Opinion | What ‘Nomadland’ Exposes About Fear in America - People who live in homes-on-wheels should not have to be in constant fear of “the knock.”
nytimes.com/2021/04/24/opinion/nomadland-osca...
nytimes.comPosted Apr 24, 2021, 3:26 PM UTC
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nytimes.comMy issue with the movie is that it feeds the stereotype that people have of us, that we are all broke homeless bums who live in a van because we're poor and jobless. And since we as a society do not particularly like "the poors" in the USA, and take every opportunity to punish them for being poor, it's one reason why we get treated like shit all the time.
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I think the pandemic has flipped the stereotype a lot because these vans have skyrocketed in price now and you have to get on a waiting list to buy a new converted sprinter and all that. It seems like a luxury now. I know you're in Florida where the view is very different. I lived in my van there, too, but when I came west I now get all sorts of nods and waves and I can't stop and fill up gas without someone complimenting my 80s high top.
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And yet every month more and more cities pass more and more laws outlawing and banning us ...
I find it amusing and ironic that, to those officials, it doesn't matter a rat's ass if we are in a $50k kitted-out Sprinter or in a broken-down Chevy with a mattress on the floor---we are still just "more homeless people" to them, and they don't want us around.
Then movie is, I think, sadly gonna make things ever harder for us, by exposing an entire new wave of people to the "hashtag vanlife!!!" and encouraging them to go out try it--and many of them will fuck it up for a few months and quit, do more stupid things in more parking lots, and cause more problems for us. :(
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^ This.
"#Vanlife" can be detrimental to VanDwellers.
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It's like backpacking: there are just too many of us, and whenever we move into some new spot there are ALWAYS some proportion of us who will shit all over the place and wreck it for everyone else.
That's why I never talk about specific places where I park. All it does is encourage the morons to go in and burn the place up, and yet another town now bans us. (And anyway, the folks who can't figure out how to park safely and legally are probably not cut out for vandwelling in the first place, and won't last very long at it.)
We are, as a group, by far our own worst enemy. :(
EDIT: As you can see by my downvote, the newbies always get pissed at me whenever I say this. They want to be spoon-fed.
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Well, again, to my point, if The New York Times is publishing this opinion piece - by an author who lived in a 95 GMC for years - then maybe the opinion can start shifting. Have you seen the movie, read the book or read the piece that I posted? It creates compassion. I've loved reading your posts and appreciate a lot of your insight over the years I've been on these subs (and r/actualvandwellers btw!) but I remain optimistic. Just do your part, smile, wave back, clean up and for every vandweller amateur fucking it up, you or me or anyone to talk to people and clean up and just let people know it's like everything else - there's good folks and bad folks. That's all we can do.
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I have read the book, seen the movie, and read your piece.
My opinion remains the same. Things are only going to keep getting more and more difficult for us. The vast majority of us are of course not going to cause issues, but a tiny minority of shitheads will, and that's all it takes. (Those of us who know what we are doing will be able to get by, but it's gonna be hell for all the newbies.)
EDIT: The ironic thing is that I had exactly this same conversation with a reporter from the CNN website who wanted to do a story on vandwellers and interviewed me right after my book came out: I told her that the more vandwellers there are, the more shitheads there unfortunately also are, and the more trouble they will cause for all of us--and we were adding to that problem by doing a story on it and encouraging more people to try the "lifestyle". (As it turned out, the story never ran anyway.)
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it doesn't matter a rat's ass if we are in a $50k kitted-out Sprinter or in a broken-down Chevy with a mattress on the floor---we are still just "more homeless people" to them, and they don't want us around.
You are not a real person unless you pay property taxes.
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Meh, I don't subscribe to silly conspiracy theories.
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I can understand your perspective. It sucks when others create situations where you end up suffering consequences for the bad behavior of others.
I can also see why the average Joe would be leery of someone living in their community both uninvested and untethered.
This is not a new phenomena. Nomads have been disliked/feared/loathed for centuries, maybe longer.
You are good enough, smart enough and doggone it-people like you Lenny. You are a real person to me.
