Homeless by Choice

on_the_edge said:
How is Suelo that much different than Dick Proenneke, who many people here admire? Simply put, it appears that Suelo IS living his life on his terms just as Proenneke did. Sure, Suelo's choices and lifestyle are different than Proenneke's, but the core concept is the same. How many of us can say that we are living our lives completely on our own terms?
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Yes, I believe you have stated his position exactly. I emphatically agree with your entire statement.
 
Shawn7656 said:
There are free clinics out there. Plus, what would people do to him that would deserve the usage of cops? Rob him? Of what? Beat him? Why? He lives in the wilderness with nothing.

I think everyone is so used to the 'norm' that we fail to see the only reason we have this "need" for things is because we have brought ourselves to rely on them.
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That is a very buddhist thing for you to say, yet poverty is not always an adequate defense.A diseased mind will pick on a perceived weaker person for thrills, and diseased minds are everywhere.I think his safety lies in his ability to go to ground very easily.That's why I hope the book does not bring him unwanted attention.
 
bringing ourselves to rely on 'things' over the years is the very reason we need 'more' things.. some more extreme then others, these are called the jones'.. :)

had a friend from peru years ago that worked for me, in certain situations on a job a 'problem' would arise.. he used to tell me I was born with problems, (being born in the U.S.) he said were he was born (Incas) iirc, they didn't have any problems because they had no bills, ie, money... they lived happily for many generations living off the land...

those few words have sat with me from time to time over the 15yrs ago he said them, holds much more then water...

though nowhere near as hardcore as this guy, I have however left a very lucrative business and life in socal over 6 yrs ago now, and have come to a much more humble state of living here in oklahoma... my neighbors were the jones' and I found myself trying to keep up all the time, it became very tiring especially after having kids.. i too found that money only brought me more and more problems to deal with in a daily life, so I left my native cali... only to still face the same madness at half speed in oklahoma.... :)
 
Havokk said:
It's an interesting idea. However it doesn't work on a planet with 6 billion people.

The cynic in me wonders what Mr Suelo is going to do if he gets seriously ill or injured. Is he going to expect a hospital to treat him even though he voluntarily left the society that made the hospital possible? Does he expect the police to investigate crimes against him?

I'd rather that people like Mr Suelo spend their passion and energy on improving the society we live in rather than trying to escape it.
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Well said. The problem with the hunter gatherer lifestyle is that it's not sustainable for the population that we have. The article mentions his carbon footprint and sure IT'S low but what about his physical footprint? How many square miles does he need to forage and hunt for his food? It's fine for 1 person but let's say a thousand people wanted to do the same thing in his area. The area would be quickly depleted of any and all resources. Modern society and economics may suck at times but it's the best solution we have for the amount of people we have. Without centralised and efficient centers for food and goods production(which he himself is still using) we couldn't possibly support a large population.
 
Saying it's the best solution... because it's how we live is myopic.

What you are saying is that we have a population bubble. I applaud anyone who lives, does not beg/steal and commits no violent crimes. You can be rich or poor. He has chosen to be a free man, can't say that he's wrong for pursuing happiness.
 
Skimo said:
Saying it's the best solution... because it's how we live is myopic.

What you are saying is that we have a population bubble. I applaud anyone who lives, does not beg/steal and commits no violent crimes. You can be rich or poor. He has chosen to be a free man, can't say that he's wrong for pursuing happiness.
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I'm not saying it's right or wrong. I'm saying that the hunter gatherer lifestyle isn't a sustainable way to live in the time we're living. The article was trying to make his lifestyle out to be better for the environment. On a small scale of a handful of people sure. On a large scale it's not.
 
well, he is not done with money if he accepts the generosity of others that had to work for money to provide him food and shelter from time to time.
 
I may be reading too much into Mr. Suelo's thinking, but I think he has personally rejected money, not barter nor trade nor society in general. I don't think defining him as a hunter gatherer is an accurate or useful assumption. I think Mr. Suelo doesn't really care whether or not anyone else uses money. I think he views money, and its trappings, as society's primary control mechanism over him, and that he objects to that degree of control over him personally. He has noticed that in order for that control mechanism to work, he must first have money. And since he would have to voluntarily accept money in order to have someone else take it away from him, he has decided to non-violently avoid accepting money in order to minimize the degree to which he can be coerced. Then he has decided to use a combination of his social skills, vocational skills, and wilderness self-sufficiency skills in an experiment to challenge the idea that money is necessary to survive and interact in society. Obviously he is having some success, but I don't think there is much danger of his life style being adopted by the masses.
 
I agree LHA...

Think if everyone denied money. It doesn't mean society crumbles. In fact, it would flourish. Every person would be able to get education. Every person would have food and shelter. Everyone would have access to medicine. People would do their jobs because they want to, not because they have to, so services would be easy to get. If someone wanted payment, it could be in the form of an old-fashioned favor or some labor. The world would be a better place...
 
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