People with addiction problems are assumed to
be lazy or completely self-serving, but often those stereotypes are untrue.
Addiction is not laziness. If anything, you have to exhaust huge amounts of
time and effort in accessing whatever you're addicted to. You have to think,
plan, and act constantly in service to it. This is not about selfishness or
decadence. Addicts sacrifice a great deal of personal comfort in order to
maintain their habits. If anything, it's a compulsive need to serve the
substance or activity—not to serve the self. The self gets lost in the process.
Same is true for homelessness, and it's no
coincidence that so many homeless people are immediately assumed to be both
lazy and addicted. Those associations are frequently lumped together, and
people jump to conclusions. To survive on the streets is not lazy. Those who do
it are not sitting around and relaxing all day. They're constantly vigilant,
looking over their shoulders to make sure nobody attacks them or robs them of
what little they have. There's also a lot of planning that goes into basic,
day-to-day survival and making sure their immediate physical needs are met.
This is why so many can't plan for the extended future, but they still get
criticized for it.