It seems like you could use a hug... or a strong drink. Take care of yourself.
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This movie and book definitely don't glamorize the lifestyle. Honestly, the people who drive the shit boxes are the ones who are ruining the community. The insta influencers who just want to travel in the van are not the ones ruining the lifestyle. The guy who has a straight pipe running to the street from his sink is the one ruining the lifestyle. The ones that park their dirty ass RV in a dirt lot for a month are ruining the lifestyle. The idealistic folk who just wanna travel the US for a period of time are not ruining this lifestyle.
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The idealistic folk who just wanna travel the US for a period of time are not ruining this lifestyle.
Absolutely true. As noted, it is only a small minority of shitheads who fuck things up for all of us.
Every time some new city bans us, they are always excruciatingly clear about WHY, and it's always the same things: fuckheads who dump their shit on the street (literally), morons who park in the same place forever and don't move, and dolts who panhandle everybody they see.
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I respectfully disagree.
The "things have changed" narrative was strikingly similar during/after the housing crash of 09 (which I was viscerally a part of on all sides(made my living from & experienced as a wanderer)
My experience was there were as few or fewer ports in the storm as before and when real estate upturned, homeowners were even MORE territorial than before the crash b/c reminders of the actual risk of homeownership were only recently in the rearview.
Of course, as is always the case in a land so vast and varied as the US, your experiences will vary depending on where you are.
But even the more progressive places are susceptible to what I call "dogooder" thinking.
While progress is being made (or attempted) the end goal, whether those doing the work can self-admit it, is not actually solving the problem but getting the high from taking active steps towards doing a positive social good.
The "parking lots for the homeless" often make me feel this b/c, yes, absolutely, it is an improvement over where things were but it's also very much corralling/herding people (who are often viewed as "the problem") away from suburbia or conspicuousness rather than dealing with root causes, drugs, mental health, living wage, affordable housing, et al.
Maybe seeing the dark sides of much of it, I am overly curmudgeon amd don't celebrate the little victories like I should.
But until someone truly knows the psychological stress of living in a situation where you feel unsafe or even just unable to relax, be at ease and thus, have 100x the difficulty of "repairing" from the suffering that is modern living, it's hard to really feel truly "heard" by those on the other side of the issue.
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I agree with you that the approach could be better. Carliving is difficult and stressful. I do it to repay my student loans and, maybe, be able to afford a house one day. And I have a job with a 401k and all that and it's still not nearly enough for me to rent and save, so you're right that it is a way of sweeping issues like livable wage and affordable housing under the rug. But I believe in communication and talking about the issues, Nomadland has put that into more public view. Either way, vandwelling has become more popular for a variety of reasons and I'm optimistic. It's inevitable.
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Certainly more discussion on the topic leads to a possibility (not a guarantee) of better outcomes for all involved.
My concern is van dwelling and it falling into either the fake "instagram lifestyle" media darling or the token "feel good" cause where more attention is paid than before but ultimately the benefits end up being making a few "haves" feel more their so empathetic towards the "have nots" and selling a few movie tickets/downloads.
Just as "the knock" CAN be a GOOD thing (someone telling you of a problem you're unaware of, someone new to meet, etc. etc) MOST of the time its to the NEGATIVE.
Can this movie inspire more GOOD "knocks" for our community than bad? Maybe. But when you shine a light on a problem, there is always the chance to make things worse.
For me, I hope the movie leads to better things but, just like any knock, I am willing to sacrifice the possible good outcomes b/c the bad outweigh they either in number or scope.
Money (and only sometimes) moves change in America and until someone sees economic benefit from normalizing and providing for our lifestyle, we're going to exist on the fringes, an interesting "thought exercise" occasionally for those living the more traditional path.
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Sadly, the USA as a society decided long ago that we simply don't give a shit what happens to "homeless people" and we won't lift a finger to help them. We just dump them in the streets, let them fend for themselves, then bitch and moan and gripe whenever they inconvenience us.
:(
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There is (I believe due to capitalism obsession) a false belief that homelessness is 99.99% of the time a cause and its effect of a simplistic problem like laziness.
