So you be the judge and jury, ProgressiveUers...maybe I'm getting cold. Today I musta passed at least ten homeless kids on the streets on my way to Powell's bookstore to buy a couple of used books; and all of those people I passed either got a "no" headshake to the plea for "spare change," or I just hurried by and refused to make eye contact. Most of the homeless I passed today where "kids," people apprioximately my age and cute in all of their gutterpunkness...at one time in my life, it would have been impossible for me to just pass them by and not at least say "hi" or give them the little change I did have. But lately (especially since taking jobs at a couple of shelters,) I have no problem out and out lying to these kids, saying "nope don't have anything," even right after I've cashed my check and have pockets stuffed with hundreds of dollars.
And yet, tonight while walking home with groceries, when a raggedy, stray cat jumped out of the bushes at me and began to follow me, begging for food, I could not refuse. I stopped, tore open a package of ground turkey and fed apprioximately the amount of one turkey burger to the hungry cat. I coaxed her down the street, fantisizing she'd follow me all the way home and be mine; I even gave her a name: Lyria Moonbeam. So you see, ProgressiveUers, it seems I have more sympathy lately for a hungry cat then a hungry human...is there something wrong with that? Lyria Moonbeam ate everything I gave her and then ran away; I knew the instant she turned away from me that I shouldn't have been so naive...of course an alleycat like her would "eat and run." And I know that most of the "homeless" in Portland are essentually "alleycats," as well, gutterpunks who wander the Earth, looking for adventure and bands to obsess over. But does that mean they deserve my money, my food and my time any less then Miss Lyria Moonbeam? Are they any less important then any of my more stantionary friends? Is it wrong to ignore their pleas?
I'm still mulling all of this over...I'm glad at least one group of begging punks I saw had drawn a marijuana leaf and a beer can on their scrap of cardboard...I admire honesty.
Love ya,
Carrot
No need to feel guilty!
Certain things we encounter in this world are out of balance because of circumstances that have deteriorated.
The fact that you care for the cat is great, you carry a great heart so don’t worry to much about it.
Give when you can, and when you feel like it!
Take care,
I think our society has defined what we are to do with the homeless: don't give them anything. I think it's hard to distinguish the honest from the dishonest; we never really know who is going to go get the drugs, or who really is in need.
Guilt is apart of it because sometimes you wonder if that man really needed your money?
What I do now, though, is, if i have any food on my, i give it to them. Also, i give through a charity that buys socks, and clothes, and blankets for the homeless. This way i know that my money won't be used for alcohol or drugs.
Livin Ma life like its GOLDEN!
I made up my mind around these things during my travels upon the African continent.
When walking the streets It was hard to see all these street kids that had empty bellies, although at first I gave something, I had to change this in order not to get sick about it!
Once you start giving, you get overwhelmed by more kids and the expressions on their faces are not fake.
Today I only give to disabled people.
On an other occasion, when I was on my way from Mpulungu to Ujiji on a pack boat on lake Tanganyika, I had a friendly talk with a priest, he was asking me out and although he had never been in my country he knew lot’s of things, which was kind of funny, especially when you find yourself in the middle of nowhere on a lake surrounded by faces you have never ever seen of your life.
When I started to ask him some questions, he told me he was on his way to Kigoma to attend a religious meeting with ten nuns that accompanied him. They already had been travelling for 2 weeks of which the last three days they did not eat anything, the little money they had was hardly enough to pay for the voyage.
I invited them all for dinner that same day, when around 17:00h we all gathered on top of the pack boat to have dinner In an open air dining space, the image was incredible.
If you can picture yourself sitting at a table with ten nuns on a lake, with a display of such natural beauty that surrounds everything you see, is quite an amazing emotion that affects any sane person.
We had amazing laughs together and spend talking about whatever topic came to present itself.
When two days later we arrived in the port of Ujiji, they had written a letter to thank me for this kind gesture, a complete fiction story about how they had experienced our gathering spread upon 3 pages written in French.
I still recall that day, to have been one filled with a priceless joy!
Although I had given 10 lousy US$$ enabling them to continue their journey, never any of them had approached me to ask for more, I would pay any price in order to live that day again.
Money is the saddest thing humanity ever brought into our evolution, I know it sounds like craziness, but we would all function and have much better lives without it!
Money sucks, lol