Here’s why:

In theory, this is an interesting idea.

Notice I said “interesting.” Not “good.”

In practice, it’s troubling. I think the kid’s intentions are not bad. But I also think he can’t get out of his own way.

The emphasis over the past few days/weeks since Jeffries’ statements hit the media has been on the “cool kids vs. not-so-cool kids” – so identifying the homeless as the “not-so-cool kids” that Jeffries intends to exclude only reinforces the stigma already applied to homeless people. It makes homeless people the butt of a joke, and that’s not ok.

I had this conversation with a friend this morning – she said, “What brought you to [the] conclusion [that he can’t see beyond his own privilege as a young white male]?”

This was my answer:

What brought me to the conclusion that he’s having difficulty stepping outside his own privilege is the fact that he doesn’t see a problem with using the homeless as a prop in his game of Takedown An Immoral CEO. That was the first tip.

Second tip was the fact that he made fun of Jeffries for the way Jeffries looks – attacking someone on their appearance when your problem with that person is that they attack people based on appearance is hypocritical and implies that he lacks a true understanding of appropriate social critique. It’s NOT, as I’m sure he believes, pointing out Jeffries’ own hypocrisy. Based on photographs I’ve seen of Jeffries, he is well-groomed, well-dressed, with white teeth, tan skin and a probably expensive haircut. I imagine he considers himself to be one of the “cool kids” that he intends to market to. So Jeffries isn’t really being a hypocrite there.

Also, did he really say “It was time to do some charity”???? I feel like “charity” is one of those words that isn’t *really* offensive, but it has a condescending connotation. You know who uses the word “charity”? The Real Housewives of Every City.

Then: “At first people were reluctant to accept the coats. Perhaps they were afraid of being perceived as narcissistic date rapists.” Ohahahaha let’s make a joke about how homeless people worry about being perceived as dbags and ignore the fact that the homeless themselves are at increased risk of violence of all types, including sexual violence. And let’s also ignore the fact that this is a population of people who suffer disproportionately from addiction, mental illness, significant health issues, and every day harrassment. I certainly would look askance at the white dude in nice clothes trying to hand me a random jacket.

But then! Suddenly! The heavens opened! And they embraced his charity wholeheartedly! And his expedition was a rampant success! I’m so glad that it was a success because golly if it wasn’t, how could he sleep at night in his warm bed?

And then the faux-modesty at the end – “I’m just one person. I can’t do it all, guys.”

And then I pointed my friend to this essay by Thomas McDonald, which is thoughtful and succinct and you really could have just read this essay instead of  listening to me ramble, so sorry about that.

More folks who thinking Fitching the Homeless is not awesome:
Feminist Killjoy
Jezebel
Yoga Out the Yin Yang

Want to do something awesome for homeless families in NJ? Check out HomeFront - volunteer, donate, be involved.

Today’s poem is the result of a word provided by one of my sponsors – she asked me to write a poem using the word “will.” In addition to that, this morning I heard British novelist Sarah Hall talking on NPR and she used the phrase “the heart as a red pulpy mass.” I thought it was such an odd-sounding and somehow beautiful description, so I wanted to try to construct a poem that felt like a pulpy mass: a mishmosh of ideas coming together. 

NaPoMo Day 15 Links: 

Rachel’s Day 15 Poem: Will [Or, the Heart As a Red Pulpy Mass]

Someone Else’s Awesome Poem: Claire Lee’s “Living in Numbers”

Today’s news out of Boston is overwhelming and terrible. My heart is aching. After a wonderfully centering class at the karate school tonight, I came home and started listening to music, reading poems and writing a little. At times like this, watching my nation suffer, art seems an incredible privilege and an incredible balm. I am grateful for it. 

NaPoMo Links – Days 12, 13 and 14

You can find links to the referring news stories by reading the poems over at PFFA.  