Perversely, those people who base much of their ego on their assets, how they've "succeeded" in the game that is our society through hard work and diligence also harbor a fear it could all go away somehow even though they suggest FOR OTHERS hard work should be enough.
The dichotomy people exist in is unhealthy but re enforced by those in society who profit from people holding on to fear.
Being a Vanlifer doesn't make one inherently able to see through the matrix or whatever we want to call it but it often can be a much better space to take a breath and think from a place of calm and not of fear of falling behind/missing out, etc.
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I just finished watching this movie last night. Beyond it being about someone persevering through difficult times while trying to find closure at the end, I felt the overarching theme was about people adapting to difficult situations and finding community despite the nomadic lifestyle.
If you think the movie was about feeding the stereotype that vandwellers are broke homeless bums, you might want to watch it again.
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The author of the book, Jessica Bruder, wrote this opinion piece. I haven't read the book yet but the film did cast vivid memories of my own travels. I didn't know what would come of this movie but if it's more compassion then I am all for it. If you've truly been in your van in the wildest places then you've met versions of these characters and it is one of the greatest treasures of this lifestyle to meet people in the raw and hear such incredible stories. Gonna go buy the book now.
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If you want to avoid "the knock" what you want to do is:
Don't park where it's illegal or where you are not wanted, and
Don't do anything that attracts attention to you or the vehicle.
If you do either of those things, you can expect a visit from Johnny Law.
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The only places i've had problems with the knock and cops over and over were bible belt states. Go figure.
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Do unto others terrible things until they go away. -- Book of GOP 3:16
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To me, it has always seemed like the states and cities that are most vehemently against us are those who have a high population of homeless people that they don't want (California, Arizona, Florida, Colorado). They view us as just "more homeless people".
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Over and over I have to try and explain to people that I AM NOT homeless. I have a micro tiny house on wheels
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I've never had a problem. Seclude yourself, go where normal people are afraid to go; among mosquitos, panthers, and snakes.
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Amen sister.
The hostility towards those who live a mobile lifestyle in the US is scandalous. "Full timers" and RVers and vandwellers are tolerated as long as they stick to the boonies, campgrounds, Quartzsite, etc, but once you get into town—even if your a self employed millionaire in a $150k Sprinter—you're a capital P Problem, a homeless person.
It shouldn't be that difficult to accommodate the mobile population. Sure, there are some wrecks and people who have all sorts of problems, just like with those who live in houses. But the uproar and fuss and obstacles thrown up even in "progressive" cities trying to find solutions for unhoused people is just nuts.
I mean if Walmart can allow people to park overnight in their lots, why can't cities?
Sadly, a lot of them no longer do. As a group, we've managed to fuck that very good thing up, too. :(
Sometimes you just gotta talk to the manager. I've stayed in a couple walmarts marked as no overnighting after just striking up a conversation, being polite, dressing well and, of course, being a paying customer.
Well, there are all sorts of "tips" one can use at a Walmart. I prefer not to talk about them, since as noted I don't want the shithead brigade to go flooding in and fucking up yet another place.
Just me hoping people read the not-so-subtle hints of how to NOT piss off my friends at that fine establishment.
Yeah, I've noticed that. Some people have abused the privilege, and some of the localities have proscribed it.
Same is true of people on say USFS land; they abused it, so more restrictions. We're not blameless, for sure, but some accommodation by the authorities might help to reduce the chucklehead behavior.
I think its possible in cities, but you have to plan ahead. You can't just show up and then start looking. There are online groups like harvest hosts, or BLM sites, etc. Its much easier to stick to BLM locations, or ask charities where you can overnight park. If you want to stay in a city, search for a few months ahead of time online for a person who will let you park in their backyard for practically nothing. Being a campsite host is a great option too.
Well, Quartzsite is mostly BLM of course, and that area accommodates vandwellers an snow birds with the LTVA system.
Near me a charity hoped to host safe parking, but got turned down. Of course they probably might still allow the occasional mobile camper to stay there, but the neighbors are obviously hostile to it. Some neighbors, I should say.