- Joined
- Jun 12, 2010
- Messages
- 945
- Reaction score
- 40
'Angry at society'? That is just an ignorant comment. Think about that for a second.....somebody who feels a responsibility towards society, the world they live in, and wants to change it for the better is 'angry at society'? That's not even slightly logical. It's more likely that those who DON'T CARE about the world they live in, who DON'T want to HELP those who need it like the homeless, are the ones that are truly 'angry at society'. Not to mention lazy and heartless. I will be damned if I am just going to sit around and do nothing about the world I live in while shaking my fingers at others and feeling above those who have not had the same opportunities I have had. Unfortunately, that is the attitude of the bulk of people I have met in my life. That it is not THEIR responsibility to do anything about ANYTHING. Not about the homeless guys or women on the street, or anything else that they sit and whine about. Like the 'crime rate', which is something everybody whines about. Yet they are not willing to do anything about the 'crime rate' themselves, like get to know their neighbors, show some responsibility towards any child they know is being abused and report the abuser, show some responsibility to even just the area they live in. Can you imagine how different the world would be if all of us even just showed a little more caring and responsibiltiy towards the people that live *just* on our block? It's not much effort to put out. If we all did that, there would be a massive change in society overall. The crime rate alone would drop drastically, just if we all took that one small step, output a little bit of effort, and changed our attitudes. But the fact is, most people do not care about anything past the end of their own noses. They can't be bothered. They can't be botheredTTmT
As for the homeless, panhandlers, etc putting women at risk for rape etc, that is a crock of sh*t. I can't even believe you are claiming that LMFAO It is widely known that women/girls in general are FAR MORE at risk to be raped or sexually abused by their own family members, friends, acquaintances, even men they work with, than they are from stragglers on the street. Even homeless women on the street are more at risk of being raped NOT by men on the street, but from those WITH homes that go trolling around looking for victims. You say you looked at my profile, so you should know I myself was on the street through no fault of my own at the age of 13, and I have also worked with street kids organizations, HIV organizations and women's organizations in the past and know the facts regarding rape statistics. Try volunteering for a rape organization and find out for yourself what the reality is. I have seen life from both ends, living as one of the homeless and also having a home, so I think I have a great deal more experience and knowledge about it than you do. When I was posed with the opportunity, I chose to drag myself out of that, but cannot judge those who have not been able to. Everybody has a different background and every person has had different chances in their lives, or lack thereof. I consider myself lucky, because I was able to do that with a lot of hard work. Some others are never able to do it, through no fault of their own, no matter how hard they work. As for your friend who claims they 'followed' a homeless guy to his supposed 'home', how could they possibly know if that was even the guy's home? Did they ask him? Just because I walk into a house doesn't make it MY home. That story sounds like a complete lie to me, one which I have heard many times over from many different people who were making yet more excuses for NOT helping the homeless. A total crock. Sure thing, the guy is actually an undercover millionaire that has nothing better to do than panhandle on the street. Don't be so naive and quick to believe everything you hear second-hand.
As for having alcoholics in the family, I have tonnes of them. Russians love their booze, that's for damn sure. My father died from alcoholism when I was very young and even my mother is still a drunken monkey at the age of 65. I also have many other family members who have used alcohol as a crutch their entire life, such as my sister. Who also happens to be addicted to crack and has been for many years. Once again, I am sheerly *lucky* I do not have an issue with drugs or alcohol, especially with the kind of family I grew up with and the many addicts and abusers that were around me from the time of birth.
