The new divide...

When you see a homeless person, or see someone as a lesser, don’t think: “Get a job!” Think “How did you get here?” If you heard their stories you would soon find that we are all victims of our own circumstances. That is to say, shat happens. You could be in those shoes if things went bad in your life. You could have gone from a wine drinker to an alchy. You could have gone from rich to begging. Imagine the personal sacrifices some of these people make. They sacrifice everything to get by, but they still end up homeless. This could be you.

Some people are at the top of the world. Remember that your comfortable life could be debased in seconds. It can happen to anyone, so have compassion. Don’t just donate money, donate your time to get to know the way in which people end up homeless. If you are that secure in your job, try to help out others.

At the very least be nice. Realize the world isn’t work oriented. It is greed oriented. Be humble. Know you’re a second away from disaster, and some of these people you meet already met their own. Don’t look down on others for things not in their control.

We are all narcissistic. Even self conscious people are narcissistic. We care too much about how we look, and shun others for doing the same thing. This is true for a lot of homeless people as well. Imagine the shame they feel begging.

This can be expanded farther into day to day lives. Everyone else is crazy and you are sane. You are right, you know it! You have a lot invested in this ride, so screw the riders. You am the operator darn it. It is never that simple. We all back-stab and talk trash. It is hurtful. We lie, cheat and steal on a daily basis…but when we do it, it is justifiable. It is right. Not so fast. We never consider others opinions or feelings. It is simply drama. It is what moves us nowadays. We can’t take 5 seconds to consider our own words. It has been driving me nuts for years…

We all separate ourselves into simple terms and simple rules. It is never that simple. We make up new rules to shun people we don't agree with. We constantly avoid the REAL issues by making up rules to follow.

Eventually the truth needs to be talked about, but are you willing to participate? Are you willing to listen and be empathetic? I doubt it. Go back to facebook and join a club or play a game....nothing to see here.

The new divide is one we created. We deserve this because it is what we wanted. Get ready for when things change, because they must. That will be an eye opener. Life cannot continue this way in my opinion.

Yeah, you could do all of those things. You could be the greatest...but you don't want to. We are no longer willing to try in this world. You can do it all if you want, but you wont. You will just sit there and type and hope you get a star and flag.

Peace.

reply to post by adraves

When you see a homeless person, or see someone as a lesser, don’t think: “Get a job!” Think “How did you get here?” If you heard their stories you would soon find that we are all victims of our own circumstances. That is to say, shat happens. You could be in those shoes if things went bad in your life. You could have gone from a wine drinker to an alchy. You could have gone from rich to begging. Imagine the personal sacrifices some of these people make. They sacrifice everything to get by, but they still end up homeless. This could be you.

You see and understand this and I see and understand this. But what about those who don't. What about those who, though they have moved beyond the "get a job" attitude to the "how did you get here" question and then answer it with enough shallow answers to justify their original bias of superiority. I'm stumped.

I have wondered the same thing after seeing dozens of homeless people every day for years - that could have been me.
Percentage-wise, most homeless people have addiction problems of either drugs or alcohol. Diseases that are treatable but where services are too costly to afford for most who fall in to the trap.
Then we have all the vets who can't seem to readjust to society, which is a failure of both the military and the VA.

Many of American families have become dysfunctional and fragmented.
Too many people have no family left to turn to.

Originally posted by TerryMcGuire
You see and understand this and I see and understand this. But what about those who don't. What about those who, though they have moved beyond the "get a job" attitude to the "how did you get here" question and then answer it with enough shallow answers to justify their original bias of superiority. I'm stumped.

Well that is the problem of the ages isn't it. We all see others as inferior goods. We have the newest toys which makes everyone else dumb and inferior. It is shortsighted. It is wrong.

I don' t think there is a simple answer, but I do believe we have all been living above our means to support this propaganda for too long. Eventually things will really collapse, and we will see that we can be happy with a lot less.

You cannot fix these people. Only experience can. There time will come. I think we are on the verge of a new hippie movement. Collapse will cause it and force many to see happiness and love all around them. I don't like a lot of hippies, but I prefer it to angry kids looting aka london.

Originally posted by Asktheanimals
I have wondered the same thing after seeing dozens of homeless people every day for years - that could have been me.
Percentage-wise, most homeless people have addiction problems of either drugs or alcohol. Diseases that are treatable but where services are too costly to afford for most who fall in to the trap.
Then we have all the vets who can't seem to readjust to society, which is a failure of both the military and the VA.

Many of American families have become dysfunctional and fragmented.
Too many people have no family left to turn to.

I really like your post...hrm. Many of the homeless people have addiction problems. True. How many people employed have addictions that just aren't diagnosed however? This goes back to it could be you. You could have a mild/minimal addiction and forces outside your control could push you over the edge. That is why I brought up wine. It is the rich/sophisticated persons crutch. If they found themselves homeless they would turn to harder booze fast. I have seen it. Addiction is everywhere, it always has been. We all find something that gets us away from true thought. Motivation for school and a career could be seen as an addiction even-avoid everything else to succeed and get paid. Great, you are doing something, but you are acting like a robot. You aren't really contributing anything.

Yes disease is another trap. I have seen it too. I have known people on disability who couldn't support a marriage because they received cut benefits. This led to divorce. Which led to them both being worse off.

Government help isn't the answer. You need social help. We need to act for the greater good in our own circles to begin with. Some people don't deserve it. Some do. Why can't we decide on it? The community level will know if the person is a lush, and they need to go to rehab before benefits.

Of course many of these people have families to turn to. They help. Many are not so lucky. Those are the ones we see on the streets. They have no one to turn to. That could be you as well if your family up and died on you. this is the worst for introverts because they completely rely on family, but they might not be there.