(copied from a conversation I had with a friend)

“omg

u know what happened the other day?

in the metro, yesterday

at the metro platform, a homeless man asked each person individually for money, and a nice man said, ‘i dnt have money, but i can give you food,’

and he was like, “yea man, that would be so nice”

and then the nice man searched all over his tote bag and hands him a pastry nicely saran wrapped

the homeless man takes it and continues to hassle others for money

then he walked right by me and dropped the pastry

right in front of the nice man”

 

 

 

So how, may I ask, can one stay compassionate to the homeless when they see things like this? Not to generalize, and understanding that homelessness is a complex issue that will not be solved with sandwhiches. And no, a simple smile and hello won’t solve a guy’s drug addiction and overall mentality. Don’t fool yourself.  Maybe some people are hopeless, maybe some others are not. Maybe some need +$1,000,000,000 in therapy. Maybe some just need time. Maybe we need laws that are more fair to prevent people spiraling down like this. It all comes down to patience, resources, and more compassion. Also, many might not agree with me, but it is better to give your food and money to anti-poverty organizations like the United Way that have a professional staff that are better equipped to deal with this issue.