As for you saying you CHOOSE not to be homeless, what a laugh. Really? Have you even had to make that choice? Somebody said to you 'You can choose to whom you want to be born, what kind of parents you will have, where in the world you will be born, and the chances you may or may not have throughout your life?' Really?? Do you really think that people on the street were given the CHOICE to be homeless or NOT and they CHOSE to be HOMELESS? What a ridiculous 'theory'. You just happened to get a little luckier than other people and happen to have had better opportunities than people you consider to be lower than you are in your mind. As I said, you may think you 'choose' not to be on the street, homeless. That to me is simply amusing. As I also said, we are all just one personal tragedy away from being on the street ourselves. After spending time with friends in small villages in 3rd world or developing countries, people who can only buy enough food from day to day to feed their kids if they are lucky, I quickly realized that it was just sheer luck on my part that I was not born into the same world they were. I had absolutely nothing to do with it. Not one of us is in a position to judge why those people are there or how they got there. We are, however, in a position to find that out, to take the time to talk to them and to try to be kind to those who are not as lucky as we are. I have taken the time to talk to people are homeless, and have found out that all have had very different life paths and all have ended up there for different reasons. I meet just as many ignorant people who have university educations as there are ignorant people living on the street. As a matter of fact, some of the people I have talked to on the street HAVE university educations, and ended up homeless due to many different factors. I also have a friend in Vancouver whose daughter was murdered some years back, who was doing quite good for himself and was always working making more money than your average Canadian, and ended up homeless after she was killed. He was bipolar to begin with, and his daughter's murder sent him into a massive spiral of depression. One of the nicest guys I have met in my life, wouldn't hurt a fly. He had ONE personal tragedy that nearly destroyed his entire life. Can you even imagine having your own daughter brutally murdered? He had a complete and total pschological breakdown as a result, was unable to work or function even somewhat normally on a day to day basis, ended up on the street because the CRAP CANADIAN system completely failed him. I was born in Canada and have done quite a bit of traveling outside of this country, so there is no need for you to tell me about Canada, thanks. This country and the society in this country both fail its citizens on so many levels it disgusts me. Luckily for him, he met my best friend from childhood who isn't ignornant and discriminatory towards the homeless, and they ended up getting into a relationship about 7 years ago. They moved in together, his bipolar state stabilized as a result, they got married, and he is now working and not homeless any longer. Had he not met her, or somebody else that got to know him as a person and who showed care, concern and HUMANITY towards him, there is no way to know where he would be now. He very well may have been one of the many DEAD homeless.
Unless you have had to live a homeless person's life from birth, step by step and year by year, and deal with their own personal tragedies, you cannot possibly, smugly, say 'I wouldn't have chosen that for myself. I am better than them'. You have NO IDEA where you would have wound up if you would have had to deal with what they have. I have nothing else to say about this as it is pointless to try and change anybody's way of thinking who really doesn't care about the world around them. They will continue to think in the same screwed up, selfish manner and make the same excuses for not caring OR helping. In this case, *I* can't be bothered. My own time is better spent cleaning my toilet, really.
As for the homeless, panhandlers, etc putting women at risk for rape etc, that is a crock of sh*t. I can't even believe you are claiming that LMFAO It is widely known that women/girls in general are FAR MORE at risk to be raped or sexually abused by their own family members, friends, acquaintances, even men they work with, than they are from stragglers on the street. Even homeless women on the street are more at risk of being raped NOT by men on the street, but from those WITH homes that go trolling around looking for victims. You say you looked at my profile, so you should know I myself was on the street through no fault of my own at the age of 13, and I have also worked with street kids organizations, HIV organizations and women's organizations in the past and know the facts regarding rape statistics. Try volunteering for a rape organization and find out for yourself what the reality is. I have seen life from both ends, living as one of the homeless and also having a home, so I think I have a great deal more experience and knowledge about it than you do. When I was posed with the opportunity, I chose to drag myself out of that, but cannot judge those who have not been able to. Everybody has a different background and every person has had different chances in their lives, or lack thereof. I consider myself lucky, because I was able to do that with a lot of hard work. Some others are never able to do it, through no fault of their own, no matter how hard they work. As for your friend who claims they 'followed' a homeless guy to his supposed 'home', how could they possibly know if that was even the guy's home? Did they ask him? Just because I walk into a house doesn't make it MY home. That story sounds like a complete lie to me, one which I have heard many times over from many different people who were making yet more excuses for NOT helping the homeless. A total crock. Sure thing, the guy is actually an undercover millionaire that has nothing better to do than panhandle on the street. Don't be so naive and quick to believe everything you hear second-hand.
