Look the Other Way

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle - Plato

My boyfriend and I were walking out of the grocery store when a man standing outside of the store said something to us. I thought he was trying to sell or distribute something and said "no thank you." My boyfriend simply said nothing and kept walking. He had not seen the man, and thought he heard "do you have one?" as in a dollar bill. As we got into the car, my boyfriend remarked, "I thought he was homeless, so I didn't acknowledge him." 

Why is it, that we are so willing to donate money, clothes, and time for the poor, starving, and impoverished people of third world countries, yet when it comes to those in our own neighborhood who suffer from the same conditions, we look the other way?

The town I grew up in outside of Sacramento had a fairly significant homeless population. They camped out near gas stations and the Goodwill, where ever they could find shelter and friendly faces. Some of them lived in groups, and most had shopping carts in which they kept their possessions. The image of a scared looking woman in her sixties, clutching her teddy bear as her companions organized their belongings, is forever seared into my mind.

When we think of the plight of poverty stricken citizens of third world countries, we do not assume their situation is their own fault. Instead, it is the result of poorly run governments, civil wars, and decades of bad fortune. The same is not said of the homeless within our own country and cities.

When someone is living on the streets in the United States, we say they are lazy, that they should get a job, they are dirty and to be avoided. Where did this perception of the homeless begin? It certainly is not true - it's a generalization based upon prejudices and stereotypes.

Who are the homeless in the United States? They are veterans (about 62,000 each night during 2010), mentally ill individuals, victims of domestic abuse, families, children (1 in 50 in 2009), people who have lost their jobs and/or their homes, and people who are struggling with life crippling addictions. They are on the streets because they have little or no choice. For many of them, their lack of a job is not because they are not trying or don't want one, but because their situation makes it nearly impossible to attain one. Some of them do not have access to medical care and thereby the medications that would enable them to work. Others, perhaps were raised in situations where a good education was not available, which now prevents them from gaining employment. People are more than just their personality and actions; we are products of the society and situations we find ourselves in.

Here's an excellent interview from a man who is homeless and struggling to get a job which will help him get off the streets.


Homelessness affects people of all races, genders, sexualities, backgrounds, and ages. It affects people with families as well as those without. It affects the physically and mentally disabled in our country, as well as this nation's veterans. Homelessness is not a personal trouble, it is a serious social issue. I recommend looking at http://www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/ (and some of the links below this article) to learn more about the issues driving homelessness and those who are affected by it. 

Outside of the Woodland Walmart, a homeless man holds up a sign asking us to just smile. Near the West Sacramento Ikea, another homeless man's sign says anything helps, even just a smile. And recently, a homeless woman on the corner of 3rd and E street in Davis, playing her blue ukulele as her tiny dog sat beside her, was simply looking to get enough money for a motel room for the night.

For those of you in Professor Kiburi's Sociology 30A class who are following along, my hope is that this blog post gets you thinking. Since no sociological theories have been covered yet in lecture, I did not include any (though an incredible amount of what you will learn this quarter can be connected). But I do feel that the first step to understanding sociological issues and theories is to open your mind and look around you. Too often we ignore someone's personal experience, labeling it as an "exception," when really it is a symptom of a much larger problem.

The next time you see a homeless person, don't just look the other way, even if all you can offer them is a smile. 

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Photos from:

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/2012/12/on-dogs-cats-and-babiesand-homeless.html

http://www.nchv.org/index.php/connect/story/location  CHECK THIS ONE OUT

http://www.today.com/id/29602056/ns/today-today_news/t/us-children-experiences-homelessness/#.UlSNw9K9KSM   CHECK THIS ONE OUT