Mocking the Homeless is So Chic!

It used to be so much easier to make fun of the homeless, y'all.

When big-time spikes in joblessness, foreclosures and even hunger were still only a twinkle in a banker's eye, it was a breeze to mock families too poor for the privilege of shelter. True, it was harder to laugh at the homeless kids (not impossible, thankfully), but the ones suffering from mental illness? Hilarious! The way they might have manic episodes on the bus or dance right there on the streets because they couldn't afford psychiatric care was just too much.

And what was the harm? Before all this crybaby financial crisis crap, we probably didn't know anyone who was even at risk of being homeless. It was easier to think of them as sub-human, then.

But those times are long behind us, sadly. C'est la vie. What's left is a positively dreary climate of social awareness that makes mocking the homeless very tricky indeed. People are freezing on the streets, lines stretch around the block for people wanting home loan adjustments they'll never get, the use of food stamps is at an all-time high, family and child homelessness is skyrocketing, political leaders seem largely out-of-touch with what actually helps people in times of financial trouble. Oh dear. Add to this what some might call an inspiring upsurge in popular activism and advocacy on behalf of the homeless and I began to think that poking fun at the very poor might just be past tense forever. Sigh.

But turn that frown upside down. There's hope yet! The fashion world heard our lamentations over lost opportunities for cruelty against the homeless and they have, indeed, delivered. And how. Recently, one prominent fashion designer, Vivienne Westwood, set Milan on fire with a homeless-inspired new men's line. Let the good times roll.

Here's what Vivienne's people have to say: "Perhaps the oddest of heroes to emerge this season, Vivienne Westwood found inspiration in the roving vagrant whose daily get-up is battle gear for the harsh weather conditions ... quilted bombers and snug hoodies also work well in keeping the vagrant warm."

OMFG, y'all. I haven't been this excited since Barney's started dressing its mannequins in homeless drag. Priceless!

So I know all the unfair crap you hippy bleeding hearts are going to spew all over the comments section. This is insensitive, this kind of dehumanization only promotes hate crimes against the homeless, that it's immoral to trivialize the danger of winter weather with "snug hoodies," that I'm clearly not qualified to write for this blog -- blah, blah, blah. I've heard it.

But what you're not getting is how brave it is for Dame Westwood, as they call her, to mock the desperate suffering of millions, slap the word FASHION on top of it, then cruise away from the massively beautiful mess in her bitchin' Mercedes without a twinge of guilt. That takes what the French call panache, what the British call good breeding, or, as we Americans might put it, balls. You think acting as a representative of those most ignorant about homelessness and real life in general is easy?

It's not. That's why I can't get enough of Westwood's new menswear line. It's edgy, it's fun, and it shovels up a steaming pile of narcissistic disregard for the suffering of the millions homeless all over America. Love it!

See all the hot new fashions, including shopping carts, bedrolls and paper crowns!

Photo credit: projectrungay.blogspot.com