20090423103537, originally uploaded by massmoga.
In my previous work, in low-income communities, as a resident services coordinator, and as a colleague of people in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction, the phrase “hit bottom” had a specific meaning. In my last post, I meant to reference this sense of the term in talking about the Salvation Army center. That is, for addicts and alcoholics, rehabilitation or “turning one’s life around” comes after realizing that you’ve hit bottom. For some people it is genetics, for others bad experiences or despair, for others the causes are harder to pinpoint. Regardless, I want to clarify that in talking about people “at the bottom” that I don’t intend to express elitism or scorn. In fact, the opposite. I would hope that a sense of empathy and compassion comes through in my writing, whether the posts deal with physical planning issues, questions of social justice, or the lives of poor people past or present.
Also, it is worth noting, as recent stories in the New Yorker and Slate have referenced, that the phrase “the bottoms” is often used by the homeless and the very poor to refer to the worst off, the most desperate and exploitative places. It is a phrase I’ve heard in my own experiences, and these articles document, one that is frequently used to refer to part of Skid Row in Los Angeles.
My hope is that these writings will make clear both how people talk (people of all variety of class backgrounds) about themselves and others, even when unpleasant or distasteful. And that in exploring the language of how people talk about who lives where in the city, and its connection to the physical features of the land, that something positive can be achieved. At least, I hope to highlight and emphasize the fact that very often people who find themselves in vulnerable or desperate situations did not “choose” them for themselves. Often, it has been working class and poor people who have suffered the most from poor city planning practices, badly or situated designed settlements, and, as we saw in New Orleans, catastrophic urban floods.
Great background to your work. I’m curious what you mean by this:
“For some people it is genetics, for others bad experiences or despair, for others the causes are harder to pinpoint.”
I meant to say that people end up addicted and/or homeless, “down and out,” for many reasons. Also that these factors are often intertwined: environment, economy, personal and mental issues, health, etc. Also, that for some people, the bottom is only one period or episode in their lives. while for others it is a life long struggle. It’s complicated, I’d say. And simple, sweeping moral judgments about all poor people, or all homeless people: categories of deserving and undeserving, bad choices and bootstraps, are easier pronounced from afar. The people I’ve known are complicated people, with their own stories and experiences, like anyone.