tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23460707.post8064781774391537063..comments2023-06-13T04:19:36.351-07:00Comments on Thinking Out Loud: The DiscardedGail Jonashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01112450907788303779noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23460707.post-71506567946438871922007-04-06T09:58:00.000-07:002007-04-06T09:58:00.000-07:00Your post was quite touching, Gail, it opened my e...Your post was quite touching, Gail, it opened my eyes again to the problem of the forgotten people in our land of abundance. Looking forward to reading more of your posts after work today, now that i've discovered your blog. =)<BR/>~AlexisAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09805994661967584661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23460707.post-19257032772130292462007-04-05T22:24:00.000-07:002007-04-05T22:24:00.000-07:00A friend of mine once complained of panhandlers at...A friend of mine once complained of panhandlers at Santa Rosa Plaza, saying that if they needed money, they should work. In the past, this person was a manager at a manufacturing company. I asked, "seeing the way this person was dressed (tattoos, piercings, colorful hair, etc.) would you as a manager have hired them to work for you?" The reply: "hell no." <BR/><BR/>So many, many of our homeless have personality disorders, mental illness, or are simply unsuited emotionally for the workforce or sometimes mainstream society. As a society, it is our duty to care for them--the question is exactly how?<BR/><BR/>We are all afraid of being taken advantage of, we are all afraid of mental illness, and there are just enough scam artists and sociopaths among the homeless to scare us off.<BR/><BR/>And while I have no solutions, I sincerely recognize that there, but for grace, go I.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23460707.post-83083074427535963692007-04-05T18:10:00.000-07:002007-04-05T18:10:00.000-07:00Troy,My experience is that some disadvantaged peop...Troy,<BR/>My experience is that some disadvantaged people try to take over, and some don't. W doesn't. In fact, he will err on the side of suffering before he asks for anything. <BR/><BR/>I try to not make any decisions until the need to arises; then I trust my "quiet inner voice." Of course, I have to be quiet in order to hear it.Gail Jonashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01112450907788303779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23460707.post-64542380232967758562007-04-05T15:42:00.000-07:002007-04-05T15:42:00.000-07:00It's hard. Especially if someone is not mentally ...It's hard. Especially if someone is not mentally healthy (crazy is quite a contagious condition for most).<BR/><BR/>I usually try to avoid getting myself in a situation where my empathy will take over. Unfortunately my experience shows me that people will take full advantage of my caring side. So. I'm taught over and over again not to care.<BR/><BR/>Pretty sad.<BR/>-TroyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23460707.post-15958441390749439812007-04-05T15:17:00.000-07:002007-04-05T15:17:00.000-07:00Troy,I had to examine my own feelings about the ho...Troy,<BR/>I had to examine my own feelings about the homeless person in my life. I struggled with how much I really cared, i.e., enough to disrupt my schedule and make arrangement to try to find him, or was I only paying lip service to being concerned and actually was upset that he wasn't around to help me? <BR/><BR/>I spent a few sleepless hours asking myself what mattered most. Until this situation arose, I had no doubt that I would jump to help someone in need, but when it got right down to it, I had to wrestle with my selfish side in order to arrive at the caring response.Gail Jonashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01112450907788303779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23460707.post-72556174781930210402007-04-05T12:27:00.000-07:002007-04-05T12:27:00.000-07:00I was thinking about something similar. How much ...I was thinking about something similar. How much our world exalts youth and beauty. How much it costs to be sick or aged? How much does it cost to not fit in and be scooped up in the court system or not be able to afford adequate services?<BR/><BR/>Who does all this money go to? Middle aged white men.<BR/><BR/>What becomes of the people who can’t afford a doctor or a lawyer? They die or rot in prison.<BR/><BR/>Is this our species' version of killing off the sick and the wounded?<BR/><BR/>-TroyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23460707.post-64080869332473626802007-04-05T11:59:00.000-07:002007-04-05T11:59:00.000-07:00Tod, I agree with you that the fear is more from f...Tod, I agree with you that the fear is more from feeling that the gap betweeen "us" and "them" is not that big. I think that's especially true these days when the lack of health insurance can ruin the financial lives of millions of people. And that's just one example.Gail Jonashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01112450907788303779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23460707.post-24276477032544758492007-04-05T10:49:00.000-07:002007-04-05T10:49:00.000-07:00A beautiful post, Gail. And an overwhelming proble...A beautiful post, Gail. And an overwhelming problem, to boot. The hopeful side of things can be seen in your personal interactions with people who many too easily dismiss. It's just fear, you know that. I don't think we're afraid of "them", we're more afraid that we'll somehow become them - treating them as lepers most of the time. <BR/><BR/>TodAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com