The Homeless Child Experiment

Recently I've been hit back by the reality of just how inhumane and uncivilized society have become. People will hardly look at each other anymore, but everyone's aware of that right? Those are the days when I just can't get this idea out of my head.

And how ironic to realize I just fell upon this touching but disturbing video. Law of synchronicity in action?





Now I know for a fact not everybody's the same as the people we see in this video but I also know a lot of people are.

So what does make us? What kind of living beings have we become in this society of consumption?
Have the human race become so selfish that they only think of themselves and the next thing they might buy with their well-spared money? It's real sad to see everyone just passing by with bags full of stuff without even daring to give a dollar.

Yes, there are a lot of homeless people in the streets and we can't help them all (or so we like to think), but what about helping one child and his sister? What about making a real difference in the world...

Where are we going as a society, I wonder?

reply to post by St0rD


I do understand how you feel.
When in ABQ there were many such people pan handling all the time.
On one occasion 2 young children were outside Walmart with a similar sign and I offered to take them inside to buy them something to eat. The oldest said to me, ". . . my daddy only wants me to take money!"
I later found out this was quite a frequent event there, parents putting kids out to collect money assuming they will receive more from us who try to help. Well it kinda put a damper on things from that point on because you never really know who you are dealing with and just what they are going to do with your donations.

reply to post by AnteBellum


I realize the extent of this problem.

However, I'd rather take the risk of giving 1$ to a children and see him laugh with his parents 10 mins later than taking the risk of losing a great opportunity to make a change in somebody's life.

I believe people will find all sorts of reason to justify their inactions.

That made me cry...

It's so sad that people are so self absorbed. A couple years ago my daughter and I had $7 to share a drive thru meal with on the way home from the older daughter's college testing. We were dead broke at the time. It was all we could do put gas in the car to get there and back.

We saw an old man who could barely walk, holding a sign to please help. We gave him our money (my daughter insisted) and we both had tears in our eyes and decided we could be worse off. We drove home hungry, but feeling better about ourselves for helping him.

reply to post by St0rD


Wow, good video.

A few months ago a lady and her 3 kids were trying to move into our apartment building. Her ride just dumped her and the kids off in front of the building and took off. Her paperwork was not finished, her deposit was bigger than what she had, and also her electric deposit was huge. She had no place to go and no money.

We found a place for her to stay until everyone was able to raise enough for her deposits. Churches, the corporation I work for, and personal donations came in quick, and they moved in within days.
I gave her a 100 dollar bill.

We found out a month later that she way playing everyone, and the system, and her boyfriend had a wad of 100 dollar bills.


Someone asked me if I was mad that I had fallen for such a ruse and had been taken advantage of.
I stated that I was not mad, and as to my 100 bucks, it was easy come, easy go.
And I let it go.

They couldn't understand how I could not be mad at the lady.

I saw how she came in, and I saw the outpouring of support to her from the community,
and that made me happy.

Even if it was all a con job, it showed me that there are still good people out there, who care.

ive actually never denied giving someone a few bucks if they asked...although it comes with a catch...I always liked talking to them about who they are ..where they come from etc...recently a kid asked me for a buck while I was having coffee...by kid I mean like college age...maybe 20....It was the second time in a week he asked...said he was hungry...bought him a coffee and something to eat and he sat by me and we talked. By the end of it I honestly think he was in college and was struggling to pay for food. We shot the # a good hour and I actually see him about once a month but he has never asked me again for money and he oddly doesnt say hi or maybe doesnt recognize me...

One time going to a cubs game this male approached me stating I needed to pay for parking..even though we were in a private lot that was ok to be in. Fearing what would happen if I didnt pay (burglary to my vehicle) I offered him an extra cubs ticket we had...he said that will do and walked away.

When I was a cop I used to buy the homeless in our area coffee...but that got shot down real quick as they started to then gather. I by no means found that as a bad thing to me but businesses then had a group of them in the area.

Sometimes I feel like donating is putting a bandaid on a bigger situation. Some of these people are felons..they cant get work...and you can get a felony for anything really...be neat to see some kind of university with housing just for the homeless....help them learn some kind of skill..free room and board in exchange that thtey must do well in their classes.

Idk really what to do.

reply to post by St0rD

I normally give money to adult beggars, but only if their shoes/clothing reflect their story. It's not 100% accurate, but it is my choice.

Always see people at Wal-Mart begging. When their shoes cost more than my entire outfit (and look new with little wear), I just ignore them. Again, my choice.

But when a person doesn't even give a child some pocket change, that is messed up. I always give a needy kid a few bucks. Even if their parents put them up to it, it'll still make them feel better.

