Looking down the road that is paved with only the best intentions, Sam Biddle at Valleywag says “Techies: Just Leave Homeless People Alone“:
Last year, the tech community was stunned by the realization that teaching a homeless man to code did not solve the larger issues of homelessness and American income inequality. Now, they’ve regrouped, and have a new myopic plan: let’s strap GoPro cameras to the poor.
The name “Homeless GoPro” betrays almost everything you need to know about the project. It’s stupidly uncreative, and yet somehow radically crass… Just like Joel Q. Dropbox enjoys Bay Area sea kayaking or mountain biking on weekends, the homeless of Silicon Valley live a rugged, outdoors, extreme lifestyle. Only they can’t go home at the end of the day, because they have no homes, because they are that fucking extreme. If they’re victims of violence or die from exposure? Hell yeah, brother, even more extreme….
…[S]top thinking we can innovate our way out of one of civilization’s oldest ailments. Poverty, homelessness, and inequality are bigger than any app—thinking software and a portable camera can make a dent is nothing more than indulgence. Your tech isn’t helping. Your worldview is missing the point. If you want to be helpful—and you should be—just give some money or time.
Yeah, I know these guys seriously have nothing but goodwill in their hearts, and yet: Tom Wolfe does not need any more fodder. “There’s an app for that” is an advertising slogan, not a magic wand. Certainly there are DIY projects that can make peoples’ lives better — designing warm, waterproof coats with adaptive storage pockets that can be manufactured locally and distributed to the hardcore ‘shelter averse’ is one I heard about from Seattle. But such projects require paying attention to what the actual human persons you’re attempting to help wants/needs, not what tweaks your own gears…
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Apart from (hopefully not) despairing of the human capacity for empathy, what’s on the agenda for the evening?
Thursday Evening Open Thread: But They So <em>Meant</em> Well!Post + Comments (80)