The homeless population in the United States continues to rise, and HBO host John Oliver decided to spotlight the growing matter on his “Last Week Tonight” main story.
Oliver began by emphasizing that there are over 580,000 people experiencing homelessness in the country, which has increased for the fourth consecutive year. Furthermore, the HBO host hit news outlets such as Fox News for creating a fear-mongering for the public around the homeless community.
“I know it is easy to criticize Fox News for being alarmist — alarmism is their whole thing,” Oliver said. “But the truth is, even some residents of Austin, famously a blue dot in a red state, have said it’s been a struggle to reconcile their feelings about their homeless neighbors.”
Nonetheless, Oliver didn’t only hit conservatives over the issue; the late-night host also went after liberals, who he states believe homelessness is a personal failing.
“If you’re wondering why homelessness continues to get worse in this country, one reason is there are a lot of people, even liberals, who believe that homelessness is a personal failing, poverty can be avoided, and their own good fortune makes them not only better than the unhoused but more worthy of comfort,” Oliver said.
Oliver concluded that the issue wouldn’t be solved overnight, and it would take a lot of resources, funding, and long-term commitment.
“I do not want to over-simply the logistics involved here. It will take a massive commitment in infrastructure, funding, and resources. But the very first step here is a collective change of perceptions,” Oliver said.
“Basically we need to stop being d–ks, and assuming that the unhoused are a collection of drug addict criminals who’ve chosen this life for themselves, instead of people suffering the inevitable consequences of gutted social programs and a nationwide divestment from affordable housing.”
Eduardo Razo is the Assistant Content Editor for BNM, which includes writing daily news stories on the news media industry. He can be found on Twitter @eddierazo_ or you can reach him by email at eddie1991razo@gmail.com.
