Why are "Bum Fight" Videos Rising in Popularity?
Last year, more "bum fight" videos were uploaded to YouTube than ever before. Could this renewed interest in dehumanizing videos that exploit the homeless have anything to do with the recent rise in violent crimes targeting the homeless?
"Bum fights" are videos of homeless people being beaten or forced into humiliating acts. Usually, those filming (and instigating the antics) use money or alcohol to lure homeless people into participating in these schemes, often with no knowledge that they will be posted on the web.
Many "bum fight" videos fall into one of two equally-disturbing categories:
- Physical violence
Examples: "Bums Fight In Street," "$20 Ass-Wooping," or "Bum vs. Dog" - Homeless people doing humiliating things
Examples: "Bum Smashes Head Into Glass" or "Desperate, Crazy Bums"
I haven't seen many of these videos myself (since I don't want to give the "filmmakers" the idea that people like their content by increasing the number of views). But I understand that the subjects of the films are often intoxicated or mentally unstable.
In other words, people who need to be helped, not humiliated.
If the nature of these videos isn't bad enough, they are rising in popularity, according to the National Coalition for the Homeless. In July, nearly 86,000 degrading videos of homeless people were posted on YouTube, 15,000 more than a year earlier. And since "Bum Fights" began gaining popularity on the web in 2001, over 6.8 million videos have been sold.
You read that correctly. More people have bought "Bum Fight" videos than Mamma Mia! DVDs.
So perhaps it's no coincidence that the rise in popularity of "Bum Fight" videos has coincided with an increase in violence targeting the homeless. In 2008, 106 homeless attacks were reported, 27 of those resulting in death. Ten years ago, only 60 attacks on the homeless were reported. But, according to the NCH, incidents targeting the homeless often go unreported.
Furthermore, 95 percent of the perpetrators in these attacks are men, most of whom are white and under the age of 25. The increase in violence has brought new urgency to pass hate crime legislation for the homeless both federally and in states and cities across the country.
But the question remains: What is with the increasing fascination with Bum Fight videos?
Shannon Moriarty
has worked in various homeless shelters and service organizations around the country. She is a graduate student studying housing and urban policy at Tufts University.
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