5 August, 2007 | Leave a Comment
yesterday i was walking home and went into the tate modern to use the loo. hey, i had to go! there aren’t a lot of places to pee on the southbank. anyway, there was a homeless man outside the museum picking through the garbage. he was opening old sandwich wrappers and licking them; he was picking up discarded starbucks cups and drinking any liquid that was left. it was a truly horrifying sight. i see plenty of homeless people in this city. i rarely see anyone eating garbage like that. it almost made me cry to see him doing that. and it was even more horrifying that he was surrounded by people enjoying the saturday sunshine, sunbathing on the lawn in front of the museum, eating ice cream, playing frisbee. and here was this guy literally eating trash and we all just passed him by. i think to live in a city, you must participate in a certain level of cruelty and cold-heartedness. how else could we all walk right by a guy eating garbage?
i passed him by and then turned around and went back. he wasn’t asking anyone for money, but i went back and gave him a £1 coin ($2). it was nothing. i should have given him more. much more. i felt slightly uncomfortable though. i didn’t know how he’d react or if he might be insane. up close, i saw how his hands were crusted in dark black dirt, his nails were long and his hair stuck out. he looked a bit like a wild animal. but when i handed him the coin, he was genuinely touched and thanked me. he had a sweet, gentle voice. he looked me in the eyes. it’s always the eyes that give a person away, let’s you seem them as real, as human.
i can only imagine what series of events led him to that place, to be licking old sandwich wrappers instead of enjoying a day at the museum. why him and not me? why him and not you? it doesn’t bear thinking about. easier just to ignore him.
Anglofille said @ 11:17 pm | london & uk |
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you’re right, it is easier to ignore people like him. it makes us uncomfortable to come face to face with the thought that this sort of life exists, even more uncomfortable to think that, yes, it could be you. or me. or someone you care deeply about.
due to a series of events, my father is homeless and lives on the street. it’s a nightmare come true - made even worse by the fact that i cannot help him in any way.
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I’m so sorry to learn about your father. I can’t imagine how heart-breaking it must be to know you can’t help him escape from that life.
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Rebecca Says:
August 7th, 2007 at 3:02 amI cried when I read your post. I’ve seen more than a few people in such desperate state and it never gets easier. Often there is only so much you can do to offer some temporary comfort, and it is very heartbreaking.
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Thank you, Rebecca. I’m glad my words touched you.