I feel the same way that we've become a self-absorbed society but I do have a story to tell in regards to this experiment. When I was in Florida for a couple of months this winter, we (my wife and kids) had stopped at a Walmart and parked in the back of the lot to have a brief discussion before going in. We then noticed towards the entrance drive into the Walmart strip mall there was a young man holding a sign that said "please help family with gas to get home" or something real similar. He was out there holding one child while the very young wife sat on the grass with another child in the stroller. We watched them for about 10 minutes and at least two cars stopped every minute. Who knows how much each vehicle gave but there were at least 20 vehicles that pulled up and gave him money. In that ten minutes he could have easily made $100 if each person gave him $5. At that rate, he'll never work again. A Walmart employee came out and chased him away at that point. Initially I felt very bad for this young family, but then I realized what if he was doing this all the time, he was making a killing off exploiting his family. Any way, in regards to your OP, it did show me that there are many folks out there who still have a heart and couldn't bare to see this young family suffering, so they stopped to help. One vehicle even turned around after they were being kicked out by the Walmart employee, drove back around to them as they were getting in their vehicle, shared some words for a minute and then gave them something and drove away.

St0rD
reply to post by AnteBellum

 

I'd rather take the risk of giving 1$ to a children and see him laugh with his parents 10 mins later than taking the risk of losing a great opportunity to make a change in somebody's life.

Well said

Now, could you please be a bit more charitable by swapping your HUGE 2meg avatar for the pic below? I'm on pay as you go, and all these huge avatars hit my bandwidth hard!

Thanks.

reply to post by Rezlooper


Thanks everyone for sharing your ideas and stories.

It's true we just don't know what to think or what to do anymore with the homeless reality. I guess what's truly important is to stay centered in the present moment and look at each situations individually. Just like ChuckNasty mentionned, looking at the overall look they have, like their clothing for example, can give a precise definition of their true reality and also give insight as to if a donation is the right decision.

Sometimes the right approach is simply to bring comfort and psychological support.

I used to give loose change to the homeless, but stopped after I found out that one homeless guy I'd given change to was actually raking in close to $50,000/year tax free, which was more than what I was earning at a 60hr/week job.

Now I'm more cautious as are alot of other people I know...if someone asks for money so they can buy food, I offer to buy the food for them. 80% of the time they refuse because they just want the money for drugs or alcohol...either they are con-men/women in which case they aren't getting a single thing from me, or they are a druggy/have a drinking problem in which case their grumbling stomach will eventually force them to re-assess their priorities, even if only temporarily.

reply to post by St0rD


$1 wouldn't even make a change in someone's life if they lived in Africa or some other impoverished 3rd world nation.
Helping drug addicted families pursue there ever lasting goals of self destruction, not me.
Buying them a meal would, buying them clothes would, taking them to get medical help would, taking in a homeless mother and daughter until they get on there feet or donating time to help build residences for those in need would.
All of which I have done!
Handing out dollars to little kids, thinking like the world was now saved from your own philanthropy!

I'm sorry, a $1, not even $50 is a life changing cause, it just another way to make yourself feel better, for doing in all actuality NOTHING.

What kind of living beings have we become in this society of consumption?

reply to post by St0rD


Exactly the kind of people you would expect a society such as ours to create...selfish, self absorbed...apathetic sociopaths. Everything is kept at it's lowest common denominator....only those with wealth and power prosper....living like kings among the rest of the poor unwashed masses that struggle day to day just to survive....always reaching for a brass ring that they were never meant to reach. Very few indeed ever rise above the station of their birth.

For all our advances in medicine and technology, science and physics....we are what we have always been...animals...willing to eat their own to get ahead. We think we've come a long way....but we haven't. Only the scenery has changed.

It's real sad to see everyone just passing by with bags full of stuff without even daring to give a dollar.

Compassion and altruism is scorned as weakness in our society....those of us humans in need are looked upon as parasites....while the true parasites of our society....those in the top .01% reap the wealth made on the backs of the poor....and they are getting wealthier every day.

In two days last week...multi billionaire Sheldon Adelson made more than $2 billion dollars.....in two days. Can you even imagine that much wealth? He is worth more than $40 billion already....how much does one man need?

The answer of course....is MORE....always MORE. In order for him...and people like him to accumulate this wealth...you CANNOT.

Yes, there are a lot of homeless people in the streets and we can't help them all

This is simply not true....what does it benefit a society to spend billions upon billions of dollars to build machines that bring death....when the people it is meant to protect starve and live in the streets?

You can measure a society by it's priorities....and in our case...death and destruction is far more important than the comfort and well being of it's people, or building a better world for those that come after us.

Where are we going as a society, I wonder?

