Amicus Curiae: Defending the Rights of the Homeless

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Table of Contents

Interest of Amicus
Summary of Argument
Argument
The oppressive laws
The judicial system
Improving the living standards of the poor and the homeless
Conclusion
Works cited

Interest of Amicus

The national organization for the minority groups is a non-profitable group that is situated in the state of Oregon. The mission of this organization is to teach people to keep off oppressing the minority groups irrespective of their social, economic or physical status especially the people who grew up poor and the homeless. The reason behind our action is not only for the concern of the rights of people who grew up poor but a desire to ensure that the laws put in place are fair and provides justice for all without any discrimination.

Summary of Argument

Laws by the government that the poor should not be homeless and that those who are homeless should not be permitted to sit or roam around the sidewalks of the US cities are not fair. Better laws should therefore be put in place to cater to the well-being, rights and the freedom of the poor and the homeless.

Argument

Introduction

Like the appellants in this case, we challenge the United State’s laws that people who grew up poor should not be allowed to be homeless and that if they are homeless then they should not sit or roam around the city’s sidewalks. It is of great concern given that these laws do not go together with the teaching of the Old Testament about caring for the poor, orphaned and the homeless. The concern was raised during a research conducted on the poor people who are homeless in which it was realized that a number of victims were beaten up, mocked and even arrested just because they were in places where people of middle and upper classes did not want them to be. From this research there was a conclusion that several homeless people were being arrested or removed from public or private places just because they were not protected by the law and that the government did not care about their well-being.

Our culture of the U.S looks down on people who belong to the lower social and economic groups. This creates a reflective effect on such people’s sense of value. Sadly enough, the United States of America, does not look out for and try to reach the poor and the orphaned in the society.

Arguably, growing up poor in the United States is a bad thing. I am very sure that huge numbers of people who have been witnesses to what I learned during my research will concur with me on this issue. For any body who is trying to deny this argument, I would advise him or her to wait until he or she get there and see what the poor and the homeless in the cities of the United States of America experience.

Research on the minority group of people, who grew up poor in the United States, shows that at least every person who grew up poor in the United States suffered psychological trauma due to insults from the middle and the upper class children. For instance during this research while listening to a story by one of the persons who grew up poor in America, I found out that she suffered because she was raised up by her grandmother who was very poor. Knowing that there was no cash, she did not complain and decided to take in all the mocks she received in school because of the clothes she wore. I nevertheless noted that it was not only the insults that the poor got from the wealthy people but also suffered arrests and wrong imprisonment by the influential people.

Even though many people do not seem to realize it, it is not news that the United States engages in the oppression of the poor, the weak, the homeless and strangers who find themselves amongst them. To aggravate the circumstances there is an extension of this to other poor nations across the world. It is however amazing that the Americans are uninformed about the oppression that they cause abroad to the poor people in poor nations with their consumeristic, capitalistic and wealthy lifestyles.

A research conducted on a group of people who grew up poor showed that most of the American laws are made in such a way that the only people who are advantaged are those in middle and upper classes while those in lower class and the homeless get oppressed by these laws. The American nation can not deny the fact that the nation is actually liable for the charges pressed against the poor, the homeless and the orphaned.

The oppressive laws

It is illegal to be homeless in many US cities

This law of the United States, states that it is not legal for a person to be homeless. For a person who grew up poor, this law is absolutely oppressive since such a person may not be in a position to acquire a home. From the research and the experience gained while working with the poor and the homeless, there is evidence that the laws of our nation oppress the poor. The implication behind this law is that if one is found to be homeless, then he or she can be put under arrest for any reason anywhere, the reason for your arrest being that you do not have a home address. This makes life unbearable for those who grew up poor and are homeless because it gives any other person and especially business people a right to inform the police of the presence of a homeless person anywhere to have him or her arrested or removed from a place just because they do not want them to be in that particular place or because they perceive them to be dirty and smelling. It is ridiculous that the middle and upper-class individuals do bend too low to the extent of losing their sense of humanity and engage in such merciless acts of beating or even removing the homeless from a particular place whether public or private.

There is argument that, the homeless should stay in the homeless shelters and not loiter or roam around the city streets. Such arguments are baseless because the homeless shelters are only opened and only operate at night and not at day time. In addition, there is need for the government to realize that there are very few homeless shelters that can only house a very small percentage of the destitute at any given night which does not even account for one-quarter of the total homeless population.

Taking into deliberation the fact that the homeless shelters are not large enough to accommodate the whole homeless population, the study shows that many homeless people are always forced to move somewhere else to look for shelter and warmth. Nevertheless, they are always in danger of being removed, rebuked or even arrested just because they happen to be in that particular place. From my research I am in a position to give an account for several days, the stories given by homeless youths who grew up in poor families how they tried to hide in parks or buildings to get some rest after going through an exhaustive day only to be rebuked, beaten and arrested for sleeping in private and public places.

It is obvious, from a research conducted that the homeless people in the United States have no place to go to or to stay, but the American law does not seem to realize this. As a result such people are left unattended since the government of the United States does not seem to give them any attention and provide some care but instead, such people are treated as if they are not human beings just because they are poor and homeless.

It is outlawed to sit or loiter in the sidewalks of the US cities

This is in fact a law that has been enacted only for the homeless and the poor. It is a very common law in most US cities that prohibits sitting or hanging around on footpaths in the cities. The purpose of this law as confirmed by the research is not to prevent the poor and the homeless from sitting or panhandling on the paths because we all know that panhandling is illegal, but the law is put in place to prevent the poor and the homeless from going to where people of middle and upper class are to look for help.

