Today in Washington DC ... [updated]

Originally posted by schrodingers dog
reply to post by IHIPrelude94

 

Perhaps all that you say is correct ... like I said earlier she was aware this day was coming. But in all honesty, though it was heartbreaking to see, she wasn't the primary reason I wrote this thread.

Let's for the sake of argument take her presence out of the equation ... there's still something rather disturbing, and inherently surreal, in seeing well to do adults getting in a feeding primordial frenzy over stuff laying about on the sidewalk. At least for me that made a lasting impression. Perhaps I am naive.

I understand what you're saying and I can see how it would be shocking to you. I agree, let's take her presence out of the equation.

I drive a 2007 Honda Fit (looks brand freakin' new... well, it's only 1.5 years old so it pretty much is... lol), however, I'm currently unemployed (since June 16th), and our only income is approximately 15000/yr from my wife working part time while attending school. One who looks at my car could be brought to say "Wow, that guy's well off... why is he taking those things off of the curb?"

Well... even though people are rolling up in their 15-20 year old BMW 7-series (like I said... easily had for under $8000 due to the age), they may be on hard times as well. If there are a bunch of REALLY nice items sitting out by the curb, I would think "Garbage" or "Fair Game"

It's not as if these people broke into her home and stole from her... The stuff was sitting on the curb. Like I said, if I'm driving home, and see a really nice coffee table or picture frame that might need a sanding and some stain, or a lamp that just needs to be re-wired I'll pull over in a heartbeat, throw it in my nice car and drive off. I'm broke... I don't have $200 to drop on a coffee table but I do have $15 to drop on sandpaper and stain. I don't have $30-50 for a lamp, but I do have $5 for a cord. I might be able to use it, or resell it, or toss my old items on the curb so someone else less fortunate can grab and use them.

Honestly, I don't see anything wrong with that. All of these people COULD have been mistaken, and we have no right to judge them or say that they're criminals or somehow inferior for taking items off of a street corner.

I understand a poor old lady crying on the side of the road while people take her stuff is a sad picture, and I don't blame you for trying to help her. That's a very admirable thing to do and I commend you for that. You're a great person!

However, I don't think that if I was in your situation (even though I would most likely do the same thing that you did), I would feel overly sorry for her... I mean... we agree, she HAD to have seen this coming, and obviously has a network of friends and family to fall back on. I don't think you're that naive, I just think that you need to look at it from the other side too.

I'm not trying to derail your thread and I think what you did is awesome. Just trying to point out the flip side here





[edit on 1-10-2009 by IHIPrelude94]

Damn. Disgusting and heartbreaking. Star and flag I hope as many people read this as humanly possible. Woe be onto us.

reply to post by IHIPrelude94


and just for your info some of us are calling this disgusting not necessarily taht people like you took the stuff on the curb which as you said may be is fine, but the fact that no one seemed to try to help the lady that was crying hysterically on the curb. Not one soul apparently tried to help her or ask her if she needs anything etc...

Damn... My mother and I live on $1000 a month and I would never think of going through other peoples stuff to take/steal stuff. Then I see these people with nice cars and look like they are doing just fine in life going through all that stuff for probably like $10 worth of stuff just makes me lose faith.

Originally posted by rufusdrak
reply to post by IHIPrelude94

 

and just for your info some of us are calling this disgusting not necessarily taht people like you took the stuff on the curb which as you said may be is fine, but the fact that no one seemed to try to help the lady that was crying hysterically on the curb. Not one soul apparently tried to help her or ask her if she needs anything etc...

Yes, I understand what you're saying, you don't need to tell me again. As I mentioned, I don't necessarily feel bad for people that fail to prepare for something like this seeing it coming 45-60 days down the road especially when it sounds like they have a great support structure.

