Is Homelessness 21st Century Slavery?

The photo at the left is not far from Duke Ellington's old neighborhood. When we participated in a "Civil Rights Walk"and saw his old neighborhood, I closed my eyes and tried to imagine his music playing softly; it seemed more than a little melancholy.

We stopped at the Civil Rights Museum and saw some of the original shackles that were once used to bind the limbs of slaves.

We saw the Civil War Memorial to African American soldiers and we even saw Abraham Lincoln (well a wax version, anyway) at Madam Tusseaux's Wax Museum. We saw where Lincoln was shot and we saw the home where he died. We all remember learning how Lincoln freed the slaves.

We saw a hotel worker look outside his window at a homeless man as if he'd just seen a dead rat.

Is the condition of homelessness in the 21st Century analgous with the character of human bondage?

I took note of the tone of voice that several of the homeless men used when they asked about HIV testing at Thrive DC. It sounded more eager than concerned, though of course I am applying middle class values.

I noted too that the men who wanted to be tested were not the same men who scooped up handfuls of condoms from a basket nearby. I couldn't help wondering about this...Do some homeless men hope to be infected with HIV and to infect others? Is it possible that HIV can be a blessing rather than a curse? Is HIV/AIDS a ticket to warm shelter~ even if that shelter is a hospital or care center?

When you have nothing left to lose and when a roof over your head means more than being left out in the cold...is deliberately getting sick and being able to infect your partners one alternative to homelessness?

What are the social safeguards for homeless persons?

And finally, what a desperate condition for men and women!