We need all those things mentioned, and We need to be treated like human beings should be treated. Simple respect Our way comes back Your way. I am respectful to people on a daily basis, unless they are nasty to me first. I then give back what I get. My ego loves that sh*t, but I hate it. It just gets me into trouble. My ego feeds off it. My writing feeds off my ego. And that is the real drug; that is my drug. Anything else in this world is just a bridge to that. Writing is the opiate of my life. That is why when I could not write it was like having Blue Balls. It was like kissing my sister, with tongue... and I ain't like that. It was like going out with a girl with whom you have liked for a year, just to have toilet paper sticking out your pants and one more on the bottom of your shoe, which now has something else stuck to the sole as well?
We do have manners out here. Regardless of what some people may tell you. Again, We're going to have Our Problem Children just as you will in Your World. Be that as it may, I hold doors open for folks, and say "good morning," with a nice, big smile on my face. And it ain't fake either! I actually like doing that sort of thing! And I don't do those things so I can squawk about it in a piece I am writing. I am doing it because that is the right thing to do. That was how I was raised, anyway. Simple respect. Besides, the writing process goes opposite that. Things happen and then I write it, not the other way around. That would Fake, and I am no Poseur.
The other day some guy dropped his iPhone as he ran through the crosswalk. Now, I could have said nothing and walked back and grabbed it, no problem. The guy kept on going because he did not know he lost it and wore headphones; he could not hear anything. Nobody would have said anything. I could have grabbed it and sold it. But I didn't. First reason I did not do it: it is wrong. Secondly, I don't like phones all that much. Secondly, I don't need the money that bad. Sure, I need some money throughout the week, but I get it and get what I need food wise, so there is no need for instant cash at someone else's expense. And I am not a Greed Head. I get what I get daily... and that is enough to live on. The karma would be bad, too. And lastly, I am not a thief, regardless of perception. My value system is not the same as a lot of others. I don't put value on most material things any longer. Anymore, as soon as you buy something, the value decreases, immediately.
Some folks think We're a bunch of Marauding Animals out on the frothing hunt for nubile virgins, bent on all night debauchery, and all over the immoral actions performed by thugs from history's dark past. As though we're Genghis Khan's Orgy Party Planning Committee or something. We're people, everyone. We're people who struggle. We're people who get defensive when We're being unfairly attacked. We're people who tense up a bit when our rights get messed with, as though we do not know what Our rights are. And watching police take advantage of mentally handicapped people, getting them to trip up and say something they probably shouldn't, is immoral, too.
Do We make mistakes? Sure! We all make mistakes. But others do not have theirs hung on a wall so people can swing the leather-strap barb-hooks at them. If you look at crime statistics, you will see that those in houses commit more crimes than those without houses. Mark Twain said something about statistics. And yeah, my example is convoluted logic and purposefully misleading (like the wording of some of Our judges and District Attorneys all over this nation) because there are far more people in houses than aren't, but that's the sort of logic and application of faulty logic We're dealing with out here.
That's what it looks like... how does that feel? Are we any closer to addressing this situation yet? Nope. We're still all sitting here. All that bad money tossed atop of bad money atop of bad money atop of bad money atop of good money, if there ever was good money thrown at this issue, and We're still out here. All that money spent on trying to remove Us from the sidewalks, like that would do something, is a failure. The fact that people believed that course of action would work, is a failure. And now the city council of Berkeley would like "proposals from the homeless about how to fix this problem"? Yet, the day (A day after finding out the election results, mind you.) I heard of this and since then, the city continues slapping Us over the head with that same Olive Branch?
This is why We do not trust Them. This is why We do not respect Them. This is why We do not wish to just run off like exploited immigrants being chased off by Border Patrol Agents. Well, that, and we don't have to. We have a legal (constitutional) right to congregate anywhere we like in the Public Space. And since They do not want Us out there, We will continue to stay out there because They do not have the respect to be forthright or honest with Us and have not been since the very beginning. I know this because they tried a Trojan Horse on Us All. They were coming in heavy, and bragged about it to street kids, as they used ego boost as a tool of intimidation to get those kids to "leave town, boy."
They would have you believe otherwise, though. They would have you believe it is Us who is the ones perpetrating the problem. We did not cause this problem. We cannot fix it, either. We can't even get shelter. Which would go a long way in improving our habitat-less existence, by the way.
So call Us Transitional Travelers. And I will call you Beautiful Human Beings, in return.
"To succeed in other trades, capacity must be shown; in the law, concealment of it will do."
-Mark Twain
-James Richard Armstrong II
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