It has been said that most Americans are but one paycheck away from being homeless, meaning that we have very little set aside for emergencies. This being the case, taking a photograph of anyone is presuming an awful lot - by the time it reaches publication, that person could well be living under a bridge somewhere. So I think we should just ban photography of people altogether, on the theory that we're all PH (Potentially Homeless).
Besides, I tend not to think of people as 'homeless'. Rather, I think of them as 'alternative habitat enabled'. By boldly rejecting the dictums of society that people actually live indoors in inclement weather, they are reclaiming our heritage and making a real statement about the materialism that infects our societies. Their discomfort should be our own, as we go about exploiting the Earth and bending nature to our own ends. What price, steel? Where is the reason for concrete? Did you sell your soul for that sofa, brother?
We must emulate these heroes. We must go and live under bridges, wash car windshields with greasy rags, quaff muscatel by the gallon. This is not a poverty of a person, this is a poverty of a nation's spirit - our souls! Take their pictures? We should be building statues to them!
Or, um, not. Whatever works.
Best Regards,
Bill Mattocks