Homeless reader responds to ‘The Real Plight of the Homeless told by the Homeless’

Latest

 
Editor’s note: Don Blumenthal comments on the Mike Zint story, ‘The Real Plight of the Homeless Told by the Homeless’ in the April, 2017 edition of the People’s Tribune. Don says it is the “closest I’ve found to my own experience homeless, and what I’ve written. Who cares what happens here and why we ended up here? Forgotten or abandoned . . . it’s all the same . . . devastating to the mind, body, and the spirit.”
By Don Blumenthal
It’s back to the Dirt for Don. Things change fast when compassion fades and contempt sets in. We hope, at least I hope, that my presence is appreciated wherever I am, and that my assistance with household repairs, or improving a procedure, enhances rather than restricting someone’s day to day living. Apparently, it’s never enuf.
So, I’m looking for a space just to be again. A spot somewhere within walking distance to a toilet, hopefully a Starbucks and access to Wi-Fi (keeping up on events is important). I’ve become aware that many people are not what they pretend to be in the first encounter. It’s a sad deal all the way around. Why is it such a seemingly impossibility: finding a person of compassion AND of principle? One whose helping another is without a hidden agenda, or ulterior motive? A motive to somehow gain from the misfortune of another by ostensibly to help them?
It’s not that hard to see a person genuinely in need of a helping hand. Or, at least, it didn’t use to be that difficult . . . More difficult is knowing which helping hand might be the one genuinely wants to help you. Desperation makes the first choice the right choice, whether or not it is. Is it without expecting, or even demanding something in return. Only time will tell. It so often reveals their true character, testing your own sanity when it comes to pass that THEY always wanted something from you in the first place. At that point, your seeking refuge, your ability to know what to do next, turns inward . . . your will to continue . . . takes a dip. Why is deception the new part of helping someone? The cops and especially security guards have used this frequently. Why is this?
 

“Momma” Crystal of the Dare to Change tent community, part of “First they came for the homeless” at Berkeley Old City Hall, speaks to a fellow resident. She, with her son and two teenage daughters, helps provide recovery tents for people from the streets with substance abuse issues, as a sister part of the Poor Tour. The U.N. rapporteur expressed admiration for this community.
PHOTO/SARAH MENEFEE

PT Logo collage
+ Articles by this author

Free to republish but please credit the People's Tribune. Visit us at www.peoplestribune.org, email peoplestribune@gmail.com, or call 773-486-3551.

The People’s Tribune brings you articles written by individuals or organizations, along with our own reporting. Bylined articles reflect the views of the authors. Unsigned articles reflect the views of the editorial board. Please credit the source when sharing: ©2024 peoplestribune.org. Please donate to help us keep bringing you voices of the movement. Click here. We’re all volunteer, no paid staff.

1 COMMENT

  1. Unfortunately, The First They Came for the Homeless tent encampment was ordered taken down with the excuse caused by a non FTCFTH encampment dweller burning a tent. Berkeley ordered encampment closure. Now the homeless have to find a place to set up their tents/find a place to sleep. Heartless, cruel, inhumane of the City of Berkeley, a supposedly progressive city to turn their backs on the homeless. First They Came for the Homeless. Remember the history.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Featured

Pushing People into a Really Bad System Will End Really Badly

President Trump's executive order fuses drug use and homelessness, ignoring that homelessness can cause or exacerbate substance use because people use drugs to cope with pain. Forced institutional settings rather than housing will not help the ill or unhoused.

Chicago Resistance Speaks: ‘Until All Are Free, None Are Free’

An uprising is growing as the government tries to impose a dictatorship. Chicago resistance leaders recently offered their thoughts in public remarks made at demonstrations and press conferences.

Los Angeles Continues to Rebuild and Resist

Angelinos, suffering from the profit over people economy, continue to rebuild after the fires and to protest immigration raids, while also experiencing joy in such difficult times.

Chicago Teachers Union Says: Trump, Stay Out of Our City

Chicago Teachers Union rejects any unlawful federal occupation of their city, while welcoming federal leadership that fully funds public education, restores SNAP, and expands Medicaid to healthcare for all.

Journalist Says Why ‘I Can No Longer Work With Reuters’

A photojournalist says why it is impossible for her to maintain a relationship with Reuters "given its role in justifying and enabling the systematic assassination of 245 journalists in Gaza."

More from the People's Tribune