Talk about innovation! In an economy where the cost of living feels like an insurmountable barrier, a homeless, or not so homeless, man in Compton, California, built a two-storey mansion made out of scrap materials. Not only was he a homeowner, but he even had a doghouse, ensuring every member of his household had a place of their own.
The shanty house could almost be mistaken for a normal one if viewed from afar. It was not just a makeshift tent; it had windows, doors, and even a chimney. One surprised passerby took a video of the house and posted it on Reddit. “This [expletive] straight built a house!” they exclaimed. “It’s got a door, a second floor, bottom parts that are half mobile, they’ve got a doghouse on the side…” the commentator noted as their camera panned the extent of the shanty mansion.
“What the [expletive]? The homeless ain’t [expletive] around in Compton,” they concluded. As soon as the video hit the internet, comments started pouring in. Some users found the man’s invention motivating, while some pointed out several bigger issues in the country.
“Isn’t that part of the American dream, though? Before it all got bought and sold a thousand times over?” One netizen asked. A user noted, “It’s almost like if we didn’t waste a bunch of land on an inordinate amount of cars, more people could have homes.” A second one responded, “So many parking lots and 1-2 storey buildings need to be redeveloped.”
One Redditor wrote, “If capitalism is gonna make the barrier to entry out of reach for all, then the system needs to be dismantled.” Another noted, “Very good analogy to how the slum crisis in Latin American countries and the homelessness crisis in the United States are roughly similar in nature.”
Other users shared the sentiment. “By not building sufficient housing, we’ve basically legalized slums,” one wrote. Another Redditor noted, “The way I see it, 200 years ago, we’d have called these guys frontiersmen.” Many other netizens were pleasantly surprised. “Wow! Imagine what he could achieve with the right tools and materials,” one stated. “He’s out here solving problems,” another user praised.
“Doesn’t look homeless to me,” one Redditor noted. “Not homeless. HomeYes!” another chimed in, playing on words. A netizen stated, “Look, people are going to persevere. It’s a story as old as time. Want to kick me down? [expletive] you, I’ll build a house out of spite.”
