I'm afraid i agree with skwirl... I can't see anything funny about homeless signs.

Laughing at the signs... well why do they have them in the first place? Is THAT funny?

Yes, they may have a sense of humour, but think about it. YOu are LAUGHING at someone in a dire condition. LIke laughing at someone who's dying, starving, being harmed right before your eyes.

It is dehumanizing. And laughing at the signs is on the road to further dehumanizing those who deserve better. Especially in the Western world where we are supposed to have so much wealth.

"Give me your tired, your poor...."

And whether you knew Skwirl was a homeless or ex-homeless person still shouldn't count.

We are laughing ...

I'm afraid i agree with skwirl... I can't see anything funny about homeless signs.

Laughing at the signs... well why do they have them in the first place? Is THAT funny?

Yes, they may have a sense of humour, but think about it. YOu are LAUGHING at someone in a dire condition. LIke laughing at someone who's dying, starving, being harmed right before your eyes.

It is dehumanizing. And laughing at the signs is on the road to further dehumanizing those who deserve better. Especially in the Western world where we are supposed to have so much wealth.

"Give me your tired, your poor...."

And whether you knew Skwirl was a homeless or ex-homeless person still shouldn't count.

We are laughing at misfortune. Don't forget how nicely it is coated... by those who are suffering or not.

I think this clip should stay up because it allows us to discuss this type of inhumanity that is so prevailant in our society.
I have seen so much humor focused on the 'have nots' that my initial response was troll like. I am sorry but I am human and sometimes I comment without thinking.
I react poorly when I see indifference and ridicule towards people that are 'under' society. There was another clip not long ago that set me off that had to deal with the study of being poor. It made me feel that people that are in dire need are a conversation topic at well-to-do coffee tables. Its kinda like a photographer that gets the shot of the starving child then moves on without giving it some food.
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I think this clip should stay up because it allows us to discuss this type of inhumanity that is so prevailant in our society.
I have seen so much humor focused on the 'have nots' that my initial response was troll like. I am sorry but I am human and sometimes I comment without thinking.
I react poorly when I see indifference and ridicule towards people that are 'under' society. There was another clip not long ago that set me off that had to deal with the study of being poor. It made me feel that people that are in dire need are a conversation topic at well-to-do coffee tables. Its kinda like a photographer that gets the shot of the starving child then moves on without giving it some food.
What irritates me the most about this is that if someone is despirate enough to publicly declare the need for help we should help them. These signs belittle those real signs that you see people with at street corners. People don't beg for your entertainment. If the sign is funny they probably have more than you do. There are scammers out there that make a great living like that. Next time you see someone with a sign, offer them a task for some real money(NOT POCKET CHANGE). Offer them enough for a motel room and a good meal. You will probably find a very hard working person. If they are - Offer them to come back next week. Give someone a ray of hope!

Who are we to suggest that a homeless person can't have a sense of humor about their situation?

These signs are funny because they wanted them to be funny.

The most disrespectful thing I see here is the insinuation that there is one type of homeless person...pathetic, humorless. As the pictures show, this is not the case.

I was homeless for a short time, and the folks at the soup kitchens and shelters were not a humorless bunch, I assure you. I would go so far as to say that many of these folks are living on their good humor...and are quite able to laugh at themselves as well as others.

I was a bike-mess. for a long time. Some of these folks made my day on a regular basis, and I was h...

Who are we to suggest that a homeless person can't have a sense of humor about their situation?

These signs are funny because they wanted them to be funny.

The most disrespectful thing I see here is the insinuation that there is one type of homeless person...pathetic, humorless. As the pictures show, this is not the case.

I was homeless for a short time, and the folks at the soup kitchens and shelters were not a humorless bunch, I assure you. I would go so far as to say that many of these folks are living on their good humor...and are quite able to laugh at themselves as well as others.

I was a bike-mess. for a long time. Some of these folks made my day on a regular basis, and I was happy to help where I could. I think people are much more comfortable with some brevity than the moaning, clawing pathetic figure...it might suggest that there is hope for this person, who clearly has his wits about him.

Conversely, homeless with a family is a terrible situation. Skwirl....I know that, but it does not negate the humor of those that can find some. You cannot be the voice for all homeless, nor should you sentence them to misery.

A poor upbringing is not funny. Yet, it seems half of all stand-up is the formerly poor finding humor in their circumstances.

Oh, and the professional homeless...in a rent-fixed apt. they've been living in for twenty years. Eloquent, well-read, and void of any remorse, they take the wayfarers off at night, and put them back on in the morning. Not that they don't have problems, they have just come to realize that the problems they have are not visible/easy to empathize with.

The Point: You are talking about a large number of people with divergent stories, backgrounds, and futures

What (I think) they want: to be seen as the individuals they are, and not as one of the mass of "homeless".

So bully for the funny signs.

Humor got me thru a lot of bad things and still does. Everyone has their own 'bottom' and if you can still laugh at your situation you are not at the bottom. Those signs just tell me they are still able to bear with it and they really don't need help. This takes away from those that really do need help because now people look for the funny signs. The clip should be titled 'Begging for Entertainment' or something. I get the feeling these people are not in as dire straights as the title leads us to believe.
These signs tell me
"Hey, laugh at me I'm a funny beggar"

What (I think) they want: to be seen as the individuals they are, and not as one of the mass of "homeless".

What the...

