The National Coalition for the Homeless has been documenting the rise of hate speech in the United States directed at homeless people. Advocates are now tracking a disturbing trend that is being accepted in mainstream venues including television, major corporate retailers, newspapers and radio. Mainstream media is grossly exaggerating stereotypes or using homeless people as props in comedy routines.
Since 2001, there has been a proliferation of "Bum Videos," in which homeless people are coerced to perform degrading and dangerous stunts for money, alcohol or food. The video producers also use parodies of famous TV shows to mock and demoralize the lifestyles of homeless people. Five different videos have been produced in the past four years: "Bum Fights," "Bum Fights 2," "Bum Hunts," "Bum Show.com," and "Bag Lady Beatings."
In some of the more severe video scenes:
A homeless man drinks urine he perceives is a beer.
A homeless man runs head first into a stack of crates for a nickel.
A homeless man with drug addiction problems sets his hair on fire.
A homeless man rides in a shopping cart down a ramp and crashes into the wall.
A man, pretending to be Steve Irwin of "Crocodile Hunter" fame, calls himself the "Bum Hunter." He chases and tackles some homeless people, while sneaking up on others who are lying down. He sits on top of them, ties their hands and feet together with duct tape and makes remarks as if they were animals ("this one is a fine species," "a small guy like this is very susceptible to predators," "look he has got no teeth, smoking crack deteriorates your gums," and "I want to look in his cart to see what he has stolen"). He also makes degrading comments such as, "if I came in here with a brand new bandage (to fix a homeless man’s arm), he would immediately try to rip it off because he doesn’t know the smell, he thinks it’s new, and we all know that bums don’t wear new clothes, they only wear old clothes."
A homeless man is offered a quarter to drink Windex. He takes a gulp of the bottle for 1 dollar. He is shown vomiting shortly afterwards.
Two men claim to be the "Homeless Pound Transport." They use a rope, a crossbow, a snare, homeless bait, a stun gun and a straight jacket to capture homeless people. Once they capture a homeless person, they put him or her in a locked cage on the back of a pickup truck. Then they drive their victim through the city to the "Homeless Pound" (public mockery).
A man shoots potatoes and apples at homeless people with a "Bum Gun." He knocks down a homeless man on crutches; he shoots one in the head; he shoots another in the back, etc.
Dehumanizing videos like these only add to the trend of violence and mistreatment of people who suffer from homelessness. According to the May 13, 2004 addition of the Las Vegas Sun, Jeanne Corcoran, production manager for the Nevada Film Office, called the people making these videos "cockroaches (who) only come out at night. None of us in government sanction or support this type of exploitation."
Corporations Marketing Homeless Exploitation
Recently, major corporate retailers including Tower Records, Amazon, Borders, Virgin Mega Stores, Target, Best Buy, Blockbuster, Barnes and Noble and Trans World Entertainment have found it acceptable to sell these videos and DVDs in their stores and on the Internet.
The National Coalition for the Homeless, the oldest and largest national homeless advocacy organization in the United States, aims to protect the rights of homeless people. NCH has sent letters, faxes and e-mails asking mainstream retailers to:
1. Immediately stop selling these videotapes or DVDs, and destroy the current inventory.
2. Turn over the profits from the sale of these violent videotapes to an agency of their choosing that serves homeless people.
3. Pledge to never purchase these violent exploitative films that depict homeless
people as props in a voyeuristic display of depravity.
As of June 15, 2004, the retail corporations have responded to NCH’s request accordingly:
Have Stopped Selling Hate Speech:
_ Amazon.com
_ Target
_ Virgin Mega Stores
_ Barnes and Noble
_ Blockbuster.com
Continue to Sell Hate Speech:
_ Best Buy – "Bum Hunts"
_ Tower Records – "Bum Fights 2" and "Bum Hunts"
_ Borders – "Bum Fights 1 & 2", "Bum Hunts" and "Bum Show.com"
_ FYE Entertainment – "Bum Hunts" and "Bum Show.com"
