ignorance

I heard that Homeless Connect Day made the first page of the newspaper, so I read the article on their website. Then I read the comments from readers- and most of them made my heart sink. There were some that said that everyone who helped organize and put on the event should be proud of themselves and that giving back is what Christmas is about, etc., and then there were ones like this (Shawn's comment said it was great that people came together to help):

Too bad you don't get it Shawn. These people came together to help out junkies, people who won't get a job, people sleeping around with the wrong people, and a parade of others many (maybe not all) of whom can, but choose not to, earn their own way in life, so they make us subsidize them. Why won't you let them do it for themselves and rely on a little independence. Did you tear up with joy when you read the woman say she was happy her AIDS test was negative? What a sweet thought for the holidays - get all the free AIDS testing you want - and those who dont sleep around will foot the bill for you.

Comments like this rant on and on about the evil liberals taking their tax money to help the poor. I wish I could ask him, people always choose to "earn their own way in life"? They choose to be born poor, or born addicted to drugs or born with AIDS, or to be sexually abused as children, or to have mental or physical handicaps, or to come back from serving their country and find little support for veterans? They choose to sleep outside when it's snowing? And they choose to be reduced to begging a volunteer (who is less than half of their age and a product of white privilege) for deodorant or toothpaste?

I think the world would be such an awful place if every individual man and woman was out for themselves and if every person thought that all the destitute need to do is "help themselves" and "choose not to be homeless." I can't (and I know that no JV can) spend time wondering what led people to lives of substance abuse or crime or homelessness- it's not for me to judge, and judging won't get anybody anywhere. Whatever the reason, (and the same person above proposed a few in a different comment- "laziness, sloth, lack of initiative to pay attention in school"- which give me a break, but ok let's just go with those) the reason isn't the point, the reality is that the homeless need help and that's the absolute bottom line. If someone chooses not to offer any help to them, that's totally fine. But it's pretty despicable for someone to go out of their way to criticize the people who do want to help because they realize that shelter and food are human rights! You don't "earn" them.