Perhaps the most enlightening
thing I ever did was place myself in the "homeless" scene. To make a long
story short, I loaded up my
car with
clothes and
stuff to sell (
rare books, small
antiques I had been collecting, and a variety of other belongings. Took one last look at the upper-class
town of
Woodstock, CT, I had more or less called home for the past 17 out of my then (25) years, and drove away.
I hit the
road and ended up on
South Street in
Philly.
The next two months were a
blur of
wandering, interacting with all sorts of
people, from
day traders to
panhandlers. I was lucky enough to score a third-story
squat on
Buckingham Ave, which is near 52nd and Chesnut, west
Philly. I wandered the city day and night, and learned some very interesting lessons.
The most important one is perhaps the most obvious.
You are judged by what you look. No
apologies, no
excuses, just the plain
fact. When I was unable to score a
shower, and was a
scrubby, I ceased to exist to the normal populance. I was eyed
warily in
shops.
Cops gave me more than the cursory glance on the
street. Other
street people were more willing to talk. Whole universes of
society opened and shut based on my relative appearance and
demeanor.
Lesson Two:
I became what I was judged as. When in "
street mode", I actually felt uncomfortable around the "normal" people. At first, I was
indignant when judged, as the
homeless guy in the supermarket in the above node. But after a while..it ceased to matter. I enjoyed my non-being. I
reveled in it. I was what I always dreamed of being..
invisible.
Lesson Three:
The poser homeless disappear when the cold sets in. So I packed up my squat, loaded my car, and headed to
Florida. Catch my
daylogs for the story of that adventure.
My point in this whole little story..don't think because someone is scruffy and on the street they are worthless non-humans. WE ALL have a story..it may not just be as clean and comfy as your "
city-dweller" existence.
And by the way..I never
panhandled once. Now if I
encounter one, either I
demand a
story for my
change, or give them some
food if I have any.