Why the homeless rejected me
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Why the homeless rejected me

I’ve been waiting for a while to write this post, but feel unsure about many of the things I’m going to write about. As mentioned in our “About Us” page, I had a very easy upbringing. I come from a loving, middle class family, with a dad who is a professor at Penn State, and a professional baker as a mom. They provided us with food, clothing, taught us about life and how to be successful, encouraged us to play sports and to excel academically. College was something we were strongly encouraged to complete (especially with my dad as a professor), and as long as we were willing to study, they were willing to help monetarily.

Living in Downtown Seattle has given me a brand new perspective on life and the different ways that people choose to live their own lives. Before moving to P2, I was always outspoken regarding my opinion towards the homeless. I had absolutely no sympathy towards any of them as individuals, and lumped them together as a group that was lazy and chose not to do anything to make their situation better. I begrudged them for asking me for money that I work very hard to make, and couldn’t understand why they would stick around Seattle, where even if they made money, it would be a very expensive place to live.

While The Husband understands the homeless situation in Seattle, he feels that nothing should be given for free. Most of the homeless, even those with mental disabilities, have a service they can provide; if they receive a place to stay or food to eat, why can’t they do something to help improve the neighborhood (like pick up trash and cigarette butts left on the streets).

As soon as we moved to P2, however, some of my preconceived notions and judgments started to change a little. I started passing them on the street, saying hello, and getting hit on (see previous post “what single guys could learn from the homeless”). In general, the comments were funny, rarely crude, and if I ever needed help carrying something, there was always someone popping up, willing to give me a hand.

With all of these thoughts in my head, I headed down to Occidental Square one sunny day to try and “interview” some of the homeless guys down there. I had my camera, my video camera, and a list of questions that I had agonized over. I was so nervous – even though I was determined to be non-judgmental, I was sure that I was going to offend someone.

Phillip, who works in the information booth, was nice enough to check with some of the regulars to see if anyone was interested. I’m not sure if it was because I phrased it as an “interview” or what the problem was, but they all refused. I was really disappointed – I asked Phillip if any of them mentioned why they weren’t interested, and he said that they were worried that they would be misunderstood. I chatted with Phillip about their situation for a while and he let me know that they have had quite a few “do-gooders” with bad intentions. People with religion who come to save their souls, or people with food who come just because there are media cameras there.

I’m anything, if not determined, however. I really wanted to get to know the people that I share my neighborhood with and understand their individual situations better. I’d also mentioned what I was trying to do to many of my friends, who showed a lot of interest in the same questions that I wanted answers to.

Phillip suggested coming down the afternoon of the First Thursday Art Walk – a lot of them would be hanging around O2 (Occidental Square in case you missed that). This time, I left my questions and my cameras at home and headed out with a book (in case I was rejected again).

I met Phillip at the booth again, and I self-consciously walked around the art walk vendor tables while he walked around the square, and pointed me out, asking if anyone would be willing to talk to me. I haven’t been single for a while, but man, it felt like I was trying to be set up on a date, and they were all looking at me and seeing if I was worth it.

Next Post: My new friends Daniel, Felix, John, Robert, and Joseph

p.s. did that ruin the surprise that some of them agreed to talk with me?  If so, feel free to pretend that I made some new friends last weekend at the Mariners game and want to tell you about it.

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