In a debate about adding attacks against homeless people under existing hate crime legislation, Rep. Paige Kreegle, R-Punta Gorda (Florida, US) referred to homeless people as ‘bums.’ From the article:
Kreegle then noted that he liked to read the police blotter in his newspaper, where he noticed crimes committed against “homeless bums.”
“They tend to be perpetrated not by members of the Legislature or women and children but mainly by other homeless bums,” Kreegle said.
By comparison, another representative (Ari Porth) said about the homeless that
“Nobody is more vulnerable … They have no place to retreat to. They don’t have a home to retreat to and be safe in.”
As we teach in Social Role Valorization, such language reflects individual and societal mind sets, as well as communicates role expectancies and images.