Invisible People
3 HN recommenders · recommended in 4 months, 2021
6:15 · 11M views · Jun 19, 2011
A short street interview from Invisible People with Keith, a homeless man in Los Angeles who lost his housing-industry job in the crash and moved from painkillers to heroin because it was cheaper. He talks candidly about the grip of addiction.
HN commenters point to it in threads on homelessness and drug policy as a short, honest firsthand account from an articulate addict.
4 comments from Hacker News
Can't read with the paywall, and this is probably contrary to the message of the article, but this interview ( this video ) with a homeless heroin adict made a great impression on me. He comes off as both extremely self-aware and honest.
Extremely powerful 5 minute interview with an obviously intelligent homeless person addicted to heroin: this video Terrifying
> doing drugs to forget your life has been a mess for a long time is not a lifestyle choice decision. That's a bold statement. Choice and compulsion occupy the same place in hell. Youtube is actually a fantastic resource for the average Joe (like me) who wants to hear how it is straight from the source: this video
> Have you actually talked to them? yes. Everyone has their own story. Checkout these interviews on Youtube: LA - this video Seattle - [LINK] The homeless I talked with in Boulder romanticize camping forever along the creeks and being free from society, while trying to leach off of public services. > Do you know why they prefer their lifestyle? Drug addiction, mental health, and in some cases lack of family support. > that drug addiction is a lifestyle choice Drug addiction is a choice. Based on my very limited personal experiences, you gotta commit to making a change (see above videos). Many addicts just aren't ready to leave their vices for a better life. No amount of rehab will help someone if they aren't ready to commit to a change. > society failed them. Sorry if this sounds conservative, but trying to blame other people for your problems doesn't really get you any where. Society throws problems at everyone, some more than others. Laying around complaining or rejecting it doesn't improve anyone's situation. People need to apply critical thinking skills and tackle their own issues (hence the need for an addict needing to commit to the idea of solving the problem of their addiction). Ex-homeless/addicts getting together to correct "society failed" them problems via AA meetings is an excellent example of people that apply critical thinking skills and try to help.