Deep down inside...if you look at it honestly....I think you know....and it nowhere good.

I once had a job driving a taxi. One night, Timmy another cabbie and myself were parked in an alley shooting the breeze, waiting for night to fall and the bars to start rocking.

Out of the shadows a homeless dude approached us. Timmy was smoking, and the guy asked him for a cigarette. He gladly gave him a smoke, then lit it for him. Feeling sympathetic for the old salt, I handed him five dollars, then Timmy handed him five dollars as well.

There was something different about this dude, something mysterious. As he enjoyed his smoke he wandered over and touched the hood of my cab, then he touched the hood Timmy's cab, almost like a ritual.

What happened next, I'll never forget. Within a few minutes Timmy got a call from a group of eight people who needed a ride, that meant four in his cab and four in mine. We picked them up at a hotel, and dropped them off at a bar. Nothing really unusual, except unknown to both of us a dance of strange synchronicities, had just begun.

My phone rang, his phone rang, and we both drove off in different directions. All night long the phone kept ringing. The fares, the tips, the timing, the good people, the friendly ladies, the laughter, the adrenaline, the adventure, the pockets stuffed with cash, the night charmed unlike any other.

Then at about 3 in the morning Timmy called. He sounded excited as he asked me how things were going. I told him the I couldn't believe what was happening. There was silence, then he said he couldn't believe it either. We were both having identical experiences. I said it had to be some kind of magic spell, passed on by the homeless dude. He completely agreed.

There are so many things besides the money that flowed so freely that night, there was a sense of total euphoria, there were things that were learned. I think back and wonder, was this homeless guy an angel in disguise, was the universe watching, was this a reward that Timmy and I received that night for offering a human being in need some unconditional love?

reply to post by cosmicexplorer


Our family business used to work with the local rehabilitation center for ex-felons in getting some of these guys jobs. Back then, not a whole lot of people would hire an ex-felon and that tends to leave them with one of two options: 1. go homeless and beg or 2. more criminal acts. We paid them above the minimum wage as well and for some, hooked them up with temporary housing. That was a long time ago and, given the job market, I can well imagine that even fewer get employed these days compared to back then.

I used to do the same thing when I was living downtown. I'd sit down and talk with them. The stories that I heard were so varied. Only one guy actually loved his life. The rest just had really bad turns (the ones that went out of their minds didn't talk much). I know exactly how you feel about giving them a $1 or a coffee is just putting a bandaid on the greater issues. I was a big dreamer and what I wanted to do, if I ever became obscenely wealthy, was set up a trade school type of program to help those homeless that wanted to get off the streets off the streets. Give them a place to live, get cleaned up both inwardly and outwardly if need be, train them and supply them with clothes. Probably never will get to do it but the dream is still there. I do have a story on that one though where I did have the opportunity to help a homeless man once in a meaningful way. Found out through sheer and strange synchronicity that my little move changed his life for the better and he was off the streets. Makes me smile just knowing I changed somebody's life like that. It's a good feeling.

reply to post by WhiteAlice


Thats an excellent story...im a disabled vet and a quit my job a year ago...im sort of retired...live off the disability and the money I saved...I rarely spent anything...it made me realize I didnt need much since I never bought much....

I probably spend more time doing stuff for vets than I do anyone else. I think the VA does a great job if you ask for help but there are still so many gaps in the system.

I was considering moving off grid but now Im leaning much more to leaving the country and oddly Id like to hit somewhere really poor where I could help out and continue to live simply....there are so many places so much worse off. Its kind of weird this is how the world is when we totally have the ability to help out.

Oh well...thx for what you do man.

reply to post by cosmicexplorer


That's awesome, cosmicexplorer. I think it's really great when people from all walks of life do these acts of just epic wonderfulness. It's hope inducing. I ran into a man a couple months ago and started chit chatting with him. He was a neurosurgeon and he and his wife worked only half the year. Spent the other half of the year working in different countries to provide free medical services. He could've stuck around to work year round to rake it all in but they did that instead. I thought that was really cool and was so glad that I started up that random conversation. Traveling the world and making a positive impact--what's not to love? I like your idea.

We have a family member who was acquired years ago. He was a vet who was found sleeping on the floor of a shack. My dad took him in and gave him a room in his mansion along with the mini-kitchen nearby on that floor. We had a scare a bit ago where we thought he was going to lose both of his legs but he got a really good VA doc who had an observant eye. He's my favorite family member. Hell, I love the guy more than I do my own father, LOL. As far as my dad goes, he's deplorable but I get my big heart from him, definitely. He does do really good things from time to time. I'm glad that he picked up our new family member and that he knows he IS family.