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Challenging Perceptions On Dumpster Diving

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Challenging Perceptions Society has perceptions about people who are different, these perceptions; also referred to as stereotypes, are not always true. Society has to understand that dumpster divers are not all the same, some dumpster dive in order to get something they want, others dumpster dive to get something they need. All dumpster divers are not uneducated, some events just forces them to have to dumpster dive, even with a college degree. Also, homeless dumpster divers do not necessarily have a miserable life, they have enough to live with. Lars Eighner in his essay “On Dumpster Diving,” challenges the way the middle-class people perceive homeless people who dumpster dive. There are different types of dumpster divers. Dumpster divers aren 't necessarily homeless people, even though the majority are, but there are some people that see something they are interested in the trash, so often times they take it. But of the majority that are homeless, some dive for things that are necessary to survive, such as food and clothing, Eighner refers to these people as “scavengers.” Others dumpster dive trying to get some money to buy drugs and …show more content…

These things can be useful for homeless dumpster divers though. Homeless dumpster divers can have what they need and even possibly what they want. Eighner argues that, “students throw food away around break because they do not know if it has spoiled or will spoil before they return… I tend to gain weight when I am scavenging…dumpsters contain...pill bottles...unused condoms.” He is trying to explain that homeless dumpster divers may not have a life filled with lavish possessions, but they have a life that they can live. Dumpster divers find many things that other people have thrown out and they use what they need to survive. Eighner is trying to prove that people can in fact live off dumpsters because of all of the things people throw

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