> weird American pattern

To many Americans it's not weird at all. America (according to them) was founded on principles of individualism which differentiated it from other countries of the time.

It's the same reason Socialist policies are resisted. For better or worse, their idea is that individuals followed by close communities should self-govern and be masters of their own destiny.

Put differently, you can call it 'weird' if you want but 'different' is more apt. America is not an underdeveloped Europe... America is America.

I think perhaps it is because many people in 'modern' societies are starting to rediscover their humanitarian side after a long time of being blinded by years of consumerism and trying to find enlightenment via a career or 'keeping up with the Joneses'?!?

What a lot of people don't realise is that things like this are actually quite commonplace in so called 'third world' areas like Asia and the sub-continent.

Where they were once viewed as sign of a society less well off and endeavours that won't really lead to a difference, I'd like to think that people are starting to realise that improvement of humanity, rather than the building of bank accounts and stock portfolios, may actually be the purpose of existence.

Addendum: Less well off people tend to do this all the time (see my other post in this thread), but because of their 'low' social status, they tend to be invisible to the casual observer who have their eyes conditioned to look upwards only.

Therefore, if someone considered well off, and a 'good role model' does it, it tends to get more notice.

When I was reading this, the first thing I thought was that it sounded like something from a developing country. I then wondered how long it was gonna be before we're all doing our laundry like this because of housing costs. But I like your more optimistic take.

I think your point is valid too. It seems that a lot more people today, given the current political climate in a lot of countries, plus the widening gap between the upper and lower classes of society, are beginning to realise that quite a sizeable percentage of the population is only one or two paychecks away from being homeless.

Perhaps there is an awakening along the lines of "There but for the grace of [insert deity here] go I..."

> Why are we so fond of these narratives?

Because some people believe in that kind of remedy for these problems. I'm being a bit reductive, but there are basically two ways of solving social problems like homelessness: (a) everyone is forced to chip in (e.g. taxes) or (b) citizens make society better by their own volition (e.g. donations, volunteering).

I see the merit of (a), but I like the idea of (b) a lot more.

I think liking the idea of individuals fixing social problems of their own volition when more boring, collective systems are more efficient (as evidenced by Western European societies) is kind of the issue in itself. There's this narrative bias towards enjoying a monkey patch of a social ill (homemade mobile laundromat), when some boring solution might be more effective (e.g. housing first like in Utah). I'm not sure if it's our entertainment-driven culture or a more complex set of biases. But it's odd how often we'll veer around demonstrably workable solutions in favor of something more flashy. It's as if the pursuit of an ongoing spectacle is more important than achieving a good end.

  I like the idea of (b) a lot more.

It's a nice idea - but anyone who believes citizens should be making such donations is surely already making them - and yet our problems still exist. Doesn't that rather imply the average person isn't as charitable as would be needed?

> Doesn't that rather imply the average person isn't as charitable as would be needed?

Yep, I think it does :( So (a) might be a better pragmatic solution.

Because it demonstrates that individual people have the power to affect change and all that remains between you and that is the willingness to take action.