Rachel’s Day 12 Poem – Untitled Poem About Bird Flu
Rachel’s Day 13 Poem – Extracellular Matrix
Rachel’s Day 14 Poem – There are things you cannot do in space

Someone Else’s Awesome Poem – William Wordsworth’s “The World Is Too Much With Us” is the only poem I want to read right now. 

This whole news stories theme has really been working for me – there is certainly no shortage of prompts, though they are mostly sad and terrible. Still, I am happy with the drafts I’ve been turning out, and I feel it’s important to focus on the world. 

NaPoMo Day 11 Links

Rachel’s Day 11 Poem: Hindsight – refers very loosely from this story

Someone Else’s Awesome Poem: Reginald Shepherd’s “How People Disappear” 

NaPoMo Days 9 & 10 Links

Rachel’s Day 9 Poem: Josh Groban Reassures Us That He Is Not A Cannibal – refers from this hilarious headline
Rachel’s Day 10 Poem: If-Then – refers from this devastating article

Someone Else’s Awesome Poem for Day 9: Aracelis Girmay’s “Kingdom Animalia”
Someone Else’s Awesome Poem for Day 10: Dorothy Parker’s “Resume” 

Also! Don’t forget – it is not too late to donate to The Bullycide Project – see details here. 

NaPoMo Days 7 & 8 Links

Rachel’s Day 7 Poem: Gun in America – this poem refers from an NPR article titled “The First Gun in America” 
Rachel’s Day 8 Poem: Advice to the Young – this poem refers from an interview with Patti Smith

Someone Else’s Awesome Poem for Day 7: “On this Very Street in Belgrade,” Charles Simic
Someone Else’s Awesome Poem for Day 8: “This Is Just To Say,” William Carlos Williams

Onward!

NaPoMo Day 6 Links:

Rachel’s Day 6 Poem: This Land: With an Act of Kindness – today’s poem refers from this article about a woman who was carjacked.

Someone Else’s Awesome Poem: Brigit Pegeen Kelly, “Song”

And he read while I wrote. So that was good. 

Onward, to the poems: 
Day 4′s poem includes a word provided by Donna (“milkshake”), and Day 5′s poem includes a word provided by Lynn (“fallacy”). Day 5 also mentions kickboxing, which was suggested as a prompt by Becky, but I don’t really want to count it as The Prompt that she gave me, since it’s really not an integral part of the poem. 

NaPoMo Days 4 & 5 Links: 

Rachel’s Day 4 Poem: Terrible News – this poem refers from the subject line of an email I received from a political organization.
Rachel’s Day 5 Poem: Preemption – this poem refers from this article, about North Korea’s threats of nuclear strikes.

Someone Else’s Awesome Poem for Day 4: Patrick Ryan Frank, “Virginitiphobia”
Someone Else’s Awesome Poem for Day 5: Laurie Saurborn Young, “Goodnight Moon” (you’ll get 4 poems of Laurie’s at this link, READ THEM ALL, they are so good)

In other news, between the fabulous Kristin LaTour and myself, we have managed to raise over $1,000 to benefit The Bullycide Project. BUT! It’s not too late! You can still make a donation! As a reminder, here’s the quick details:

$29 and under – you’re a nice person, and I will give you a hug the next time I see you.
$30-59 – You can give me one word to use in a poem.
$60-99 – You can give me a topic/prompt for a poem.
$100 and up – You can give me a topic/prompt for a poem AND you’ll receive a limited edition, hand-signed broadside (small poster/large print) of one poem produced during NaPoMo.

Visit the Facebook event for more details.

NaPoMo Day 3 Links:

Rachel’s Day 3 Poem: The North Wind Retires – today’s poem refers from this Huffington Post Arts & Culture article.

Someone Else’s Awesome Poem: Graham Foust, “Love Poem”

NaPoMo Day 2 Links:

Rachel’s Day 2 Poem: Census – today’s poem refers from NPR’s coverage of the Race Card Project

Someone Else’s Awesome Poem: Walt Whitman, “Sometimes With One I Love”