Everything we put up with in life is a choice, even if the only other option is bad (i.e. suicide). People in a bad situation may say that they choose it, only in order to maintain a sense of control and personal agency. It’s not really meaningful to say that some homeless people choose to live that way, unless we know what their alternatives are. And if they have options that most people would consider better, I’d argue that they’re not what most people mean by the homeless problem.
No, I mean they have told me they like living like that; not by consequences of their own actions. Like modern day Diogenes. Just a super minimalistic lifestyle that includes not having a home. There is a scene for that kinda thing in San Francisco.
I’ll grant that California might be different because of the climate, but I’ve heard the same thing from people here in the Midwest, and, well, I’m not sure that I believe them. I got the sense that they didn’t leave behind privilege and wealth to live a minimalist life. In a nutshell, they couldn’t just at a whim decide to give it up and do something different.
Suicide isn’t an option. I know nobody will believe me, but I’ve done it. I just woke up in a slightly different parallel universe: this one.
Other people die. The self does not. Death only exists out there.
