Name:   MAJ USA RET - Subject:   GOOF-LIBERAL-REALIST Date:   2/11/2019 11:20:13 AM

I read, with great interest, Fishy’s post.  And I find myself agreeing in principle with much of what he… YOU, FISHY… posted.

Homelessness is a peculiar condition.  For the most part, it is voluntary… because, there is always a hand reaching down into the gutter to help one of them to get up and out.  And yet… they mostly refuse.

A case in point:  A decade ago, when I was S-3 of the 3^rd Brigade of the Tennessee State Guard, we hosted an annual “Veterans’ Stand-down” in the Knoxville region.  We sent buses out into the city and surrounds to pick up homeless veterans.  They boarded the buses willingly.  We brought them to a substantial, fenced compound/campus sponsored by a local business. There… for three days… we fed them and supplemented or replaced their clothing (if they wished).  We replaced their blankets and/or sleeping bags.  Their clothing was laundered and returned. They were given toiletries.  They bathed or showered. We provided medical and dental exams… and if feasible… onsite treatment.  Our volunteer psychologists, psychiatrists, counselors, and social workers counseled them… if they would accept such.  Our team offered to help them find work.  We scheduled the stand-down during football season and so provided wide screen television for viewing. AND, we (TSG) veterans sat with them at meals… and talked with them in both “lies and war stories” and in serious topics… whatever each wanted to talk about. 

Not one of them was ever non-cooperative, belligerent, or even discourteous.

And when the stand-down was over, we bused them back to wherever each wanted.  THEY MOSTLY WANTED TO BE BACK ON THE STREET !

Neither you nor I can relate to that.  Someone… somewhere… loves (or is a least concerned) about each one of those veterans.  But the line between them and their loved ones… and us… is broken.

Each of them cost FAR LESS than an illegal immigrant.  Each of them deserves our care and concern.  To our veterans we should focus our priorities.  (I will give you a hint: many of them were Viet Nam vets.)

- LMF Curmudgeon