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The Homeless Experience

The Homeless Experience

Date: Jun 22 2007

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

Can you imagine how hard it would be to be on the street and have nothing? Maybe that’s something you’ve actually experienced, but even if it’s not, it’s not hard to imagine how much it would hurt to have people treat you poorly while you have no place to live. Listen to Marni and Kevin talk about how our society tends to add insult to injury when it comes to people who are experiencing homelessness.

Dialog

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2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Kevin

Kevin

Marni

Marni

Kevin:  I was watching 60 Minutes on Sunday, and there was a really disturbing report about these videos called Bum Fights about…

Marni:  Bum Fights?

Kevin:  ...people who go out and video tape fighting with homeless people.

Marni:  Oh my goodness. So they’re, like, instigating fights with homeless people?

Kevin:  Yes, and then selling them a la Girls Gone Wild, via the Internet.

Marni:  Oh my goodness.

Kevin:  It really focused on how homeless people are really the last group of people against whom it’s okay for everybody to discriminate against.

Marni:  And I think that’s absolutely awful and wrong to think that it’s okay to discriminate against someone just because you perceive them to be less of an individual.

Kevin:  Well, yeah. Because we see homeless people as beggars, unclean, sitting on the street, you know, it’s terrible.

Marni:  And there’s so much terminology. I noticed certain people refer to them as “bums” or certain people…I had a friend who worked in a homeless shelter and said that the correct way to refer to them is people experiencing homeless, so it’s not a stigma about who they are but it’s their situation. Yeah, it’s a really interesting…God, that’s a really awful video thing. Disturbing.

 

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Discussion

Kevin was watching a news program when he learned about a series of videos in which people video tape fights with people who are experiencing homelessness. The videos are sold over the Internet like Girls Gone Wild, a series of videos that gets drunk girls to get naked on camera.

The report Kevin saw focused on how our society seems to think it’s okay to discriminate against people who are experiencing homelessness. Marni says she thinks the videos and mistreatment of these people is terrible. She had a friend who worked in a homeless shelter who taught her about how it’s impolite to use the words “bum” or even “homeless person” because they degrade the person rather than the situation.

Are there people experiencing homelessness in your neighborhood? How are they treated?

 

Comments

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valentino

Indonesia

In my country, Indonesia, there's so many homeless beggar in big cities. The government and private companies took their home and lands. They were pushed away into street, living under the bridge or sleeping on the park. Beggar becoming an occupation for them, because from begging and singing in the street, they could earn a lot of money. It is true. They could live happily in their own way. Adversity and difficult life make them becoming fietce and rude. Some of them angry and hopeless but some other still motivated to struggle live in big cities. They do not want to go home back to their villages.

05:40 AM Jun 24 2007 |

anhductdsi

anhductdsi

Viet Nam

it's the people i feel sorry for….I hope that eveybody have happy and comfortable life..

I m christian, so i would like to have peace world

04:32 PM Jun 23 2007 |

Elgarrote

Colombia

In my city there are a lot of people like this, but they are sometimes ungrateful, you give them something and they throw it away in your face, they only like drugs and more bad things, but they need help, and goverment and nobody of us do something for them.

10:04 AM Jun 23 2007 |

shahriarheydari

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

Unfortunately this is a kind of life…

07:10 AM Jun 23 2007 |

Nida786

Nida786

Pakistan

Shelter is a blessing of Almighty Allah
so we have to thanks him for such incomparable blessing

05:33 AM Jun 23 2007 |

DAR

DAR

Taiwan

So~I think how to understand the type we help them is important.I hate they becoming a tool.

01:55 AM Jun 23 2007 |

sunny zhao

China

It's really a bad thing for our society that so many people are homeless and helpless. Even though we can not help them, we should always respect them!

01:00 AM Jun 23 2007 |

DAR

DAR

Taiwan

Government should intervene.In my experence,I can not face a group of hobos coming toward me.and they are not satisfied when I gave them some money.some of them I want to say "hey! I remember you."they can be becoming an occupation(hobo/baggar).and you know that is not a way to solve it.you are going to die,too.and government need your money to help them.I knew the feeling.but after that I face it calmly.

12:48 AM Jun 23 2007 |

nessy

nessy

Turkey

when i see homeless person on the street i really feel bad and cant understand why people ignore them instead of helping and treating in a bad way..?? They are also human being as other people…

11:39 PM Jun 22 2007 |

lol80

lol80

Peru

that's awful !!! respect  people!! the golden rule!!

07:37 PM Jun 22 2007 |

nono_cute

nono_cute

Iraq

well , bein' in streets 'n' without any money 'n' there's no home to go 'n' spend the night in make me feel really  bad … it's so hard to imagine that there's p'pl like that …..

07:16 PM Jun 22 2007 |

Newcastle

Newcastle

Spain

Nowadays,TV stuff is turning into crazy reality shows.If media don’t decide to stop this, no doubt all of we, the viewers have got the last word. It’s up to us.Turn off your tv when these programs show up :)

02:53 PM Jun 22 2007 |

DAR

DAR

Taiwan

I can not tell from them…because some of them found just kneeling down beside streets.they can earn more money.but I believe some are true.

02:01 PM Jun 22 2007 |

OLIVER

Italy

I CAN'T REALLY TO BELIEVE THAT STILL NOW THERE ARE SOMEONE THAT TREAT PEOPLE IN THIS WAY ONLY BECAUSE THE THEM LIFE IS DIFFERENT NOT FOR THEY CHOSEN.

I WANT TO LEARN WRITE AND SPEAK ENGLISH PLS WRITE ME

01:24 PM Jun 22 2007 |

OLIVER

Italy

I CAN'T REALLY TO BELIEVE THAT STILL NOW THERE ARE SOMEONE THAT TREAT PEOPLE IN THIS WAY ONLY BECAUSE THE THEM LIFE IS DIFFERENT NOT FOR THEY CHOSEN.

I WANT TO LEARN WRITE AND SPEAK ENGLISH PLS WRITE ME

01:24 PM Jun 22 2007 |

OLIVER

Italy

I CAN'T REALLY TO BELIEVE THAT STILL NOW THERE ARE SOMEONE THAT TREAT PEOPLE IN THIS WAY ONLY BECAUSE THE THEM LIFE IS DIFFERENT NOT FOR THEY CHOSEN.

I WANT TO LEARN WRITE AND SPEAK ENGLISH PLS WRITE ME

01:24 PM Jun 22 2007 |

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