Recent death awaken latent prejudice<br>

If it weren’t bad enough already, a recent newspaper headline has left an even more bitter taste in the mouths of many. Specifically, the labeling of “homeless drunks,” in reference to the tragic deaths of three men who supposedly fall under that category.

A great deal of insensitivity has been displayed by a lot of folks who really should know better, especially considering that we live in an age of politically correctness which borders on the ridiculous to keep from offending anyone.

Okay, the thought that someone should be able to put down the bottle and walk away into the supposedly loving arms of organizations willing to give them a night off the street and the next morning out into the job force sounds good on paper. The reality is much different. Anyone with an addiction knows better. How many who have sworn only two months earlier to lose weight, give up chocolate, start an exercise program, or yes, give up drinking, actually do so.

Where I grew up, there were no “homeless drunks.” But in a one-horse town with only one small grocery shop and a high school of only 400 young people serving many such small towns, we had at least seven bars. And each one had its own eager clientele.

When I went off to college, it was impossible not to see the role alcohol—and drugs—played in campus life. I also came to know several well-off individuals—ah, why not call a spade a spade—wealthy people—who were known as “connoisseurs.”

Me, I grew up in a town that, at that time, had no clue about political correctness. Odd that I would think of these bastions of society as drunks. Ah, but they weren’t homeless. My grandfather used to look at alcoholics with sympathy. “There but for the grace of God go I,” he would tell us. Perhaps it was the fact that he wasn’t homeless which saved him from the bottle. That fact certainly didn’t save my own father.

My message is simply this—instead of labeling those more unfortunate than ourselves, why not learn a little compassion. How many people were hurt by the insensitivity of a newspaper article? Not only those with drinking problems, but the children, parents, spouses and family members who are affected by alcohol.

I, for one, go on record in support of a homeless shelter that opens its doors to those with substance abuse problems. Why? Because there, but for the grace of God, go I.

—S. J. Wilson