Subcultures and Social Trends: The Modern Hobo and The Vagabond – When Technology and The Homeless Collide

”The hobo lifestyle is a curious thing to celebrate, but it speaks to something quintessentially American — a spirit of rebellious independence, hardscrabble survival and the hope of something better a little further down the line.”

The hobo, a staple figure in the Great Depression era was romanticized for the lifestyle as one of fancy free and whim, rugged self-reliance and rugged independence. The hobo was also vilified because of the association with one of the subcultures within the subculture – the bum/tramp. Hobo jungles have been replaced with the online jungles of chat rooms, websites and online resources. Hoes and shovels have been replaced with laptops, cellular smart phones, web applications and free WiFi Hotspots.

Welcome to the subculture of the Modern Hobo.

A Brief History of the Hobo Subculture

There is no clear moment when the hobo subculture began, although it is believed to have first appeared during the 1860’s American Railroad scene, as many discharged Civil War veterans returning home from the war hopped freight trains. The post Civil War country was a war-torn wasteland and the soldiers of both sides grabbed whatever they could (a hoe or shovel) and hit the road in search of work. They went from place to place, earned some money, used it to move to the next spot and looked for more work. This was the genesis of the hobo subculture. In fact, the etymology of the word “hobo” is believed to be a syllabic abbreviation of either the phrase “homeward bound” or the phrase “homeless boy.”

In the 1930s, the hobo ranks swelled to an estimated 4 million adults and 250,000 teenagers as the combination of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl wreaked havoc on society. Hitting the rails in search of work and wages was a very common and acceptable way for the working man to get around, and sources from Hard Times recalled, “when a train would stop in a small town and the bums got off, the population would triple.”

It was during this period, the famous hobo code was developed. Because of the high illiteracy rates amongst the hobo population, the hobo codes were created as a language of glyphs and signs rather than written words, and were scrawled onto fence posts and train crossings to share information and help fellow hobos out.

With the subsequent rise from the depths of the Great Depression, widespread prosperity, automobile ownership and home ownership kept the population in their homes and on the road. This signaled the death-knell of the hobo subculture…for a time.

The Great Recession of 2008 caused a tsunami of foreclosures, forcing thousands of families into the world of homelessness. This overarching homeless trend, along with the confluence of cheap cellular phones, cheaper data and a critical saturation of social media has both breathed new life into this subculture and morphed the subculture in new ways.

”While no comprehensive survey of homelessness and mobile ownership has been done in the United States, small surveys provide a glimpse of how the trends have grown. A study by the University of Sydney found that 95 percent of Australia’s homeless own a mobile device, while Keith McInnes of the Boston School of Public Health’s study of homeless veterans in Massachusetts found that 89 percent own at least one device.”

Where once there were “jungles” and “hobohemians” to connect the hobo community, now the Internet serves as that connection point, and it has given rise to a new hobo code. Glyphs and signs scrawled on fence post and train crossings have given way to websites and web applications. Squatters are using smart phones to connect with the internet and learn how to bring amenities such as electricity and running water to the neglected structures they occupy and improve. Vagabonds can engage in social media platforms to discover other vagabonds and their groups, form new groups or swap stories.

The ranks of the new hobo community subculture are now steadily on the rise. Within the new hobo subculture, there are a host of other sub-subcultures such as the Freegans, Crust Punks, Tramps and Vagabonds as the evolution of the modern hobo continues. It would appear a new era for the modern hobo is upon us.

What Exactly is a Modern Hobo?

Eight decades after the Great Depression, America still has a community people picking up work at odd jobs, busking on street corners for change, traveling in beat up cars, camping illegally in parking lots and sneaking their way onto trains for modern day “railroading.” Technology has been infused into the modern hobo subculture in the form of the internet, smart phones, GPS devices, free WiFi and web applications which provide them with a host of tools and the ability to build modern hobo communities and stay in touch with their families.

In many ways, the transient lifestyle has not changed much. Jobs followed seasonal schedules and the hobo community would look for jobs by asking at farmers’ markets, farming supply stores, asking door to door and looking at job advertisements in the newspaper. The modern hobo considers Craigslist an essential resource for piecemeal work and it has completely changed how piecemeal work is discovered in the age of technology.

Modern hobo subculture has attained a sort of romanticized element about it and not all modern hobos are, in fact, victims of circumstance,

“There are exceptions, of course, and no doubt there is still some sect of modern day tramps and hobos who are literally just doing whatever they can to get by and are closer to the homeless people you see begging for change and sleeping under bridges in your own city. On closer inspection though, these youths who seems to be covered in filth and destitution are wearing fancy boots. The torn thrift store style t-shirts they’re wearing were in Urban Outfitters fall line a few seasons ago. What, to the average American might seem like rags are actually a masterfully tailored ensemble in the new grime chic. Many of them have created this image for themselves, one of sleeveless shirts and scuffed up boots and patchwork skirts intentionally cut up for the sake of seeming poor. Faux poor is high fashion on the rails and while there are true tramps out there living for years at a time riding train due to necessity or a true desire to live outside of society, the larger chunk of these kids are simply on a “poor vacation”, taking a few weeks or months to explore before heading back to college or mom and dad’s house or wherever they may have come from.”

