Homelessness: Not a Laughing Matter

An article in the September 13, 2007 edition of the Onion titled, “Hundreds Line Up Overnight for Opening of New Homeless Shelter” really caught my interest. The reason the article was written is twofold: first, for comedic purposes – it is the Onion after all, and second to make the reader aware of the problem of homelessness in the United States.

The article depicts a scene in which hundreds of homeless people are lined up outside of a homeless shelter much in the same way fanatics of a band would line up outside the box office the night before that band’s tickets went on sale. A caption under a picture of individuals standing in a line reads, “Mega-fans of clean bedding line up to be the first to stay in the shelter,” and the quote “I haven’t been this excited since the bakery threw out an entire trash bag of bagels,” reinforce the comedic tendencies of the article. Quotations are paired with pictures of random unkempt individuals, presumably homeless people, to add an extra-linguistic element to the article.

The subject of the article, homelessness, is a real, recognized social problem in America. For the several million people that will encounter homelessness this year – approximately 3.5 million people according to the National Coalition for the Homeless – the comedic tendencies of this article are probably sickening; clearly the meaning of the article changes if the audience changes from an educated middle-class individual to a homeless person. However, the overall argument put forth by the author is subtly wrapped in the spurts of sarcasm and parody found within quotes like the two mentioned above. It is as if the author wants the reader to feel rather uncomfortable while he or she finds humor in the article. The author’s argument doesn’t exactly hit the reader on the head, instead the author appeals to the reader’s ethos and trusts that their character will surface at some point during the duration of reading the article and remind the reader that homelessness is not funny.

At face value the author’s purpose is to amuse, that is why the article appears in the Onion. However, the author undermines the humor of the article with the sobering proximity to reality the article displays, such as with the following quote, “Since last Tuesday, men and women of all ages have left the familiar comforts of air-conditioned bus stations and ATM lobbies to brave the elements outside the much-anticipated Mission District shelter, despite the fact that it’s not scheduled to open until September 24.” As a resident of Madison that frequently passes the beggars that line areas of State Street, I can attest that the homeless do face the reality of seeking comfort in ATM lobbies and bus stops.

The author does account for the possibility that the reader may be unintelligent or unsympathetic and ends with the quote from an administrative coordinator for Wells Fargo Bank to clearly spell out the argument that was intended for the audience to pick up. Speaking of the homeless people lining up outside days before the opening of the shelter, the administrative coordinator said, “To be honest, I feel really sorry for them…to have so little in your life that you think nothing of camping out on the streets for days end – it’s depressing…seriously, these people need help.” The irony of that statement is riveting, then again so is the fact that a homeless person may be ducking into a dark corner tonight, using the September 13, 2007 edition of the Onion as a blanket.