There comes a point when some such discussions degenerate into oblivion --
Folks -- we're *****not***** talking about anything PERMANENT. The whole point of this is a discussion of 'what if' -- and part of the premise is people who have fallen on 'hard times' -- but that doesn't mean they've signed a contract with the world to live in their car FOREVER. no way!
You can't quantify something like this and wrap it into a neat package -- because how "long" is too long?
No answer to that -- it differs with every single situation, and every single dog and every single job hopeful situation.
When your back is to the wall you do the best you can.
Period. End of discussion. Point made.
You can't stand and look at someone and criticize or wonder if they did the right thing or made the right decision because we're all human and the ONLY thing we can do is our *best*. It's all there is. It's the only place we can do or do.
Not 'perfect'. Not, maybe, what you'd do. Or me. Or Joe Schmuckatella or his wife Brunhilde!!
THAT person's best.
It's all anyone can ask. Ever.
And then tomorrow ... again, you do your best. You make the best decisions you can ... then. You marshall all your wits together and you do what you can do.
And by golly -- this is supposed to be a free country (not ostracizing my Canadian or British or whatever friends) -- but you know, part of the very definition of the word "free" is the freedom to make our own decisions, even if someone else thinks they're wrong.
But they can make that decision. And frankly, I'm gonna be first in line to help fight for their right to make that decision ... even if it's a mistake. Because part of the freedom to choose, is ... boldly ... the freedom to choose wrongly.
And then ... to change our mind and do ... that next day, whatever needs to be done. In our own personal best estimation.
But the sanity in all this has to be that it seems like everyone is forgetting this is all supposed to be *temporary*. No one is talking about someone choosing a substandard way of life forever. Or even for many months. And logically speaking it's pretty silly to jump off a cliff and make some huge, life-altering decision based on something that should be short term.
There's a saying that "hindsight is 20/20" -- meaning when you look back on a situation with all you know about what eventually happened, it's super easy to say "Oh, well they should have done ___________" but at the time -- all those people CAN do is ...
their best!
You know, I rememeber during Katrina -- the really harsh things people had to say about people who locked up their pets or turned them free in the face of the storm. It was a horribly sad time -- people made panic decisions and a lot of them were bad. But still -- man, folks did the best they could ... and sometimes those decisons were horrible.
But disasters ARE horrible. It's part of the definition of it. Not all stories have happy endings.
The constructive thing that came out of it for some was that some folks DID think about a disaster plan.
A lot didn't.
And now in the mid-west a lot of folks have been hard hit by tornados (and man, those can happen in a New York minute ANYWHERE). I've still got friends I haven't heard from this week. Does that mean they didn't plan well enough? Who knows ... but the only thing it does mean is that I'm more than a little worried.
Bottom line, Gizmo - you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink.
You can't force people to "think things thru". You can present them with an idea, but if you try to continually put frustrating blocks or points in the path, people either walk away or get mad. And that, honestly, doesn't accomplish the original point.
A lot of us have already *been there*. And sometimes hard times last longer than any of of dreamed ... but you know ... you STILL have to put one foot ahead of the other and do your best ... day after day after day ...