Unaccepted Ook Sidewalk Analysis

Perception of Choice
What if you had a choice between living on the sidewalk or the formal economy? Many people in would choose the formal economy without second guessing themselves. Even if individuals were facing difficulties in the formal economy, they would never resort to living on the sidewalks and working because it becomes a burden when trying to be accepted in society. However, that is not the case for some individuals. Many people resort to the sidewalk life to escape from the current life that they live in. They feel a sense of urgency to find a direction in life by finding commonalties with those of similar backgrounds. Also, another reason why they feel that they should escape from the formal economy is because they feel unaccepted
Duneier takes in account the different perspective of these employed individuals on the sidewalks. In this paper, I will show the reasons why many street vendors believe that it is a matter of choice to live on the sidewalk and the implications of perceiving it as a choice.
A common perception that many people have is that everyone has a choice when it comes to living on the sidewalk. This is a misconception because many people were force to abandon their lives. Duneier states “in choosing to work on the street, Hakim had clearly made what would be radical, if not entirely incomprehensible, decision,” in order to show the irrationality of their choice (pg 23). Yet, through the eyes of the
Choices require opportunity costs, such as time and thought, as well as sacrifices, which can mean abandoning possessions and loved ones. Although people would rather make no choice than a wrong one, once the choice is made, the individual is unlikely to change the decision. Through confabulation, the street vendors fabricate more reasons to justify their decision in order to avoid having to change their mind. As the vendor Mudrick puts it, “listen, a bed is made to sleep in. I don’t sleep in it. I’m not used to it. I don’t want to get used to it. I got a choice. I gonna stay on the street…Once you’re homeless, you’re always homeless” (pg 166). In his assertion of choosing to continue in a state of dispossession, Mudrick reflects a certain stubbornness that is expected for people who have made significant life decisions and refuse to reassess their options. Furthermore, Duneier explains that “the person who regularly makes the decision to remain on the sidewalk overnight has a vocabulary for expressing its acceptability to him” (pg 165). By this statement, he implies that sidewalk life becomes increasingly tolerable the longer an individual chooses to remain there due to the resocialization into new norms. Having a stubborn mindset combined with increasing acceptance to an unconventional