Humor got me thru a lot of bad things and still does. Everyone has their own 'bottom' and if you can still laugh at your situation you are not at the bottom. Those signs just tell me they are still able to bear with it and they really don't need help. This takes away from those that really do need help because now people look for the funny signs. The clip should be titled 'Begging for Entertainment' or something. I get the feeling these people are not in as dire straights as the title leads us to believe.
These signs tell me
"Hey, laugh at me I'm a funny beggar"

What (I think) they want: to be seen as the individuals they are, and not as one of the mass of "homeless".

What they want is publicity.
What a truly homeless person wants is a place to live.
What a poor person wants is money to exist in society.
If you see the poor and the homeless as masses you are truly blinded by wealth. I can tell you this, They see you as the wealthy masses. Your problems in life are insignificant and greedy. They don't care that you maxed out your credit cards and can't pay your lawyer retainer this month. They don't respect you, they laugh at your materialistic problems. They are waiting for you to be compassionate and share the wealth. You horde your wealth and dangle it in front of them - soon, they stop jumping for it.
When I was in dire straights, I didn't want a hand out - I wanted a job that paid me enough money to live in YOUR world.

The first guy is shaved and trimmed, His sign is a sign and was written in marker. It is obviously a lie and he doesn't want help. He is just a funny guy holding up a sign. I might laugh but the guy that sleeps in the dumpster behind the store probably hates him.

The time traveller is making fun, has a stupid sign and is not homeless either. His clothes, shoes, accessories and cleanliness gives it away. The guy in the cardboard box in the alley hates him.

The homeless jedi has a pad to sit on, nice shoes, a watch and a drink from a fast food or convience store,
and clean toes. The woman in the nearby park wrapped in rags stuffed with newspapers and pawned her wedding ring a year ago would ...

The first guy is shaved and trimmed, His sign is a sign and was written in marker. It is obviously a lie and he doesn't want help. He is just a funny guy holding up a sign. I might laugh but the guy that sleeps in the dumpster behind the store probably hates him.

The time traveller is making fun, has a stupid sign and is not homeless either. His clothes, shoes, accessories and cleanliness gives it away. The guy in the cardboard box in the alley hates him.

The homeless jedi has a pad to sit on, nice shoes, a watch and a drink from a fast food or convience store,
and clean toes. The woman in the nearby park wrapped in rags stuffed with newspapers and pawned her wedding ring a year ago would do him for his shoes.

Its pointless to go on...
The guy willing to code html is probably homeless or about to be.
The hiker miscalculated his money
The verbal abuse is either desperate or stupid or both.
Hit me with a quarter is likely homeless and desperate.

All of them are alone.
Families get to be homeless too.

Dorine and others, no one is saying that homelessness is funny. No one is ridiculing homeless people. The clip is about signs made with the intent to be funny. To deny that these signs are funny is to deny that homeless people can even display a sense of humor regarding their condition. There are a lot of people who have homes only because they have access to credit or receive welfare/social services or have family or friends to live with (or who they are willing to live with), and so are not really supporting themselves enough to pay for their own housing (the high cost of which is criminal and while it pertains to the homeless subject here deserves its own discussion thread). An awful lot ...

Dorine and others, no one is saying that homelessness is funny. No one is ridiculing homeless people. The clip is about signs made with the intent to be funny. To deny that these signs are funny is to deny that homeless people can even display a sense of humor regarding their condition. There are a lot of people who have homes only because they have access to credit or receive welfare/social services or have family or friends to live with (or who they are willing to live with), and so are not really supporting themselves enough to pay for their own housing (the high cost of which is criminal and while it pertains to the homeless subject here deserves its own discussion thread). An awful lot of people live hand to mouth. The only reason some of us still have a roof over our heads is because we live very, very frugally and soberly.

Poverty, or relative poverty, is a problem for many millions of people in America. Can no one joke about their poverty to help relieve the misery or to try to elicit money from other people? Can no one appreciate attempts at such humor? When I say, to be funny but in all honesty, that I am so broke that I can't pay attention, thereby letting you know that I am miserably poor but still able to laugh (albeit ruefully), will you not laugh with me? I certainly do not want you to sigh and pity me when I try to be funny. I want you to smile with me. If it turns out that I do end up on the street I will try to be one of the "funny beggars" swirl refers to who tries to amuse you into giving me money. Please do not disrespect me by not allowing me to display my sense of humor. Laugh with me, not at me. And it just might help if we all vote for politicians who truly have a social conscience.

I was homeless once, due to bad circumstances and not just after a cross country move, but an across the world move. Times were tough, but we never lost our sense our humour, in fact that is probably what got us through. We lived in a van and used to say we lived "just add water" lives, because we could always boil water and make soup or ramen, etc. *LOL* We used to eat on the beach. Two tea towels for a tablecloth across a cardboard box and tea lights for candles and it was actually quite romantic at times. We had bad times, but we always could laugh. Sometimes, happiness is choice, despite circumstances. With my sense of humour, I could very well have made myself a"beer" sign. In fact, I w...

I was homeless once, due to bad circumstances and not just after a cross country move, but an across the world move. Times were tough, but we never lost our sense our humour, in fact that is probably what got us through. We lived in a van and used to say we lived "just add water" lives, because we could always boil water and make soup or ramen, etc. *LOL* We used to eat on the beach. Two tea towels for a tablecloth across a cardboard box and tea lights for candles and it was actually quite romantic at times. We had bad times, but we always could laugh. Sometimes, happiness is choice, despite circumstances. With my sense of humour, I could very well have made myself a"beer" sign. In fact, I wish I'd thought of it! Haha.

Homelessness, humour, troubles, life strategies and the reactions to them are not one size fits all. We all cope differently. I loved the clip btw and I laughed my head off.