Experiencing confusion about experiencing homelessness

The world is awash with experiences!  It happened by stealth, much like the way beauty salons became “aesthetics clinics” without anyone really noticing.  I just woke up one day and noticed that, suddenly, everything had become an “experience”.

On that note, let’s swap “I just woke up” for “I experienced waking” in the sentence above.

“People experiencing homelessness”

My friendly coffee-pod provider recently sent me a leaflet, about how buying their pods will help “people experiencing homelessness.”  I stared at that description for quite some time (over a lovely pod coffee, naturally), trying to work out what felt so off about it.  Because something did feel off.

I think it’s this: as I experienced reading those words, I also experienced a strange sense of distance from what they were telling me.  That’s what framing everything as an “experience” – as in, using the noun as a verb – does.  It distances you from whatever the experience actually is.   

Think about the oft-parroted “we are experiencing high call volumes” or “we are experiencing delays” from various businesses.

They’re irritating.  They sound like the company has no idea why they’re getting so many calls, or why their services are delayed.  Something weird and nebulous just happened out of nowhere, and now they’re powerlessly experiencing the effects (and so are we).  It’s the equivalent of a half-hearted shrug.

Picture taken from etymonline.com

The word “experience” has its root in “experiment”, which sounds off when talking about homelessness because it doesn’t just create distance.  “Experiencing homelessness” also sounds a bit like, “I’m having a crack at homelessness this week.  I’ll let you know how it goes!”

On a different note, “experiencing homelessness” is just… very long-winded.

You notice the words, rather than the sentiment they’re trying to convey.  Like in that episode of Friends, where Joey uses a thesaurus to help him write a reference for Monica and Chandler to adopt a child.  “They’re warm, nice people with big hearts” becomes, “they’re humid, prepossessing homo sapiens with full-sized aortic pumps.”

I don’t know how my friendly coffee-pod provider should describe people without a home (maybe that?).  They’re trying to help, which is a good thing.  I’m picking apart the words they’ve used, which is probably a bad thing.

But it’s all an experience, at the end of the day.