Homeless
Seeing so many homeless on a daily basis makes it easy to turn contemptuous toward them and cease to view them as people but more as a social problem needing a "fix" like alcoholism or drug addiction. It's tough to maintain a true perspective in this city. Back home the situation was much more manageable. This morning, I counted 5 homeless on my short trip to work (most of which is spent in the cozy confines of the MUNI with other early morning commuters).
Of course this has been obvious to me since I got here. What hasn't been obvious is my changing attitude toward the issue. When I came out of the muni station and was immediately asked for money, I didn't say anything nasty, but mentally I snapped at the guy. This disturbs me. Everywhere you go in this city there are homeless people sleeping, holding out their hand for money, holding signs, urinating. In some cases their stench is absolutely unbearable. Yet I can't seem to look past those things to see the person there. I would love to be the kind of person who goes around and talks to them and shows them every care and consideration, but I'm just not. I guess the problem is that I feel like I *should* be. Down in the financial district we all walk by the same people every day, yet it's like they aren't even there. I just ignore them or shake my head no and walk by. In Boston I used to carry a couple of quarters and if anyone asked me (frequently no one did) I'd give them away. It was my little way of doing something other than brushing by like they werent there and don't exist. Here, the problem is so much greater doing even that small thing feels tougher.
For me personally, the truth is I'm not about to get seriously involved in solving this issue. Sure I will contribute a few times a year in some small way to an organization focusing on the homeless, or once in a long while volunteer somewhere serving the homeless, but beyond that it's not something that mobilizes me. Yet I am disturbed enough by my recent reaction and lack of compassion to reexamine if this is something I can, or want to be, part of the solution for. Maybe I should just go back to giving change when I can. I guess part of the difficulty is that it's so hard to relate because I can never see myself on the other side of the hand (which by the way is inexcuseable). I imagine many of these people never did either though... this gives me much to consider...
I'm struggling a bit to get going on this blog and figure out what I want to do with it. Why am I writing this you ask?? Good question. Almost trying to convince myself of something, aren't I? Well, what are the items from these thoughts?
1) Carry change to give away again. Who cares where it goes, it goes to someone more needy than me.
2) Reexamine my role/interest in helping solve social issues such as homelessness.
I suppose that's a start that won't be too difficult for me to get going with... We'll see what happens...
Of course this has been obvious to me since I got here. What hasn't been obvious is my changing attitude toward the issue. When I came out of the muni station and was immediately asked for money, I didn't say anything nasty, but mentally I snapped at the guy. This disturbs me. Everywhere you go in this city there are homeless people sleeping, holding out their hand for money, holding signs, urinating. In some cases their stench is absolutely unbearable. Yet I can't seem to look past those things to see the person there. I would love to be the kind of person who goes around and talks to them and shows them every care and consideration, but I'm just not. I guess the problem is that I feel like I *should* be. Down in the financial district we all walk by the same people every day, yet it's like they aren't even there. I just ignore them or shake my head no and walk by. In Boston I used to carry a couple of quarters and if anyone asked me (frequently no one did) I'd give them away. It was my little way of doing something other than brushing by like they werent there and don't exist. Here, the problem is so much greater doing even that small thing feels tougher.
For me personally, the truth is I'm not about to get seriously involved in solving this issue. Sure I will contribute a few times a year in some small way to an organization focusing on the homeless, or once in a long while volunteer somewhere serving the homeless, but beyond that it's not something that mobilizes me. Yet I am disturbed enough by my recent reaction and lack of compassion to reexamine if this is something I can, or want to be, part of the solution for. Maybe I should just go back to giving change when I can. I guess part of the difficulty is that it's so hard to relate because I can never see myself on the other side of the hand (which by the way is inexcuseable). I imagine many of these people never did either though... this gives me much to consider...
I'm struggling a bit to get going on this blog and figure out what I want to do with it. Why am I writing this you ask?? Good question. Almost trying to convince myself of something, aren't I? Well, what are the items from these thoughts?
1) Carry change to give away again. Who cares where it goes, it goes to someone more needy than me.
2) Reexamine my role/interest in helping solve social issues such as homelessness.
I suppose that's a start that won't be too difficult for me to get going with... We'll see what happens...
posted by Andy at 9:34 PM
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