Homeless vs prisoner

[Desperate_Soul]

Is life better as a homeless person in the streets or a prisoner in jail?

 

[Nofaith]

You get fed in prison and have a roof over your head. But you can't walk away.

Depends what's more important to you freedom or security.

 

[Justanotherconsumer]

It depends on the area of the country, weather in the winter ect. And if there are facilities for the homeless, places to shower, eat, get into a shelter once in a while. Being locked up expecially over a couple of months, is so depressing you just wish for death. Upon leaving jail you are most likely to have lost everything and depending upon the charge you will probably be unhireable to any company that does background checks (pretty much all of them) for years and possibly for life. If you do manage to get a job its going to be something thats undesirable and you'll wish you were dead everyday.

 

[hunter_lewis]

Is life better as a homeless person in the streets or a prisoner in jail?

jail isn't too bad I suppose, except you are locked up with psychos, murderers, rapists and child molesters...I would prefer being homeless

 

[satou]

We are all prisoners on planet earth.

 

[Ben]

Is life better as a homeless person in the streets or a prisoner in jail?

Being homesless is entirely better than being in jail. I only spent 30 days in remand, but it was horrible. If you have the required street smarts, you'll mostly likely live a happier and more fulfilling life with freedom. It may seem like a inside bed and a hot meal makes jail appealing if you've gone forever without them..but it does nothing to improve your life situation. Many more reasources at your disposal as a homeless. I won't even get into the criminal code and threat of violence and extortion.

I think jail would break somebody before the streets do. That said, jail might be the perfect place for somebody who wants to escape life, because you certainly have none in there. It all depends on how resilient, street smart, and dependent on freedom you are.

 

[lv-gras]

homeless

probably

or if you change it to psych prison then definitely, because have had experience with both and know this answer
it messes with your head, being homeless does too but in a way that that is not as bad, you learn at least some stuff that is useful and good and freedom affirming.

 

[thetwilightzone]

jail isn't too bad I suppose, except you are locked up with psychos, murderers, rapists and child molesters...I would prefer being homeless

In all fairness, child molestors actually don't violently attack people, it's usually the "macho" drug dealers, burglars, thieves, etc..

 

[Brokenanddeadinside]

I'm living out of a car and pretty soon on streets. I rather have my freedom then be in a jail.

 

[worldexploder]

Both options would suck! I'd rather be homeless. I heard KFC throws some good ass chicken out right before they close. I wouldn't last a day in prison.

 

[stellabelle]

In jail you have a shower, warmth, and food. On the street, you don't. Jails are notoriously violent though.

 

[15dec]

This reminds me of a book I read in high school called Stone Cold. It's about a homeless boy called Link and a man who helps the homeless population called Shelter.

Spoiler: Book Ending

At the end of the novel Shelter is arrested because he's actually been killing the homeless people he pretended to help. Link laments that Shelter, despite having killed many people, was going to be warm in prison with three meals a day, whereas he was still cold out on the streets struggling to get by.

I think it depends where you live whether it's better to be homeless or in prison. If there are lots of homeless support/shelter options in your area, but prisons aren't very high quality, being homeless is probably the best option. Though if you live in a country with very high-quality prisons (I believe it's Sweden that has very luxurious cells) prison would be better.

 

[CJM]

I'm noticing the amount of homeless folks increasing here in New Zealand, housing prices have gone up heaps while wages are low, it's sad.

 

[Pegasus]

Why are so many dead threads getting revived and bumped?

 

[Final Escape]

I'm noticing the amount of homeless folks increasing here in New Zealand, housing prices have gone up heaps while wages are low, it's sad.

It's the central banking, the agenda 21 pushed by the global elite to restrict breeding, kill off people by forcing u into poverty, they restrict the building of cheap housing, constricting the economy anyway they can. A lot of people don't understand that to have wealth and prosperity u need to have enough kids, and because IQ, creativity, and talents are not evenly distributed only a small percentage of people actually invent things that raise the other peoples standard of living as well. It's not as if people were not controlled by draconian measures that we would not practice limiting fertility in some way in a free market system. Basically this is intentional to get us back to a feudal system where there is no middle class. Just rulers and slaves. That's the end goal of the political elite.

 

[MsM3talGamer]

Homeless. The lack of freedom in prison would drive me insane.

 

[kkatt]

I've been in both situations. But in the UK. I can't speak for other countries.
Why do people find the fact that they are locked in a huge complex so frightening? I never leave the house anyway.
Also,those rapists and murderers are mostly regular people like you and I who made a terrible mistake.
There are those that are the exception. But my experience (the sentence was 2.5yrs) was that prison was very easy. Far too easy tbh. Life in the free world is much harder.
Homelessness is awful. I know which I would choose and I have advised friends in desperate situations to do something to get themselves arrested.
Additional point is that (and this is generally agreed), the worst violence in prisons in this country is committed by the young offenders.

 

[Hunter]

Why are so many dead threads getting revived and bumped?

I don't think her death is confirmed.

