Editing Refusal of work (section)

== Stigmatization of people who do not work ==
Those who engage in refusal of work break one of the most powerful social norms of contemporary society. Hence they frequently receive harassment from people, sometimes irrespective of whether they made the choice to leave work behind or not. In [[Nazi Germany]] the so-called, "work-shy" individuals were rounded up and imprisoned in [[Nazi concentration camps]] as [[black triangle (badge)|black triangle]] prisoners in the so-called "[[Aktion Arbeitsscheu Reich]]".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Gellately|first1=Robert|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1toqgWg8ROUC&q=work-shy+nazi&pg=PA12|title=Social Outsiders in Nazi Germany|last2=Stoltzfus|first2=Nathan|date=2001|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-0691086842|page=12|language=en|access-date=2020-11-19|archive-date=2021-12-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211204081015/https://books.google.com/books?id=1toqgWg8ROUC&q=work-shy+nazi&pg=PA12|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Schulle|first1=Diana|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JhYb73CHmt8C&q=work-shy+nazi&pg=PA146|title=Jews in Nazi Berlin: From Kristallnacht to Liberation|date=2009|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0226521596|editor1-last=Meyer|editor1-first=Beate|page=146|language=en|editor2-last=Simon|editor2-first=Hermann|editor3-last=Schütz|editor3-first=Chana|access-date=2020-11-19|archive-date=2021-12-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211204081015/https://books.google.com/books?id=JhYb73CHmt8C&q=work-shy+nazi&pg=PA146|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Other derogatory terms and their history ===
==== Cynic philosophical school ====
[[Cynicism (philosophy)|Cynicism]] ({{langx|el|κυνισμός}}), in its original form, refers to the beliefs of an ancient [[School (discipline)|school]] of Greek philosophers known as the Cynics ({{langx|el|Κυνικοί}}, {{langx|la|Cynici}}). Their philosophy was that the [[meaning of life|purpose of life]] was to live a life of [[Virtue]] in agreement with [[Nature]]. This meant rejecting all conventional desires for [[wealth]], [[Power (sociology)|power]], [[health]], and [[Celebrity|fame]], and by living a [[simple living|simple life]] free from all possessions. They believed that the [[world]] belonged equally to everyone, and that [[suffering]] was caused by false judgments of what was valuable and by the worthless [[Tradition|customs]] and [[Convention (norm)|conventions]] which surrounded [[society]].

[[Image:Gerome - Diogenes.jpg|left|thumb|[[Diogenes of Sinope]] – depicted by [[Jean-Léon Gérôme]]]]
The first philosopher to outline these themes was [[Antisthenes]], who had been a pupil of [[Socrates]] in the late 5th century BCE. He was followed by [[Diogenes of Sinope]], who lived in a tub on the streets of [[Athens]]. Diogenes took Cynicism to its [[logical extreme]]s, and came to be seen as the archetypal Cynic philosopher. He was followed by [[Crates of Thebes]] who gave away a large fortune so he could live a life of Cynic poverty in Athens. Cynicism spread with the rise of [[Imperial Rome]] in the 1st century, and Cynics could be found begging and preaching throughout the cities of the [[Roman Empire|Empire]]. It finally disappeared in the late 5th century, although many of its [[ascetic]] and [[rhetorical]] ideas were adopted by [[early Christianity]]. The name Cynic derives from the [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] word κυνικός, ''kynikos'', "dog-like" and that from κύων, ''kyôn'', "[[dog]]" ([[genitive]]: ''kynos'').<ref>{{cite web|title=κυ^νικός, ή, όν, (κύων)|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D%2360864|access-date=3 December 2021|website=www.perseus.tufts.edu|archive-date=4 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211204081016/https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D%2360864|url-status=live}}</ref>

It seems certain that the word ''dog'' was also thrown at the first Cynics as an insult for their shameless rejection of conventional manners, and their decision to live on the streets. Diogenes, in particular, was referred to as ''the Dog''.<ref>An obscure reference to "the Dog" in Aristotle's ''Rhetoric'' (3.10.1411a25) is generally agreed to be the first reference to Diogenes.</ref>

==== "Slackers" ====
The term [[slacker]] is commonly used to refer to a person who avoids work (especially [[British English]]), or (primarily in [[North American English]]) an educated person who is viewed as an [[underachiever]].<ref name="dictionarycom">{{cite web|year=2006|title=slacker|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/slacker|publisher=Random House, Inc.|access-date=2010-01-10|archive-date=2016-03-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303214234/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/slacker|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Compact Oxford English Dictionary|title=slacker|url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/slacker?view=get|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021090734/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/slacker?view=get |archive-date=2013-10-21 }}</ref>

