Homeless = derelict?
Homeless people couldn't possibly have virtuous qualities?
Booooooo.
Mr. Ivory Tower, get that off my thread.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but homeless/derelict people have the same proportions of virtuous qualities as anybody else.
My bubble that you are making up or my bubble that homeless people are people too?
Maybe you'll actually have some intereactions with one of them someday. Find out what made them homeless. Might change your perspective.
How? Changing my perspective by making it worse?
My opinion of the homeless based on my personal interaction has been this -
1. My mother went to the post office. A man was standing next to the drop off mail boxes. As people drove up, many gave the man some money as he was panhandling. As my mother's business was inside the post office, she just observed him from there. As she looked on, a women in a new Cadillac drove up. The man walked over to the car and handed the women a huge wad of bills that he had been collecting all day and she drove off.
2. I was approached by a man once at Jack London Square in Oakland and again in Old Sacramento here, and again at a gas station here in town . On each occasion, I was told a sob story about a needy family member/I just need bus fare to get to a sick relative, yada yada, yada. On the first two occasions, as soon as I gave the man some money, he snickered and said something like, "...and if I happen to pass a liquor store on the way, I just might pop in and enjoy myself first." The man at the gas station, I shut down before he got too far into his story and told him the next person he tried that sh*t on, he might not breathe too hard in his face so as not to be overwhelmed by this liquor-breath.
3. I take walks on occasion around downtown at lunchtime. This is often no more then three blocks or so. On at least three of these times, I have been asked for money by no fewer then five individuals in less then thirty minutes. That is a bit overwhelming for anyone to deal with. It got so bad a few years ago, the city police had to step in and clear out the derelicts from the area. You see, Reality, the shop owners were losing some business because of the urine smell covering their doorways every morning. Seems that no one was much interested in shopping with that stench. Once this problem was "redirected" and that is basically what happened, business picked up and now downtown Sacramento has a better economy.
4. Union Square in San Francisco. Macy's, St Francis Hotel, The Bank of America Building, 5th Avenue - upscale places, plus the Square itself has been upgraded and looks pretty nice. The crowds on any given weekend are large and diverse.
And I can guarantee you, if you spend any time there, especially sitting at a little curbside cafe table at a coffee shop my wife and I like, you will literally be attacked by panhandlers. Somewhat psycho ones at that. The ranter types who do not take no for an answer. I have had homeless women thrust babies at me screaming for money. I am sure she is a good mother, how could she not be, with those track marks on her arm? I should help her and the other drunks feed their habits?
Are these the "self-choice" derelicts you are talking about who's circumstances I should be more sympathic with?
This is what I do try to do, Reality. I contribute to a charity that works to help those people who really want to get off the streets and improve their lives. There is an organization that sponsors restaurants and trains people to be in that industry. The food is not bad. One is located next to the hotel we always stay at in Seattle, so we see them every morning when we go in. They also have a bar, so you can imagine the temptation for some of them.
But these people clearly are TRYING to be something more.
Do you get the difference?
