today, I am embarrassed to be a part of mankind...
I am just overwhelmed with sadness for mankind today, I am overwhelmed with the utter lack of compassion that many people chose to lead their lives with. I am overwhelmed by this and yet saddened by them. I hurt and ache for these people.
I have been looking inward at two situations today, one being at work and the other the online reactions to a news article in our local newspaper. The two are so radically different yet, they are so intertwined because of the callousness of people’s reactions.
We have been experiencing bone chilling temperatures here for the last week or so, yesterday it was only seven degrees when I went to work at 8am, the shining sun did nothing to warm the air. There was a front page article in our local paper regarding the homeless population that, in growing number, are seeking refuge at the city’s library at night. Due to the shape and structure of the building, it blocks a considerable amount of wind and provides shelter. The article was just focusing more so on how the social service agencies in the city have upped their bed capacities to fight the cold nights. The article focused on one woman who said she would rather sleep outside because she didn’t like the curfews of the shelters. She was not being critical, she was simply stating why she hadn’t sought indoor shelter.
The paper allows for online postings in response to their articles and this one unleashed pages of comments. Some of them were just unreal and so incredibly heartless that I was embarrassed for the person writing it. Here’s one (and it is a direct quote so I am not sure what intrangients are to the author): “The people who are homeless for reasons beyond their control are getting help and are in a shelter. Those around the Lincoln Library are the intrangients who refuse to life within society's rules. They do not deserve pity they deserve to be shown the way to stop imposing their way on others... “
There were many about how the women who wanted to sleep outside shouldn’t be allowed to because there were shelter beds and just because she didn’t like the imposed curfews, who cared, she should be forced to get off the street. She was homeless and had no right to disagree or dislike the curfew – I guess I forget that once a person becomes homeless they lose all sense of like and dislike. It just reminds me of when I was on the Joe Noonan trip working in a soup kitchen and someone from our group was appalled that a person in the line said they wanted a sandwich with no mayonnaise. As if, just because this person was utilizing a soup kitchen, they couldn’t dislike a food item…how dare they still have personal choices?! The negative comments so outweighed the positive ones that I just stopped reading them because I was getting more and more angry.
The second issue is that in one of the departments at work there is a women who is a bit of a loner and she doesn’t make very much money and doesn’t have a lot of clothes or very nice shoes or even a car. One of her coworkers continues to complain to the manager because she thinks that she is smelly, sloppy and yucky. The complainer is early twenties, very fashionable, has the right shoes, style pants, etc. She obviously spends quite a bit of money and time on her fashion choices for work. She just does not really like this other woman because she doesn’t have as nice of stuff as she has (and this is really how she put it, in not as many words).
It angers me to hear people act like that, to think like that and then it just makes me plain sad. The manager and I were talking and I said you know, the complainer thinks she has it all together because she looks good but you know what, we all don’t have it together, none of us do…we all are missing it somewhere. Just because she looks good, as far as she thinks, she is all together but you know what, she is one of the most miserable persons I have ever met. She is someone you can meet in the hallway and speak right to and she will just ignore you – but hell, at least she looks good, right?
I know that not everyone lives with the love, grace and compassion of Christ in their lives. I know that not all those who claim to be Christians have love, grace and compassion. But where do we find compassion for a fellow human being just because that’s what they are, a fellow human being? How can we be so immersed in our own lives that we can not see that the person with the out of style clothes who can’t afford a car, the woman sleeping at the library or the person in line at the food pantry are there because they lack some basic need(s) that we ourselves, perhaps, have to spare? It just breaks my heart, I am saddened for us as a people.
I have been looking inward at two situations today, one being at work and the other the online reactions to a news article in our local newspaper. The two are so radically different yet, they are so intertwined because of the callousness of people’s reactions.
We have been experiencing bone chilling temperatures here for the last week or so, yesterday it was only seven degrees when I went to work at 8am, the shining sun did nothing to warm the air. There was a front page article in our local paper regarding the homeless population that, in growing number, are seeking refuge at the city’s library at night. Due to the shape and structure of the building, it blocks a considerable amount of wind and provides shelter. The article was just focusing more so on how the social service agencies in the city have upped their bed capacities to fight the cold nights. The article focused on one woman who said she would rather sleep outside because she didn’t like the curfews of the shelters. She was not being critical, she was simply stating why she hadn’t sought indoor shelter.
The paper allows for online postings in response to their articles and this one unleashed pages of comments. Some of them were just unreal and so incredibly heartless that I was embarrassed for the person writing it. Here’s one (and it is a direct quote so I am not sure what intrangients are to the author): “The people who are homeless for reasons beyond their control are getting help and are in a shelter. Those around the Lincoln Library are the intrangients who refuse to life within society's rules. They do not deserve pity they deserve to be shown the way to stop imposing their way on others... “
There were many about how the women who wanted to sleep outside shouldn’t be allowed to because there were shelter beds and just because she didn’t like the imposed curfews, who cared, she should be forced to get off the street. She was homeless and had no right to disagree or dislike the curfew – I guess I forget that once a person becomes homeless they lose all sense of like and dislike. It just reminds me of when I was on the Joe Noonan trip working in a soup kitchen and someone from our group was appalled that a person in the line said they wanted a sandwich with no mayonnaise. As if, just because this person was utilizing a soup kitchen, they couldn’t dislike a food item…how dare they still have personal choices?! The negative comments so outweighed the positive ones that I just stopped reading them because I was getting more and more angry.
The second issue is that in one of the departments at work there is a women who is a bit of a loner and she doesn’t make very much money and doesn’t have a lot of clothes or very nice shoes or even a car. One of her coworkers continues to complain to the manager because she thinks that she is smelly, sloppy and yucky. The complainer is early twenties, very fashionable, has the right shoes, style pants, etc. She obviously spends quite a bit of money and time on her fashion choices for work. She just does not really like this other woman because she doesn’t have as nice of stuff as she has (and this is really how she put it, in not as many words).
It angers me to hear people act like that, to think like that and then it just makes me plain sad. The manager and I were talking and I said you know, the complainer thinks she has it all together because she looks good but you know what, we all don’t have it together, none of us do…we all are missing it somewhere. Just because she looks good, as far as she thinks, she is all together but you know what, she is one of the most miserable persons I have ever met. She is someone you can meet in the hallway and speak right to and she will just ignore you – but hell, at least she looks good, right?
I know that not everyone lives with the love, grace and compassion of Christ in their lives. I know that not all those who claim to be Christians have love, grace and compassion. But where do we find compassion for a fellow human being just because that’s what they are, a fellow human being? How can we be so immersed in our own lives that we can not see that the person with the out of style clothes who can’t afford a car, the woman sleeping at the library or the person in line at the food pantry are there because they lack some basic need(s) that we ourselves, perhaps, have to spare? It just breaks my heart, I am saddened for us as a people.
posted by Anna at
1:41 PM
1 Comments:
Let me add an example...my mother-in-law was helping our great-aunt (91 years old) out on a cool day go on a fun trip. The bus driver sent her to another stop on the far side of the parking lot, easily a 8 minute walk for old aunt. At the other stop, they sent her back to the original stop. No one would shuttle her back and forth, and no one wanted to service her. My mother-in-law raced ahead back to the first bus to chew them out (not that I agree with this) and to ask why they didn't help her on, shuttle her, or go pick her up once they recognized their mistake. A female who was hanging out with the bus driver said my m-i-l wasn't being very Christian.
Compassion spoiled all around. It's absolutely infuriating...
By
Anonymous, at 12:50 PM, February 02, 2007
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