• glitchdx@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    My home town had four churches and no homeless people. What homeless people are those churches supposed to help?

    Meanwhile, in the city I now live in, there’s tons of churches and half of them give free food to the homeless every single day, and there’s lines going around the block at all of them.

    There is no magic bullet that can solve homelessness. Anything proposed must be a part of a larger solution. There are tons of proposals that, if actually done and not half-assed, would help immensely.

    • Sotuanduso@lemm.ee
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      9 months ago

      I do not understand these downvotes. Like how dare you see churches that actually help the poor like they’re supposed to?

      • ShaggySnacks@lemmy.myserv.one
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        9 months ago

        It’s people downvoting because “Religion = bad”.

        When in reality it should be “Religion = institutions and institutions can be either good or bad or mix of both.”

        Edit: Spelling

        • spujb@lemmy.cafe
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          9 months ago

          It hurts because a good number of churches DO = bad, but we lack the emotional drive to identify which ones and call on their downfall. The result is we amplify blanket statements and assumptions that do nothing but give a pass of diversion to immoral soul sucking capitalists, all of whom are directly responsible for the housing crisis.

      • spujb@lemmy.cafe
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        9 months ago

        Knee jerk emotional voting. People don’t like seeing information that contradicts their deeply rooted beliefs, and downvoting is emotionally less costly than performing self-investigation.

        Don’t get me wrong I would love if every problem in America could be patched by taxing some sussy non profits. But there’s no evidence for that.

        At best it’s a comfy position that lets you “not my problem” your way through life, at worst it’s propganda to divert attention from the system of capital that is actually keeping the lower class unhoused and constantly struggling.

        Not trying to be a smartass here, it’s genuinely just human nature to choose an emotionally efficient worldview. One-on-one conversations and counter propoganda are one solution to getting folks to see truth. It just takes energy.

    • spujb@lemmy.cafe
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      9 months ago

      You are getting downvoted but you are unabashedly correct. The rhetorical goals behind the post are noble, but the suggested solution is infeasible to a degree that verges on laughable.

      Homeless people need to live in homes, of which there are plenty being hoarded vacant by the ultra wealthy.

      Homes for the homeless fixes homelessness. Guess what giving a homeless person a church to live in makes them? Still homeless.

      In the worst case interpretation, this meme is using churches as a polemical meat shield to protect neoliberal and corporate interests.

    • Mango@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      Those churches might have already helped. I’m no fan of religion for it’s various stupidities, but I am a fan of organized good will.