Even if people lose their logic they still should understand that the poor and the destitute do not have any other way of getting food as well as a place to go to during the day. For them to get food they must go to places where people are, so that they can seek help from them. However, the research showed that the business owners do nag that it is not a good idea to have the homeless people around their businesses. In addition, the inhabited buyers also do complain that they don’t like it when they see homeless people around the shops.

Due to the above-mentioned reason, this law that prohibits hanging around or sitting on the paths within the cities is passed but unfortunately is only being imposed on the poor and the homeless as opposed to the rich who are found in middle and upper classes. This law is obviously unfair because for a person who is well dressed, this law can never be enforced on him or her even if they loiter or sit around the sidewalks. Nevertheless if you are not well dressed and look homeless then you will be rebuked, beaten and even arrested.

From that observation, there is a clear indication that the poor and the homeless are discriminated against, and also that there are some laws in the United States that are strictly meant to be enforced on the poor people but not on the middle and upper class persons which is a clear evidence of how the poor groups are being oppressed by the rich and influential people.

During the research I personally witnessed on several occasions as policemen and security officers kick and beat homeless youths sitting on the pathways. According to the policemen, the security officers and surely enough the other rich persons, it is an insult for the upper and middle class people to see the homeless people around their places of resident or work. In addition, in their own ideas it is not good for commercial industries to have the poor and homeless people around as they claim that it is not good for their business. This is something very common as it happens in some form in every city of the United States and goes totally unnoticed by the administration of the United States simply because they do not seem to care about the poor and the homeless. It is indeed very sad that our nation, the U.S does not look out for and try to reach the poor and the orphaned and as a result exposing them to a lot of suffering from the oppression that they face. As a concerned citizen who cares for the well-being of every citizen in our nation, I advocate for a change in the enforcement of the above two discussed laws.

The judicial system

Research found out that America turns to those who are enslaved, especially those they consider cruel and inconsiderate. The judicial system of the United States seems to be failing day by day, however an average American person feels that the judicial system is just right and cannot send to prison the guiltless. It is a fact that the sufficient legal representation is only there for those with the ability to pay for such services. However the poor who cannot pay for such services suffers from under representation.

From a study of the US legal processes there is evidence that the middle and the upper class persons receive justice within a system which is intended to serve all citizens. However those who grew up poor and have inadequate resources and finances experience unsatisfactory justice.

It is also notable that in the United States, poor people are enslaved in the America’s prison industrial complex. From these prisons poor lawful representations are observable as lawyers who are not experienced, underpaid and overworked offer representation that is insufficient to the poor leading to their wrongful conviction. As a result of this there is an increased enslavement of the poor to the prison industrial complex.

In addition to the use of inexperienced, overworked and underpaid lawyers, the use of unprincipled, antisocial and in most cases illiterate witnesses leads to increased enslavement of the poor in the America’s prison industrial complex. It is obvious that the poor in the United States is the burden obstacles for the society’s ills nevertheless the rich never experience this enslavement.

As the Supreme Court considers changing the judicial system, it is important to look at the prosecutors and the law enforcers who have continued to become more corrupt in their policies causing more suffering to the poor people. From a global view it can be noted that America incarcerates the leading number of poor people as compared to any other nation.

In the United States of America, research showed that the poor people get the shaft by the legal system and this is not doubtable. If the poor person decides to become lifelong criminal then everyone will understand and say that it is okay. However, if they are just some poor people who make a one-time mistake then it can be considered a misfortune of major proportion which we should all care about.

Improving the living standards of the poor and the homeless

It is not meant to say that there should not be laws to regulate the movement of the homeless but that in most cases the poor are oppressed by the rich thus the laws should be put in place to protect the poor from being oppressed by the rich. Additionally, the government should support individuals and organizations that have come to work for the well-being of the homeless. For instance there should be support to ensure the establishment of more homeless shelters.

Other than the provision of shelters the government should ensure the provision of other basic needs to the poor and the homeless. Furthermore, there should be equal representation of all people irrespective of their social or economic status to stop the wrong enslavement of the poor people.

Young people growing up in poor backgrounds need some forces that can channel them into typical life situations. The forces should be put in place to ensure that a young person from a poor background will become a productive, literate citizen and independent person who is free from trouble.

Conclusion

For the above-mentioned reasons, the organization urges this court to ensure that the laws of the country do not give the rich the right and the privilege to oppress the poor and that the laws do not discriminate against the poor.

Works cited

Hobgood, M. E. Taking a Part Privilege: A Belief of Responsibility. Cleveland OH: Pilgrim Press, 2000.

Young B.E. The Analysis of prejudice. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press, 1996.

Felice, W. F. A Critical Look at Suffering: The Significance of Joint Human Rights. Albany NY: State University of New York Press, 1996.

Beck, A.M. Convicts of Hate. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1999.

Ann, C.E. Investigating Oppression. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.

Deutsch, M. An Outline for Opinion about Oppression and Its Change. Social Justice Research Journal, Vol. 19, No.1, 2006, pp. 7-41. 2006.

New York Times: A Critical Analysis of the Oppressed Groups in the United States, 2007.

New York Times, United States – New York Times: The consequences of growing up poor on children: in consequences of growing up poor. BBC News, UK – 2005.

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