| Look at this man. And others, I counted ten in the paper who have died in the past two weeks due to freezing to death. One man was burned to death, in a boiler shed that blew up in the middle of the night because he, like others, did not have access to warming centers around the city. Imagine if this picture, there was a child of six freezing to death on the street corner. Someone would surely swoop in and make sure he was taken care of. No one would leave a poor child to fend for themselves in -20 degree weather, so why do we overlook elderly, with crippled hands and feet to beg in extreme cold? People might say, "well a child is different. This man's made his bed, now he's got to sleep in it." But what we are forgetting was that at one time, not so very long ago, this man was once a defenseless child too. Yet how often do we as a society ever acknowledge a homeless person's past - their childhood? How come we are so quick to judge someone in the present based on their past mistakes, but when it comes to certain things, we would rather make no connections to the past. As if these people weren't the sons and daughters of someone before... This brings up another topic which I'll be exploring in my next article. A theory of how puberty and society's subconscious shame, contempt and disgust for sexuality plays a huge part in why we deem it acceptable to protect and provide for children, but not adults. But I digress, I understand the difficulty of every individual in this frigid metropolitan decay, but as a collective - we really have got to be doing something besides just talking. This applies to me as well, with regards to the homeless population of downtown Toronto, I give change here and there, buy them lunch sometimes, but it would be overwhelming if I answered every plea on these freezing streets on my way home. Sometimes I even wanted to take a few people with me, and provide them with a warm shower and food, at least for a few hours but then I would have to answer to angry/fearful protests of family members. The fear of being a young woman, and unable for whatever reason to take a 45 year old man home and have him bathed and fed. Fear is mainly what immobilizes us from making any kind of movement. Questions like, "what if he's dangerous?" "what if they're carrying a disease that I'll catch?" "I don't know this person, they could hurt or steal from me..." Which quickly results in dead bodies being carried off the streets at 7 am the following morning. We discussed this in class today, a micro/meso review that causes issues like this in the first place. The analysis was jarring to say the least. This man could very easily be me or you, and the crisis is not properly being addressed by the municipal government in a country that prides itself on a Charter, and abundant supply of natural resources ranking as one of the wealthiest nations in the world... it's not only tragic, but humiliating to see how much financial hardship and struggle there is among the people of their most affluent city. For any of you familiar with such cold, if a homeless person asks for change - take 30 minutes out of your busy day and take him/her to lunch at least. Somewhere warm, in a mall. And buy them a blanket. It may not be much, but it could very well help. To walk by and ignore such a plea is not the cause of these deaths overnight, but it is a contribution to the indifference and fear that our society has, further exasperating the situation. I'll end with what Blanche quoted, in a Streetcar Named Desire, after having been raped, judged and treated as a whore, she finally found a bit of genuine tenderness from the doctor of the mental institution who was carrying her away. His compassion eased her sorrow and anxiety, and she turned to him, thanking him by saying: "Whoever you are, I have always depended on the kindness of strangers." If you are reading from a contemptuous place, please get down and join us here in the real world. Think for a moment, very openly and honestly... Don't we all, in one way or another, depend on the kindness of strangers? |
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