I've met a few 'taxpayers" in my time out here. Most are pretty good people. You meet some who are good compassionate folks. There are those who[to them],homelessness is the equal to meeting a alien from mars. They look at you with eyes wide and there is something in those eyes that say."How could this happen to a person". They listen, but many do not hear. The public has been brainwashed into believing that the poor and homeless are some how responsible for the whole situation, and that is very wrong..."They got themselves into this, let them get themselves out". That one answer is always a hoot. When ever I come across statements like this I see it for what it really is and it gives me a good idea who i am dealing with. It is just a lazy way to mask indifference.
I remember when I would think and act like that. Pretending to care, only because I did not care....whew!...sound's like a lot of work just to hide indifference. That is exactly what I see in their eyes. 'Work'. They are working hard to understand. How can a person explain something like hunger, if you never have been hungry? So, how do I expect someone to understand a hunger they have never felt?...You can't. Oh, you will get a lot of "really","wow", "yes, yes" and head shaking. That is how the verbal exchanges go, that is unless you start talking about the pertinent topics on the current situations that seem to be destroying our government. Effecting our world and the generations that are yet to follow. How this country is viewed by the world and how we see ourselves. That usually throws them out of step for a minute or two.
Out here I call this entertainment. It's free, it's a choice, it's reality. But most of all, it's commerical free. Unlike cable TV. Unless you count the advertising feces which is smeared on everything. {new product; "HOBO-BE-GONE", TITLE OF COMING BLOG}. If you watch or listen to mainstream radio or TV. You will be bombarded with a constant dialogue of fear. It's a very easy process , scare the public into thinking that they need something, show them a product, and bingo!...You got your self one "consumer". And a consumer who will buy something that they really do not need.
When someone approaches me out here, I am most of the time receptive to their curiosity,and the questions. Believe me, I enjoy conversation that stimulates my brain into areas that have been sleeping. All I ask is a Honest exchange. Even the other homeless know when "taxpayers" are satisfying some need to make themselves feel good by "helping".
"Shut the fuck up", that is a Honest exchange out here on the street, wouldn't you like to just once see and hear someone tell our "elected officials" that...Just once, really. If you did, you would have my respect and most of all, my vote! My time being homeless is coming to a end, and soon I will be off the street[whew!],but for now, for today, I will go to Lake Eola, and meet up with my fellow travelers and enjoy some "honest exchange". So have a wonderful day, and shut the fuck up!!....no offense!
