Is your heart in the right place? Today I sat at the train station on a black metal bench. The woman who had already taken a seat on the bench warned me that it was hot; painted black and all. She suggested that it was a black metal bench as a way to keep the homeless from sleeping on them. She told me that she used to live in Florida. In Florida they have a beautiful cathedral that attracts tourists. The senator hated the homeless and took out all the benches around the cathedral as a way to discourage the homeless from lounging on the benches. The missing benches angered the tourists and the benches were added again. She said that Florida was a great place to live because it is unfriendly to the homeless. Utah is horrible, she said. We are much too lenient. The homeless here are spoiled, she said. She knew that California had shipped their homeless to Utah as a way of eliminating homelessness in their State.
I told the woman that I had heard that it is illegal to be homeless. The trespassing laws make everywhere, nowhere they can go. I told the woman that I had heard that 25% of our homeless are Vets. She disagreed. She had been a Marine herself. She was put up in a one bedroom apartment for $35 a month when she returned, but you couldn’t stay there if you were an addict or alcoholic. She was sure that all the homeless are lazy alcoholics and drug addicts. I said, “Many of them have PTSD too. Perhaps they need rehabilitation, and a place to pop their tent at a minimum.” I wondered if she had seen any action as a Marine.
I pointed out that President Reagan was responsible for emptying the psychiatric hospitals and putting all the mentally ill out on the street. She said that was after a mentally ill man had tried to assassinate him, and now they are letting Hinckley out on parole. I’m not sure, but I’m thinking she has some of her facts wrong. I don’t recall Hinckley being a psych ward escapee, and even if he was, why would putting dangerously mentally ill out on the street make sense as a response to such a thing as an assassination attempt? I didn’t ask, but I suspected that she was a Republican.
I have a lot to learn about being homeless. I’ll be sure and keep you posted as I learn the ropes. I suspect I know more than this random woman on a bench even before I get started. It really shouldn’t take too many brain cells to understand how wrong she is.
Where is her heart? Is it in the right place? Earth will not be paradise until it is paradise for everyone. Know this. It is the basics of every wisdom you could hope to have while here. A place without love, is hell. We are responsible for creating the culture of this planet. Will we create hell, or heaven? We are free to choose, but we must agree.
Anyone on Earth could be homeless, as it stands. This woman must have placed herself above just about anyone. This is the slippery slope that leads to hell. I don’t suppose this woman has given much thought to the possibility of being homeless herself. How do we help people change their hearts? Can you imagine a world where everyone is cared for and has a home? Wouldn’t that be heaven?
I told the woman that I had heard that it is illegal to be homeless. The trespassing laws make everywhere, nowhere they can go. I told the woman that I had heard that 25% of our homeless are Vets. She disagreed. She had been a Marine herself. She was put up in a one bedroom apartment for $35 a month when she returned, but you couldn’t stay there if you were an addict or alcoholic. She was sure that all the homeless are lazy alcoholics and drug addicts. I said, “Many of them have PTSD too. Perhaps they need rehabilitation, and a place to pop their tent at a minimum.” I wondered if she had seen any action as a Marine.
I pointed out that President Reagan was responsible for emptying the psychiatric hospitals and putting all the mentally ill out on the street. She said that was after a mentally ill man had tried to assassinate him, and now they are letting Hinckley out on parole. I’m not sure, but I’m thinking she has some of her facts wrong. I don’t recall Hinckley being a psych ward escapee, and even if he was, why would putting dangerously mentally ill out on the street make sense as a response to such a thing as an assassination attempt? I didn’t ask, but I suspected that she was a Republican.
I have a lot to learn about being homeless. I’ll be sure and keep you posted as I learn the ropes. I suspect I know more than this random woman on a bench even before I get started. It really shouldn’t take too many brain cells to understand how wrong she is.
Where is her heart? Is it in the right place? Earth will not be paradise until it is paradise for everyone. Know this. It is the basics of every wisdom you could hope to have while here. A place without love, is hell. We are responsible for creating the culture of this planet. Will we create hell, or heaven? We are free to choose, but we must agree.
Anyone on Earth could be homeless, as it stands. This woman must have placed herself above just about anyone. This is the slippery slope that leads to hell. I don’t suppose this woman has given much thought to the possibility of being homeless herself. How do we help people change their hearts? Can you imagine a world where everyone is cared for and has a home? Wouldn’t that be heaven?
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