Also, how are you and the OP (not trying to single you out), to know that any of those other people didn't stop to ask her if anything was wrong before the OP showed up? Could they have asked and she replied "I'm alright, don't worry about it"? I mean... she seemed to be neglecting to tell her loved ones, friends, and family that she was in financial trouble... could she have been so head strong as to tell other people (that she didn't even know, mind you) that it was even her stuff? We just don't know... I know a lot of people from the Great Generation often feel that way because they rarely ask for anything to be handed to them (including help, as illustrated by this woman and actions towards her friends)

I know it's silly to feel that everyone would have stopped to ask, but it's also silly to assume that NOBODY but the OP did. I also mentioned that the Washington D.C.P.D. failed in their job of serving and protecting here... They should have made sure that she was OK before ditching her on the curb like her belongings.

Anyway, I'm off to bed. Thanks for the thread OP, and I think your actions are very admirable.

~Peace

Originally posted by paranoiaFTW
Damn... My mother and I live on $1000 a month and I would never think of going through other peoples stuff to take/steal stuff. Then I see these people with nice cars and look like they are doing just fine in life going through all that stuff for probably like $10 worth of stuff just makes me lose faith.

The BMW is a BMW but it's 15+ years old... not exactly the $98,000 7-Series you'd buy new today... One of my friends bought a 5-Series that age for about $5,000 in college... they're not exactly expensive when they're a 15+ yrs old.

I also wouldn't say it makes me lose faith either... Like I said, how were these people even to know what was going on? Do we know the lady had been there the whole time? Did she show up minutes before the OP showed up and that's why she crying or nobody asked? Maybe she came home and all of her things were on the curb in shambles... but again, it's not like she didn't see this coming a month or two down the road...

I don't make a lot of money but if someone throws something nice out and it's sitting there on a bright sunny day... Heck, I'll grab it. "One man's trash is another man's treasure" right?

reply to post by IHIPrelude94


If you look at the first picture again you'll see a new BMW 3 series in front of the older one.

But like I said in the OP, I took these pictures when I came back a half an hour later. You're just going to have to take my word for it, or not, that when I first got there it was full of other vehicles like that.

your one of the good ones SD.
god to hear she'll have at least SOME options.

i'm so not surprised at the vultures... i watched a friend of mine in college get outed on the street, and someone took the only picture of her dad she had while she was in class. came home to find all of her stuff on the front lawn.

society is a worthless bag of crap.

S&F

If this is not the end of society, good sense, principles, education, caring, sharing and anything else you can add, I don't know what this is.

Looking forward to 2012 to see if this ends for good.

Washington, DC huh?

I bet at least one of those thieving, heartless scumbags was a Senator.

This is exactly what you have created, with your total love for money, your stupid capitalism. What you have create is a nation of sleepers with total disregard for nature or human or animal life. The only and that is the only thing you care about is YOU YOU YOU and your money. All in the line of the plan from the diabolic illuminati. They are pleased with you all i`m sure.

We need a new system. CAPITALISM must die. It is not durable bring em all down.
Same 0.0006 % still own everything in this world and will continue to do so as long as WE DON`T wake up and takem down from their precious throne.

And i am NOT saying any other rule is better in anyway, just that capitalism is the sole responsible perpetrator of the worst disgusting things that happen around the globe especially in the third world.

Star and flag my friend,
a big well done and a thank you from me for not doing what everyone else did.
The extent in which you went to help this poor unfortunate woman still gives me hope in showing there is good people out there.

I will definitely favorite this thread. Not surprising though. Humans are animals and our most basic nature and passions is not goodness or compassion at all but pure evil. It takes change to be compassionate and caring and a good person overall. It takes nothing to be evil and small-minded enough to be possessed by material things. I personally would have bought some guns and got my friends and guard the lady' stuff - help her out. What is even a bigger surprise is that you won't see this type of stuff on the news.

Wow alot of people have no regard to anyone, i think what you did to help this lady is pure love and care which is hard to come by these days. when i hear of people helping other like this i almost get jealous. I know this sounds strange but really sometimes i wish i could find myself in a situation like this to help someone which u get much joy from. I cant really believe the fact that we live in such a nasty and evil world my life dont feel like living when i see so many suffering, what i mean by this its hard to really enjoy you life when there so many suffering around the globe im only 27 and since i was younger i have always felt the need to do something big to make a change but really dont know how to go about it?. I hate the way people only care about there own children, when there is so many children out there who have nothing. I have 3 kids of my own 2 boys and a girl the first boy was already born when i met my partner and i have bought him up as my own. his real dad was not that interested. any thoughts let me know cheers

S&F for you. I have little words for this heartbreaking story. Thanks for sharing this here.

