squatters: who are they and why do they squat?

[bcbm]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-14030336

[Volcanicity]

For many people, the word squatter conjures up the image of a dreadlocked, middle-class, tree-hugging hippie eking out an alternative lifestyle in someone else's home.

This kind of comment and the article itself shows just how far away the middle class BBC and a lot of the people here in the UK are from the rest of us, they still view squatters in the same way as they did in the 1970's.

Sadly a lot of people's point of view in the UK,especially those living in certain parts of the south of England,still consider unemployment or homelessness as a lifestyle choice.

[bcbm]

the fact that they're covering it i think says a lot... shit is in flux, the ruling class are confused

[Tim Cornelis]

"myth that homeless people and squatters are one in the same

Thanks captain Obvious, squatters have a home, unlike homeless people.

[Volcanicity]

"myth that homeless people and squatters are one in the same

Thanks captain Obvious, squatters have a home, unlike homeless people. In certain parts of the UK squatters and homeless people(and I've even heard them called vermin) are mostly seen as the same thing,basically as something getting in the way of other people's potential living space and not as actual people..

In the instance of squatters they're always portrayed in the media(in the news or on TV shows etc) as the same old tree-hugging,dope-smoking,un-washed and dreadlocked wearing hippy.But they're both seen and treated by a lot of people as the same thing,as no better than Cockroaches.

[bricolage]

"myth that homeless people and squatters are one in the same

Thanks captain Obvious, squatters have a home, unlike homeless people.
as a classification you don't have to be on the street to be homeless, you just have to be without a permanent address, if you are going to be evicted from where you live in the next [can't remember the tiem period] without anywhere to go next you can be classified homeless. Obviously you are going to be stuck in the 'gatekeeping' processes of homeless offices (to meet targets and essentially keep people out of social housing) but you can still submit yourself to the process.
however with regards to the quote you are referring to (in full);

Mike Weatherley is the MP for Hove and Portslade, a squatting hotspot, and he says it is a "myth that homeless people and squatters are one in the same".
"For a lot of people squatting is a lifestyle. They move from property to property and are often anti-government, making some kind of protest statement. It is those people we have to stop."
I think this kind of squatting is vastly overexaggerated because it is more high profile (ie. you are going to advertise a social centre in the way you wouldn't advertise somewhere you are trying to live). for most people squatting is just a way to have a roof over your head.

[danyboy27]

To me, squatters are just a symptom of how fucked up things are at the moment.

Lot of place to live, lot of greedy bastards, lot of people with a need of space.

i remember i read somewhere that a property owner just gave up and allowed the squatter to live in x building beccause they where unable to chase them, the owner just gave up and allowed them to live there.

Make sense. if you dont use x building or plan to fix it, you might has well allow people to use it.