http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/LIVING/09/11/homeless.blogger/art.homeless.blogger.cnn.jpg
If the headline of “Blogging begins turnaround of homeless woman.” were not above the photo of a woman standing in front of her travel trailer, one would be lead to believe that the image is of a woman who is partaking of the great American outdoor pastime of camping.
In the photo the woman appears to be healthy and eating well (she may even appear to be a little overweight to some people). She is cleanly dressed and is standing in front of a travel trailer that does not look broken down or appear to be falling apart. We can even see her pet dog standing in front of the travel trailer’s door. For all we know, she is parked in a campground or RV park and posing for a photo for her vacation scrapbook. The images in the photo give no indication that the woman is homeless and living in the parking lot of a Wal-Mart store.
To be homeless conjures the image of a person living in the street, in a park, or in our area, in a wash. The homeless people that are regularly portrayed in photos and television look unclean, are wearing clothes that are torn and dirty, and have a look of despair and emptiness in their eyes. In comparison, this woman has a travel trailer and appears to be standing nonchalantly in front of it.
When we look at her photo we think that she is a woman who is either camping or touring the country. None of the images of a homeless person we have been fed by the press leads us to believe that she is indeed homeless.
BEACH PARTY ANYONE?
13 years ago