 

[Hunter]

As difficult as it is to be homeless, I would still prefer it over any interaction with the police or the justice system - particularly in this country. America is not friendly or understanding towards formerly incarcerated people… most employers don't want to hire anyone with a criminal record; whether or not your conviction was just in the first place is irrelevant - which makes it exceedingly difficult to get a job and be self-sufficient after being released. So basically there's a really good likelihood that you may end up homeless anyway. However, when you're homeless it can also be difficult to get a job if you don't have a physical home address on your job application.

On the other hand, with the level of ferocity that social programs and welfare are being cut in this country, it *may* be preferable to have a life sentence so that you're fed, housed, and warm the rest of your life. Maybe I'm underestimating the level of trauma and suffering that occurs inevitably in prisons. It's hard to say. At least when you're homeless you're able to make your own choices about how to move about. I know myself that every day I make a choice about who I can interact with, what space to enter/leave, and how to generally protect myself. I wouldn't have that in a prison setting.

I think with some time, there may come a point where being homeless becomes profitable through the justice system in the U.S. We are already seeing signs of that from the way undocumented people and other marginalized groups are thrown into private prisons and unable to defend themselves. It's only a matter of time.

 

[TAW122]

I think both options suck and that death is better.

However, a longer answer is that I 'slightly' prefer being homeless than to be in prison because at least I have freedom. I was never the type to never question authority or blindly following authority because I was ordered to. In fact, growing up, I was always the sheep and being controlled. Therefore, if I have freedom at any chance, I take it. Also, given my abilities and circumstances, I don't think I'd survive prison (Aspergers, lack of street smarts and wits, don't really have the warring personality so I'm pretty much just fish in a barrel in prison/aka pussy). I'd probably violate some unwritten rules and get beaten up, bullied, teased, possibly killed (in an inhumane, painful way) or generally suffer horribly. So being homeless at least allows me the freedom to go about and at worst, at least some ability to die by my own hand. I'd still rather die than take either homelessness or prison.

 

[Hunter]

I still rather die than take either homelessness or prison.

I see this a lot here, but I have a strong feeling that many would go much farther then they would imagine in the situation of homelessness. You'd be surprised what you can take when the situation calls for it. Having said that though, at least you get the choice to kill yourself if you're homeless. If you're in prison you're stuck living.

 

[nohoper]

I've been in both situations. But in the UK. I can't speak for other countries.
Why do people find the fact that they are locked in a huge complex so frightening? I never leave the house anyway.
Also,those rapists and murderers are mostly regular people like you and I who made a terrible mistake.
There are those that are the exception. But my experience (the sentence was 2.5yrs) was that prison was very easy. Far too easy tbh. Life in the free world is much harder.
Homelessness is awful. I know which I would choose and I have advised friends in desperate situations to do something to get themselves arrested.
Additional point is that (and this is generally agreed), the worst violence in prisons in this country is committed by the young offenders.

You have a point,homelessness in the UK especially in winter is terrible,,not sure what people mean when they say at least you have your freedom,yes freedom to live in a doorway or on a park bench doing your best not too freeze and hoping passers by will take pity on you.not sure i would call that freedom and your choices are almost as much limited as in prison.

 

[Pegasus]

I don't think her death is confirmed.

I'm speaking about dead THREADS, not the person who posted them.

 

[21Neberg]

I'd say homeless - at least in the Netherlads, you could stay at various homeless shelters for free. Also easier to CTB than in prison I imagine.

 

[NotWhatIExpected]

I see this a lot here, but I have a strong feeling that many would go much farther then they would imagine in the situation of homelessness. You'd be surprised what you can take when the situation calls for it. Having said that though, at least you get the choice to kill yourself if you're homeless. If you're in prison you're stuck living.

My fear is that it might be pretty easy to go to prison once you become homeless

You have a point,homelessness in the UK especially in winter is terrible,,not sure what people mean when they say at least you have your freedom,yes freedom to live in a doorway or on a park bench doing your best not too freeze and hoping passers by will take pity on you.not sure i would call that freedom and your choices are almost as much limited as in prison.

American prisons seem absolutely awful

If I could swing a livable enough solitary confinement for life I guess that wouldn't be too bad (I've never had to do that for 30 years) but I'm not sure how likely it is you could even be given something like that, increasingly so in these days, if I can trust news articles

 

[NotWhatIExpected]

I see this a lot here, but I have a strong feeling that many would go much farther then they would imagine in the situation of homelessness. You'd be surprised what you can take when the situation calls for it. Having said that though, at least you get the choice to kill yourself if you're homeless. If you're in prison you're stuck living.

Seems kind of hard to get a good method as a homeless person in many cases

 

[Quinlor]

In prison you can go to gym... Crossfit

 

[Jumper Geo]

Is life better as a homeless person in the streets or a prisoner in jail?

I think you get to experience both when your homeless in the UK so sad seeing people trying to sleep in a door way in the snow and of course the mental health system, Margaret Thatcher Ex Prime Minister decided to close the mental health hospitals and replace it with care in the community so they are sleeping on the streets, drinking and taking drugs, what a caring World we live in.

 

[SuicideBoys93]

My freedom. If I found myself homeless I'd attempt to make the best of it. Traveling the United States slowly but surely. Beats just trying to survive.