Making Heroes of the Homeless?

Front page story in today's Minneapolis Star Tribune on the death of a local homeless man. Why was the story on the front page? Beats the hell out of me. After reading the piece I was struck by how unremarkable and uninteresting a life that this fellow had led. And the story clearly pointed out that this man had chosen his lifestyle on the streets so there was not a "this could happen to you or me" angle to it.

But this is not the first time that the paper has eulogizied a homeless man after his death. Last year local columnist Doug Grow wrote a piece on the passing of a guy by the name of Westside which led to this reaction by my brother. What I find disturbing about both of these stories is that the homeless lifestyle that these men chose to embrace is not criticized in any way, to the contrary it's presented as a viable alternative that even can be admired as evidenced by this bit from today's story:

Friends and people who knew him said he lived by his own rules. He was a free spirit.

Yes, you could call him a free spirit. You could also call him a bum. Or a loser. I am not a heartless ogre. Feed the homeless. Give them clothes and shelter. Help them make the most that they can out of their lives. But don't praise them and pretend that there is some hidden dignity in the path that they have chosen. There is none.