As for having alcoholics in the family, I have tonnes of them. Russians love their booze, that's for damn sure. My father died from alcoholism when I was very young and even my mother is still a drunken monkey at the age of 65. I also have many other family members who have used alcohol as a crutch their entire life, such as my sister. Who also happens to be addicted to crack and has been for many years. Once again, I am sheerly *lucky* I do not have an issue with drugs or alcohol, especially with the kind of family I grew up with and the many addicts and abusers that were around me from the time of birth.
As for you saying you CHOOSE not to be homeless, what a laugh. Really? Have you even had to make that choice? Somebody said to you 'You can choose to whom you want to be born, what kind of parents you will have, where in the world you will be born, and the chances you may or may not have throughout your life?' Really?? Do you really think that people on the street were given the CHOICE to be homeless or NOT and they CHOSE to be HOMELESS? What a ridiculous 'theory'. You just happened to get a little luckier than other people and happen to have had better opportunities than people you consider to be lower than you are in your mind. As I said, you may think you 'choose' not to be on the street, homeless. That to me is simply amusing. As I also said, we are all just one personal tragedy away from being on the street ourselves. After spending time with friends in small villages in 3rd world or developing countries, people who can only buy enough food from day to day to feed their kids if they are lucky, I quickly realized that it was just sheer luck on my part that I was not born into the same world they were. I had absolutely nothing to do with it. Not one of us is in a position to judge why those people are there or how they got there. We are, however, in a position to find that out, to take the time to talk to them and to try to be kind to those who are not as lucky as we are. I have taken the time to talk to people are homeless, and have found out that all have had very different life paths and all have ended up there for different reasons. I meet just as many ignorant people who have university educations as there are ignorant people living on the street. As a matter of fact, some of the people I have talked to on the street HAVE university educations, and ended up homeless due to many different factors. I also have a friend in Vancouver whose daughter was murdered some years back, who was doing quite good for himself and was always working making more money than your average Canadian, and ended up homeless after she was killed. He was bipolar to begin with, and his daughter's murder sent him into a massive spiral of depression. One of the nicest guys I have met in my life, wouldn't hurt a fly. He had ONE personal tragedy that nearly destroyed his entire life. Can you even imagine having your own daughter brutally murdered? He had a complete and total pschological breakdown as a result, was unable to work or function even somewhat normally on a day to day basis, ended up on the street because the CRAP CANADIAN system completely failed him. I was born in Canada and have done quite a bit of traveling outside of this country, so there is no need for you to tell me about Canada, thanks. This country and the society in this country both fail its citizens on so many levels it disgusts me. Luckily for him, he met my best friend from childhood who isn't ignornant and discriminatory towards the homeless, and they ended up getting into a relationship about 7 years ago. They moved in together, his bipolar state stabilized as a result, they got married, and he is now working and not homeless any longer. Had he not met her, or somebody else that got to know him as a person and who showed care, concern and HUMANITY towards him, there is no way to know where he would be now. He very well may have been one of the many DEAD homeless.
Unless you have had to live a homeless person's life from birth, step by step and year by year, and deal with their own personal tragedies, you cannot possibly, smugly, say 'I wouldn't have chosen that for myself. I am better than them'. You have NO IDEA where you would have wound up if you would have had to deal with what they have. I have nothing else to say about this as it is pointless to try and change anybody's way of thinking who really doesn't care about the world around them. They will continue to think in the same screwed up, selfish manner and make the same excuses for not caring OR helping. In this case, *I* can't be bothered. My own time is better spent cleaning my toilet, really.