While use of the term ''slacker'' dates back to about 1790 or 1898 depending on the source, it gained some recognition during the British [[Gezira Scheme]], when Sudanese labourers protested their relative powerlessness by working lethargically, a form of protest known as 'slacking'.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Bernal|first1=V.|year=1997|title=Colonial Moral Economy and the Discipline of Development: The Gezira Scheme and "Modern" Sudan|journal=Cultural Anthropology|volume=12|issue=4|pages=447–479|doi=10.1525/can.1997.12.4.447}}</ref> The term achieved a boost in popularity after its use in the films ''[[Back to the Future]]'' and ''[[Slacker (film)|Slacker]]''.<ref name="dictionarycom" /><ref>{{cite web|title=Online Etymology Dictionary, slack (adj.)|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=slacker&searchmode=none|publisher=Douglas Harper|access-date=2010-01-10|archive-date=2017-07-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729232316/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=slacker&searchmode=none|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== NEET ====
[[NEET]] is an [[acronym]] for the government classification for people currently "Not in [[Employment]], [[Education]] or [[Training]]". It was first used in the [[United Kingdom]] but its use has spread to other countries, including the [[United States]], [[Japan]], [[China]], and [[South Korea]].

In the United Kingdom, the classification comprises people aged between 16 and 24 (some 16-year-olds are still of [[compulsory education]] age). In Japan, the classification comprises people aged between 15 and 34 who are [[unemployed]], unmarried, not enrolled in school or engaged in [[Homemaking|housework]], and not seeking work or the technical training needed for work. The "NEET group" is not a uniform set of individuals but consists of those who will be NEET for a short time while essentially testing out a variety of opportunities and those who have major and often multiple [[mental disorder|issues]] and are at long term risk of remaining disengaged.

In [[Brazil]], "nem-nem" (short of '''''nem''' estudam '''nem''' trabalham'' (neither study nor work) is a term with similar meaning.<ref>{{cite web|date=27 July 2014|title=Dois em cada dez jovens brasileiros nem estudam e nem trabalham|url=http://g1.globo.com/fantastico/noticia/2014/07/dois-em-cada-dez-jovens-brasileiros-nao-estudam-e-nem-trabalham.html|website=Fantástico|access-date=22 November 2014|archive-date=15 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211115073106/http://g1.globo.com/fantastico/noticia/2014/07/dois-em-cada-dez-jovens-brasileiros-nao-estudam-e-nem-trabalham.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In Spanish-speaking countries, "ni-ni" (short of '''''ni''' estudia '''ni''' trabaja'') is also applied.

==== "Freeters" and parasite singles ====
{{nihongo|[[Freeter]]|フリーター|furītā}} (other spellings below) is a Japanese expression for people between the age of 15 and 34 who lack full-time employment or are unemployed, excluding homemakers and students. They may also be described as ''[[underemployment|underemployed]]'' or [[freelance]] workers. These people do not start a [[career]] after [[Secondary education in Japan|high school]] or [[List of universities in Japan|university]] but instead usually live as so-called [[parasite single]]s with their parents and earn some money with low-skilled and low-paid jobs.

The word ''freeter'' or ''freeta'' was first used around 1987 or 1988 and is thought to be an amalgamation of the English word ''free'' (or perhaps ''freelance'') and the [[German language|German]] word ''Arbeiter'' ("worker").<ref>{{cite web|date=15 June 2004|title=A Way with Words – freeter|url=https://www.waywordradio.org/freeter/|website=www.waywordradio.org|access-date=2 January 2019|archive-date=3 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211203134152/https://www.waywordradio.org/freeter/|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{nihongo|[[Parasite single]]|パラサイトシングル|parasaito shinguru}} is a [[Japanese language|Japanese]] term for a [[single person]] who lives with their parents until their late twenties or early thirties in order to enjoy a carefree and comfortable life. In English, the expression "sponge" or "basement dweller" may sometimes be used.

The expression is mainly used in reference to Japanese society, but similar phenomena can also be found in other countries worldwide. In [[Italy]], 30-something singles still relying on their mothers are joked about, being called ''Bamboccioni'' (literally: grown-up babies) and in Germany they are known as ''Nesthocker'' (German for an ''[[altricial]]'' bird), who are still living at ''{{ill|Hotel Mama|de|Hotel Mama|vertical-align=sup}}''.

Such behaviour is considered normal in [[Greece]], both because of the traditional strong family ties and because of the [[economy of Greece|low wages]].<ref>{{cite web|title=ΤΑ ΝΕΑ|url=https://www.tanea.gr/|website=ΤΑ ΝΕΑ|access-date=2019-01-02|archive-date=2021-12-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211202044425/https://www.tanea.gr/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Welfare queens ====
A [[Welfare queen]] is a derogatory term for a person, almost exclusively female and usually a [[Single parent|single mother]], who lives primarily from welfare and other public assistance funds. The term implies that the person collects welfare, charity, or other handouts either fraudulently or excessively and that the person intentionally chooses to live "on the dole" as opposed to seeking gainful employment, ostensibly due to laziness.

