> I invite comment on two words that have gotten lots of airplay in the
> last twenty years: "privatization" and "homeless(ness)".
>
> "homeless" bothers me -- as opposed to the older "pauper" or "beggar"
> because of that "home" shit. I mean, these people have no shelter and
> sleep on the sidewalk. Who cares about homes?
A pauper or beggar has a social role. A pauper is a person. You know his/her name. "There goes Tom the Lunatic!"
"Homeless" connotes a lack, absence, void. "Homeless person" is an oxymoron?