SFist: Photo du Jour 188

OrangeDrink

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 17:46:48 -0800

It's how people with liberal arts degrees from private east coast colleges make money. Fixed that typo for you.

fizzandpop

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 17:19:51 -0800

That dude's not homeless. He's smart (clever). He's just looking for cool stuff in a dumpster. There's tones of valuable gear left behind by businesses. He'll probably find some toner cartridges, coppery-stuff, paper, or other things of value, throw them in the back of his truck, then take them off to the recycling plant and make crazy dollars. It's how people without liberal arts degrees from private east coast colleges make money.

jacksevanroo

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 17:03:04 -0800

That looks like the Stevenson Alley.

HHumbert

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 16:41:28 -0800

@bluecanary: So I guess a POV mpeg is probably not in your future?

zippy_monster

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 16:33:42 -0800

bluecanary: right on.

KatyG

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 16:05:48 -0800

Well, no matter how much money you have, or not, once you are on a public street, anyone has the right to take your photograph, so the gentleman scavenging technically has no right of privacy. In theory, that's one of the pressures society places upon itself to keep people off the streets.

Brock Keeling

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 15:46:35 -0800

i did. the pro-chuians made death threats.

mpantone

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 15:45:43 -0800

@Plug1: He broke his Frank Chu moratorium like 3-4 days after he started it.

bluecanary

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 15:19:29 -0800

I'm just saying if I were in that guy's shoes, I wouldn't want a picture of me digging through a dumpster posted on the internet. Period. And I highly doubt photos "depicting real everyday occurrences" does anything to fix the problem, that's just a justification.

annnna

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 14:56:11 -0800

How is depicting real everyday occurances humiliating? You can't fix the problem without photos like these that raise awareness for all of us that usually just walk right on by.

megang

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 14:20:14 -0800

What? No butt crack?

Brock Keeling

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 14:06:42 -0800

"lumping them together as one entity that exists only to be pitied does a little more harm than an anonymous photo does." well said, hudu. there are organizations and local politicians who use this lumping technique to further their careers, paychecks.

hudu

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 14:03:32 -0800

Who is this humiliating? You can't even see the guy's face. I think de-humanizing the homeless and lumping them together as one entity that exists only to be pitied does a little more harm than an anonymous photo does.

Plug1

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 13:59:34 -0800

i will say one more thing and then i'm done with this thread... if i take a picture of a down-and-outer, which i don't do often, i do give them the courtesy of asking their name. generally they will ask me for a cig or a buck or two in return, and sometimes ask my name - all of which i am happy to give. i've met some interesting people this way and never regretted the time or $$ spent. The City has been good to me, i in turn try to be good to The City, including those at the bottom.

andyc

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 13:57:49 -0800

i dunno, if you can deal with the humiliation of getting your lunch from a dumpster i doubt things like also being humiliated on the internet are really on the forefront of your main concerns at that point. it's not like most people in sf don't see stuff like this every day, several times a day. i don't laugh or point in those cases either. i just don't think glossing over the issue and pretending it doesn't happen on the internet will make things better for those guys either.

bluecanary

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 13:33:57 -0800

I don't object because it offends my fragile little mind. I object because it seems humiliating for them. I know that if I were in this situation, the last thing I'd want is some bozo taking a photo to be posted on the internet where everyone can see, laugh, and point. It just seems rude.

sweet_charles

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 13:16:28 -0800

STOP! This is really NOT HELPING me prentend that homeless people DON'T EXIST in this city so I can continue to let then DIE IN THE STREETS LIKE DOGS. Fuck everyone who doesn't want to see this

Plug1

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 12:58:25 -0800

well, like i said, its not going to solve the problem. but from the stories it looks like most of these guys were only asking for a couple of bucks to do whatever with. im not sure if asking for 20k would be a deal breaker or not.

Brock Keeling

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 12:54:48 -0800

two whole dollars!!!!!

Plug1

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 12:53:07 -0800

PS: #2, here's the Thomas Hawk link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thomashawk/sets/72157605579131380/

Plug1

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 12:52:36 -0800

PS: on Monday your Frank Chu moratorium ends -- I marked it on my calendar 30 days ago.

Plug1

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 12:50:13 -0800

yeah. the homeless thing... ace photographer Thomas Hawk has a cool little idea, whereby he pays $2 for a photo of the disenfranchised, but gets a little history on the individual, too: who are you, where are you from, how did this happen, etc. doesnt solve the underlying problem by any means, but i think it adds a bit of depth: you have their permission, and it humanizes the shot.

icbalaam

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 12:26:13 -0800

Om Nom Nom Nom

MannyOrtez

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 12:04:39 -0800

More homeless porn! My day's complete! Thanks, Brock -- you fucking sicko.