You would never see that happening in Australia. Here, we have laws governing how long a person can be given to collect their stuff when evicted from a house. The only time you EVER see peoples stuff on the side of the road is if it has been put out there by the resident deliberately for someone else to take. We have what we call "Council Cleanup" every few months - it's a time to get rid of all your old junk but there is an unwritten agreement between ALL Aussies that if it's out on the side of the road for cleanup, it's fair game.

Back to the point though, tenants in Australia are given a minimum of 48 hours from eviction in order to collect and secure their stuff. If the stuff is not collected, if it is in a rental home it becomes the owners property or if it's a mortgage home it goes to government auction.

[edit on 2/10/2009 by Kryties]

Cracking read.

i don't think i've EVER seen that occur in the UK.

on my way into work i often walk past a charity shop (Oxfam)

People leave loads of stuff at the front door and no one touches it !

Plus in the UK as an EX tenant my self we have quite a lot of rights.......

It would take quite a bit to shift someone.

And Generally landlords are fairly reasonable in the uk

I honestly can't see a UK landlord shifting a 60 year old women out onto the street.

No matter what.

reply to post by Jamesy_boy


Agreed, same here in Australia. That doesn't mean there aren't bastards out there who would evict an old lady in this fashion but here they are few and far between.

"The Indians in their simplicity literally give away all that they have--to relatives, to guests of other tribes or clans, but above all to the poor and the aged, from whom they can hope for no return. "

"It was our belief that the love of possessions is a weakness to be overcome. Its appeal is to the material part, and if allowed its way, it will in time disturb one's spiritual balance. Therefore, children must early learn the beauty of generosity. They are taught to give what they prize most, that they may taste the happiness of giving."

Ohiyesa (Charles Alexander Eastman) - Wahpeton Santee Sioux

----

The realm of me and mine

"As that word mine indicates, ownership implies an attachment of things to self. The more we own, the more we are. The constellation of me and mine grows. But no matter how large the discrete and separate self grows, it is still far smaller than the self of the hunter-gatherer. The pre-separation mind is able to affirm, all at once and without contradiction, "I am this body," "I am this tribe," "I am the jungle," "I am the world." No matter how much of the jungle we control, we are smaller than the one who knows, "I am the jungle." No matter how dominant we are socially, we are far less than one who knows, "I am my tribe." And far less secure, too, because all of these appendages to our tiny separate selves may be easily sundered from us. We are therefore perpetually and irremediably insecure. We go to great lengths to protect all these accessories of identity, our possessions and money and reputations, and when our house is burglarized, our wallet stolen, or our reputation besmirched, we feel as if our very selves have been violated. "

---

Do not simply say "bad people". The system in which they were born is not inert. It also influences them. This system is built into our reality. It creates people who can't think for themselves, are bored to death if they go 1 minute without some "entertainment" and most importantly - this system encourages the growth of the "ego". Me, mine, "I".
It can be seen very clearly - see the quote above, the non thinking for themselves people only know: "the more we own, the more we are" - and those people with their BMW taking stuff.

The "us" still appears everywhere and tries to develop, but the machine cuts it short :

The machine in our heads
Against History, Against Leviathan!

Some say egoism, lying and so on, developed trough "evolution". "The struggle to survive". Wrong I say. Exactly for this reason - to make life easier - people lived in groups/tribes as friends, and you can't be in a group/tribe and have these "qualities". The tribe is not something imposed. It's a natural form - evolved trough millions of years of humans seeking happiness. It maintains itself.
Unlike "civilized society". Imposed. You need laws and police and schools to maintain this.



[edit on 2-10-2009 by pai mei]

Mod Edit: Replace italic formatting with EX (external source) tags.

[edit on 2-10-2009 by Gemwolf]