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I visited Detroit with my parents on night,I picked them up from the airport and went right to downtown. and a bum asked my Dad for a dollar, the funny thing is my dad gave him eighty cents, and the bum says, thats a nickel not a quater.
Berkeley, CA. They're arrogant, insulting, in-your-face and obnoxious. I'd never give any of them a dime. But Berkeley asked for it with their oh-so-righteous politics, which elevate the homeless to a status higher than that of a Nobel Prize winner who studies ways to help the homeless. Berkeley is pathetic. And I love it there. Go figure. My neo-Marxist side is tenacious and refuses to let go of my brain.
haha. i remember being across the street from people's park, looking at berkeley's campus map to find a building. a strung out homeless guy walked up beside me and mumbled something incoherently. i politely said "excuse me?" and he said louder "i said 'i'm trying to keep myself from stepping over there and hitting you in the face'!" i gave him a wtf look, shook my head, and walked off. bay area has had a bad taste in my mouth ever since.
I live in Houston and we have our share of homeless here. I had a cool experience last Thanksgiving, I was running my dog in the Pierce and West Gray area an the edge of downtown about a mile or so from where I live. There are a large # of homeless in this area where I was running and several asked me for change and I said I did not have any but these two guys started asking me about my dog, like what breed he is etc. I got a good vibe from these guys so I told them to wait there and I would be back in an hour. I finished my run and drove back and found these guys and took them to eat at waffle house and we had great conversation and these guys seemed to be cool. Afterward, I wished them happy Thanksgiving and went on my way. About two months later, I was at a gas station and a guy at the register says to me "you don't remember me do you?" and I said "no, why" and he said "you took me and my friend out to the waffle house last Thanksgiving and he died several weeks ago and I decided to get a job and stop being homeless" I thought that it was real cool that one of them could start on a path to a better life. In short H Town does have some homeless like any big city, but there is always some good apples I would guess among them!
i remember being across the street from people's park, looking at berkeley's campus map to find a building. a strung out homeless guy walked up beside me and mumbled something incoherently. i politely said "excuse me?" and he said louder "i said 'i'm trying to keep myself from stepping over there and hitting you in the face'!"
Yup. I've had multiple experiences like that. And if you don't genuflect to the altar of Cultural Diversity and Tolerance then you're a hate-filled right-winger. And I'm saying this as a leftist-sympathizer. I agree with the goals of the Left, but I loathe their tactics. And I certainly don't think we help the homeless by paying them to be jerks. We could just as easily pay people to beautify landscapes, clean sidewalks, create art and music --- but the guilty liberal culture likes to hire people to be idiots who get in your face, demanding your money while offering you nothing in return and contributing nothing to the community from which they leech their existence.
If it's a case of mental illness then it's a systemic problem and our handouts don't help at all. We'd be wiser to contribute to causes that work to get treatment for addicts and the mentally ill. We don't help them by giving them the means to make their situation worse.
Yup. I've had multiple experiences like that. And if you don't genuflect to the altar of Cultural Diversity and Tolerance then you're a hate-filled right-winger. And I'm saying this as a leftist-sympathizer. I agree with the goals of the Left, but I loathe their tactics. And I certainly don't think we help the homeless by paying them to be jerks. We could just as easily pay people to beautify landscapes, clean sidewalks, create art and music --- but the guilty liberal culture likes to hire people to be idiots who get in your face, demanding your money while offering you nothing in return and contributing nothing to the community from which they leech their existence.
If it's a case of mental illness then it's a systemic problem and our handouts don't help at all. We'd be wiser to contribute to causes that work to get treatment for addicts and the mentally ill. We don't help them by giving them the means to make their situation worse.
I'm sorry to hear about your negative experiences. I can attest to the fact that I seldom experience hostile homeless people, even though I expect them to be far more hostile that they are. You have to consider how hard their lives are and what they have to face on a daily basis. Granted we're all living in our own hell to some extent. Whether you're engaged in a 9-5 work week or whether you're panhandling it's really all the same when you think about it. If we honestly assess our lives we'll discover that society doesn't have a NEED for most of our jobs, we're simply consumers in a free market offering "whatever" others will buy. Homeless people are truly the most tortured souls of society. These are people who have undergone so much trauma and kayas that they become completely dysfunctional. Simply put, most of them can't function in a normal job like you and I have, they don't have the mental stamina, strength and purpose to carry on with life. So they resort to asking people for money because it's something they need to buy liquor and food. Hell, if I was homeless I would probably seek every mode of escape imaginable, anything to help me feel alive even if it's momentarily. I've met some wonderful homeless people with really enchanting stories and incredible personal accomplishments. You just have to get to know them....
I live in Houston and we have our share of homeless here. I had a cool experience last Thanksgiving, I was running my dog in the Pierce and West Gray area an the edge of downtown about a mile or so from where I live. There are a large # of homeless in this area where I was running and several asked me for change and I said I did not have any but these two guys started asking me about my dog, like what breed he is etc. I got a good vibe from these guys so I told them to wait there and I would be back in an hour. I finished my run and drove back and found these guys and took them to eat at waffle house and we had great conversation and these guys seemed to be cool. Afterward, I wished them happy Thanksgiving and went on my way. About two months later, I was at a gas station and a guy at the register says to me "you don't remember me do you?" and I said "no, why" and he said "you took me and my friend out to the waffle house last Thanksgiving and he died several weeks ago and I decided to get a job and stop being homeless" I thought that it was real cool that one of them could start on a path to a better life. In short H Town does have some homeless like any big city, but there is always some good apples I would guess among them!
I enjoyed reading your post sweetclimber! Two years ago I experienced the exact same thing, only different circumstances. Met a homeless person who was an English teacher, though looking at her you'd never think that. So we began to talk and I was marvelled by her story. Her son commited suicide and she couldn't cope with the loss, it had a devestating impact on her work and she was utlimately terminated from her teaching position. The inner pain and turmoil compounded to a breaking point which lead her to becoming homeless.
She told me it was a "blessing" to become homeless, because it enabled her to meet "real people" someone who cared. Each time I see a homeless person I feel a sense of terror, not at them but more of how any of us can end up. All it takes is a hard enough hit emotionally and economically and we're done.
Philly for me. By far. For reference, I lived in the area for four years.
Once had a guy sit down at my table at the food court asking for money for food. When I asked him if he wanted my french fries he spat in my face. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, two cops come dashing in, grab the guy under the shoulders, and one pulls out a big bag of weed from his jacket pocket. I was in a right old panic thinking they were going to accuse me of trying to buy it, but apparently they had been following the guy.
I've been frequently spit at in Philly actually (I suspect the reason was usually with regards to being in an interracial relationship at the time, but I of course can't be certain), as well as stalked for over a block on two occaisions, harassed for train fare at least once pretty much every time I'm in one of the Center City stations, had my windshield washed (poorly) more times than I can count, and had a mother use me to teach her daughter that white people are racist bastards because I refused to fork over enough cash for a "toothbrush." Go figure.
There are certainly things I like about Philly, but knowing I will have to deal with the bums keeps me from going back as often as I otherwise would like.
Second worst would be New York.
Last edited by bnots; 07-23-2007 at 02:23 PM..
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