NYC - Homelessness Blues.
I have been back home in NYC for about a week now. I won’t delve to far to the proceeding topic, it’s late, but its about respect. How can people become so detached from one another that they can step, push, stare, spit or even laugh at one another without feeling guilty? What is the meaning of the word respect to a general contemporary audience of the 21st century? I see people who look at homeless men, and women like garbage. Like nothing more than objects occupying precious street space that could be used to better “strut my stuff”. “Don’t give them any money, they will just use it for drugs.” I’m sorry, but isn’t that what you are doing when you spend &20 dollars on a gram of weed, coke, snuff, poppers or whatever. I am guilty as charged. I have spent more than $20 on alcohol and drugs, so the aforementioned response that I have heard from others when they see a homeless individual does not sit well with me. How dare we judge one another as if we were perfect, infallible or non-human entities. Search deep inside yourself and empathize for an instant. Don’t just discuss the problems of the world, or the problems that individuals face in our country, take action. Feed the homeless, spare a dollar. Even if the person you have $1 to spends it on drugs, its a moment of happiness and detachment you have assured a citizen of our country that isn’t even recognized as a whole person. Most people won’t even meet the eyes of a non-homeless person on the train without feeling uncomfortable. Imagine for one moment, homelessness. What it must feel like to walk around begging for money or food for whatever the purpose may be, knowing that most people don’t even acknowledge your presence other than to comment on how worthless you are. I do not presume to know the life of a homeless individual, but after digging deep and speaking to the social being within me, this is what I have found.