==== Vagrancy ====
A [[vagrancy (people)|vagrant]] is derogatory term for a person in a situation of [[poverty]], who wanders from place to place without a [[home]] or regular [[employment]] or [[income]]. Many [[town]]s in the [[developed world]] have [[Homeless shelter|shelters]] for vagrants. Common terminology is a tramp or a 'gentleman of the road'.

Laws against vagrancy in the [[United States]] have partly been invalidated as violative of the [[due process]] clauses of the [[Constitution of the United States|U.S. Constitution]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/vagrancy|title=Vagrancy|website=LII / Legal Information Institute|access-date=2017-06-27|archive-date=2021-12-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211202185505/https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/vagrancy|url-status=live}}</ref> However, the FBI report on crime in the United States for 2005 lists 24,359 vagrancy violations.<ref>Table 43 – Crime in the United States 2005 http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/05cius/data/table_43.html {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210922092034/http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/05cius/data/table_43.html |date=2021-09-22 }}</ref>

===="Hobos", "tramps", and "bums"====
[[File:Hobos2.jpg|thumb|upright|Two hobos walking along railroad tracks, after being put off a train. One is carrying a [[bindle]].]]

A [[hobo]] is a [[Migrant worker#United States|migratory worker]] or homeless [[Vagabond (person)|vagabond]], often [[Poverty in the United States|penniless]].<ref>[http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hobo Definition of 'hobo'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211117024203/http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hobo |date=2021-11-17 }} from the [[Merriam-Webster]] website</ref> The term originated in the [[western United States|western]]—probably [[northwestern United States|northwestern]]—United States during the last decade of the 19th century.<ref name="oup">{{cite web|date=12 November 2008|title=On Hobos, Hautboys, and Other Beaus|url=http://blog.oup.com/2008/11/hobo/|access-date=5 August 2009|work=OUPblog|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|archive-date=11 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120411134104/http://blog.oup.com/2008/11/hobo/|url-status=live}}</ref> Unlike [[tramp]]s, who worked only when they were forced to, and bums, who did not work at all, hobos were workers who wandered.<ref name="oup" /><ref name="Mencken1945">{{cite book|last=Mencken|first=Henry Louis|title=[[The American Language: An Inquiry Into the Development of English in the United States]]|publisher=[[A.A. Knopf]]|year=1945|isbn=978-0394400754|page=581|chapter=American Slang|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zh7Ma1SCthQC&pg=PA581|access-date=2018-11-13|archive-date=2020-08-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200820040559/https://books.google.com/books?id=zh7Ma1SCthQC&pg=PA581|url-status=live}}</ref>

In [[British English]] and traditional [[American English]] usage, a tramp is a long term [[Homelessness|homeless]] person who travels from place to place as an itinerant [[vagrancy (people)|vagrant]], traditionally walking or [[hiking]] all year round.

While some tramps may do odd jobs from time to time, unlike other temporarily homeless people they do not seek out regular work and support themselves by other means such as [[begging]] or [[Waste picker|scavenging]]. This is in contrast to:
* [[Slacker|bum]], a stationary homeless person who does not work, and who begs or steals for a living in one place.
* hobo, a homeless person who travels from place to place looking for work, often by "[[freighthopping]]", illegally catching rides on freight trains
* [[Schnorrer]], a [[Yiddish]] term for a person who travels from city to city begging.

Both terms, "tramp" and "hobo" (and the distinction between them), were in common use between the 1880s and the 1940s. Their populations and the usage of the terms increased during the [[Great Depression]].

Like "hobo" and "bum", the word "tramp" is considered vulgar in [[American English]] usage, having been [[Euphemism treadmill#Euphemism treadmill|subsumed in more polite contexts]] by words such as "homeless person." In [[colloquial]] American English, the word "tramp" can also mean a sexually [[promiscuous]] female or even [[prostitute]]. Tramps used to be known [[euphemism|euphemistically]] in [[England and Wales]] as "gentlemen of the road".

Tramp is derived from the [[Middle English]] as a verb meaning to "walk with heavy footsteps", and to go hiking. [[Bart Kennedy]], a self-described tramp of 1900 US, once said "I listen to the tramp, tramp of my feet, and wonder where I was going, and why I was going."<ref>[[Bart Kennedy]], ''A Man Adrift'', [https://archive.org/stream/manadriftbeingle00kennrich#page/160/mode/2up p. 161], Chicago, H.S. Stone, 1900.</ref>