Originally posted by normbenign
You bring up an interesting issue. Often people living in the Arctic have rather primitive housing, as do some living in crates in warmer climates. How do we define "homelessness"? Does a home have to meet some standard set by others? For hundreds of years, native Americans lived in tents and considered them home. Now many live in run down mobile homes. W ...[text shortened]... t is really homeless, and isn't what people choose to provide for themselves their own business?
That's all a bit simplistic.
A "house" has to have certain standards, for the safety of the inhabitants and the safety of those around it. Think of gas pipes and the like.
A "home" is first and foremost defined by the area. You can't just point to an area and call that your home. No-one wants to wake up one morning and see a construction resembling a house being build right in front of their own house. It's also frowned upon to build a home/house in the middle of the freeway.
Other than that, yes, what people choose to provide for themselves is their own business.
That doesn't mean we shouldn't offer a helping hand and offer them shelter. Not everyone is homeless because they chose to be. Many are homeless because they
couldn't quite take care of themselves.