this post was submitted on 12 Jan 2024
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I don't think I've seen anyone explain why they decided to call them unhoused instead of the normal term homeless.
This is the explanation I got from a super liberal person. I don't know if I fully agree with it, or if it's even the correct origin of the term. Here it goes:
Sentences like "he is unhoused" instead of "he is homeless" are important to assign blame/responsibility to society/governments. Since "unhoused" is a verb, it sort of implies/specifies that not all homeless people are homeless because of their own actions but rather due to a society's/government's inability to protect its people from the realities of life (mental health/disability/escaping from abusive families/evicted by a shady landlord etc etc).
It was meant to change people's perception of homeless people and demand better from their governments. But words can have the power to ignite our imaginations - there's a reason why "gigantic" exists when "large" would be enough. And there's a reason why when most people think that a homeless person is homeless because of their own fault and deserve it.
I guess it makes sense why some would choose to use it, but I feel like it's just going to make people roll their eyes when they hear it. It's not like homeless was assigning blame to the homeless people or anything.