The history of the hobo and the emerging modern hobo subculture has been receiving some in depth reporting in recent times:

• Newsweek, April 19, 2015 (http://www.newsweek.com/2015/05/01/homeless-millennials-are-transforming-hobo-culture-323151.html)
• Collectors Weekly, April 16, 2015 (http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/dont-call-them-bums-the-unsung-history-of-americas-hard-working-hoboes/)
• Wandr’ly Magazine, January 16, 2013 (https://wandrlymagazine.com/article/trainhoppers/)
• VICE Motherboard, April 22, 2015 (http://motherboard.vice.com/read/the-hobos-of-instagram)

A hotbed of activity on Tumblr for the modern hobo community and the Crusty Punks community is called Look At This Fucking Oogle (LATFO): Pornography for Homeless People (http://lookatthisfuckingoogle.tumblr.com).

Another hotbed in the strange confluence and technology, social media and the homeless is the Reddit Vagabond forums (https://www.reddit.com/r/vagabond/).

Based upon the media coverage and the underlying trends of both the economy as it relates to the millennial and changing social norms towards romanticism and acceptance, it would appear the modern hobo trends are moving towards the mainstream.

Capitalism and the Modern Hobo Marketplace

A vibrant marketplace (perhaps not in the conventional sense) exists for the subculture of the modern hobo.

Nation Hobo Convention Held In Britt, Iowa since 1900

Since the year 1900, the town of Britt, Iowa has been hosting a National Hobo Convention (http://www.britthobodays.com/) through the Britt Hobo Museum.

The annual Hobo Convention begins with the hobos, extended hobo families and hobo wannabes taking over the town and changing the city center into a hobo jungle. After dark, a campfire and the Honoring of the Four Winds, a hobo cultural tradition, commences the ceremonies and the festival. As the night presses on, satellite groups form, poetry is recited, stories are told and songs are sung to the mute sounds of guitars, banjoes and harmonicas.

The following morning, tribute is paid to those who have, “Caught the Westbound” with a memorial service at the hobo corner of the local cemetery. The highlight of the festival is the coronation of the Hobo King and Queen, which is celebrated with Mulligan Stew served by the local Boy Scout troop. They are expected to have knowledge and experience in riding trains, and are evaluated for how well they would represent the hobo community.

A carnival, flea market, an annual auto show and stock car races are also part of the festivities.

The Online Marketplace

The modern hobo marketplace contrary to common assumption is full of social media, web applications and information. It is a technological treasure trove at the fingertips of a user with access to a smart phone and a free WiFi connection. Some of the online marketplace options include:

• HitchWiki, The Guide to Hitchhiking the World (http://hitchwiki.org/en/Main_Page)
• TrashWiki, The Collaborative Guide to Creating Value from Trash (http://trashwiki.org/en/Main_Page)
• Squat The Planet, An Online Community for Misfit Travelers (https://squattheplanet.com/)
• WiFi Free Spot, A Directory Listing of Locations Offering Free WiFi (http://www.wififreespot.com/)
• On-Track-Online, A Forum for “Railroading” to Ride the Rails (http://on-track-on-line.com/index.shtml)

With a deep history, a subculture which is currently evolving for the digital age, an American economy which has been unforgiving and a pool of online resources, the modern hobo subculture is growing; both by individuals who choose the vagabond life and those who have succumbed to the homeless ranks. Technology has permitted a life within this subculture which was not possible before. In the words of a vagabond:

“I’ve found a way to be homeless without starving or begging or sleeping in ditches,” he says. “I’ve become a professional vagabond, and this is the lifestyle that I love.”

References

Wkipedia. “Hobo.” August 29, 2016. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobo

Hix. Lisa. “Don’t Call Them Bums: The Unsung Story of America’s Hard-Working Hoboes.” Collectors Weekly. April 16, 2015. http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/dont-call-them-bums-the-unsung-history-of-americas-hard-working-hoboes/

Winchester, Levi. “Homeless Swap Code Scrawled on Walls for Smart Phones.”Express. April 24, 2015. http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/572691/Homeless-hobo-code-on-walls-for-smart-phones

Lewis, Dan. “The Hobo Code.” Now I Know. December 6, 2013. http://nowiknow.com/the-hobo-code/

Ehrenreich, Ben. “The Hobohemians.” LA Weekly. July 24, 2002. http://www.laweekly.com/news/the-hobohemians-2135099

Portugal, Michael. “Homeless Millenials are Transforming Hobo Culture.” Newsweek. April 19, 2015. http://www.newsweek.com/2015/05/01/homeless-millennials-are-transforming-hobo-culture-323151.html

Roos, Dave. “Still Riding the Rails: Life as a Modern Hobo.” How Stuff Works. February 11, 2016. http://now.howstuffworks.com/2016/02/11/still-riding-the-rails-life-modern-hobo