The Cultural Patterning of Sympathy toward the Homeless and Other Victims of Misfortune

Abstract

In this paper we seek to advance understanding of the cultural bases of sentiments and social problems by examining temporal variation in the expression of sympathy with respect to homelessness and famine in the United States and homelessness in England. Specifically, we hypothesize that sympathy towards the homeless (and, by implication, other perceived victims of misfortune as well) varies seasonally in the United States, such that it expands during the Thanksgiving/Christmas holiday season and contracts immediately thereafter. We examine this thesis with data drawn from three sources: coverage of homelessness and famine by newspaper stories in the New York Times Index during the 1975-1993 time period; coverage of homelessness in the London Times over a similar period (1980-1993), and tracking voluntarism to a local foundation serving the homeless over a 5-year period (1989-1993). The data reveal that sympathy for and gestures of goodwill towards the homeless follow an annual cycle, with sympathetic interest increasing with the advent of Thanksgiving in November and reaching its zenith in December during the Christmas holiday season, holding weather constant. The same pattern of sympathy was revealed in the newspaper coverage of famine. Thus, the data support, both directly and indirectly, our contention that sympathy is not only temporally variable, but is also culturally patterned.