elevated the cardboard sign to a whole new level, essentially transforming a busy sidewalk in Seattle into a public art display.

I was entertained by the witty signs in the report (and I think you will be, too - so read the snippets below). But I was even more intrigued by the online debate that followed such a seemingly harmless story.

Here's an excerpt from the story in the Seattle Post:

Judging by the scrawl on their pieces of cardboard, Marji King and Bruce Daniels have had some adventures.

"Ninjas killed my family," says one sign. "Need money for Kung Foo lessons."

Another: "Aliens kidnapped my parents. $ for space fuel."

Marji, 26, and Bruce, 25, are two of the hundreds of homeless faces in downtown Seattle on any given day. To fill their bellies, they rely on small kindnesses, a quarter here, a buck there.

But where most panhandlers just have a sign or two, they've amassed 130 into a large rectangle in front of Nordstrom.

Two fries short of a happy meal.

If money is the root of all evil let me carry the burden.

Will trade mother-in-law for beer.

"People tend to walk by and ignore one sign," Bruce says, "but can they ignore more than 100?"

...

"Amazing," said a man with a European accent who stopped to chat with Bruce. "Poignant."

Lost my rose-tinted glasses; Need money for new ones.

Fear change? Leave it here.

Kick me for $1.

"That one works good," Bruce said about the kick-me sign. When he displayed it near Pike Place Market the other day, people lined up. "I got my butt kicked," he laughed.

Donations for the Church of Malt Liquor.

Lost my soul. Trying to buy a new one.

Visions of a cheeseburger.

Okay, so we can appreciate Marji and Bruce's creativity. But almost more compelling than the unexpected signs were the 50+ comments that followed this online story. Here's a sampling:

Dont give these druggies any money. I see them every day and and I'm going to work. I dont feel sorry for them. Same with all of the Real Change losers. Get a REAL JOB! (Posted by MrBlonde)

Even if they don't do drugs (huge if) they still waste the money. I see bums all the time in coffee shops buying drinks, in grocery stores buying beer, in 7-11's buying cigarettes, getting a soda with their fast food instead of water, etc... I'll consider giving my money to panhandlers once I have any reason at all not to assume it'll be squandered. If I want my dollar to buy a Starbucks latte, I'll spend it there myself. (Posted by koggit)

A simple article about crafty cardboard signs ignites fiery commentary on a divisive debate: the deserving vs. the undeserving homeless. In other words, who is more "deserving" of assistance? The poor, down-on-their-luck person or the chronically homeless addict.

When the homeless population is sliced and diced like this - into "deserving" and "undeserving" categories - it's easy to tell who wins in the realm of public opinion. The National Coalition for the Homeless, however, contends that the term "chronically homeless" is over-generalized and, as a result, misleading, thus distracting attention from the conversation we SHOULD be having about homelessness.

They argue:

"Chronic homelessness" is yet another stigmatizing label -- a code word for those individuals who are deemed to merit attention and resources because they fit pre-conceived notions of homelessness, and because they enable policy makers to disconnect the issue of homelessness from the acute lack of affordable housing and poverty that underlie it. The "chronic homeless" initiative collapses a wide range of experiences of people who lack housing into a singular, monolithic category, creating a false hierarchy of need based on resource allotment, not the structural underpinnings of homelessness itself. Thus, what is truly "chronic" about homelessness is the lack of political will to address its root causes. For millions of Americans, this "chronic" political inaction results in homelessness -- the most abject form of poverty and deprivation -- in the land of plenty.

[Read that paragraph again... slowly. They make an excellent point.]

On that note, I'll leave you with a few more of Marji and Bruce's signs:

Looking for kindness in a cold, cruel world.

Sometimes everybody needs a little help.

Good karma. $1.