Sad
 

Well yeah..this is a sad thread.

Came across a homeless lady tonight on our bike ride through the town. I felt horrible when I saw her and wanted to help her out being the nice person I am.. Looking at her she must have been in her late 70's maybe early 80's. She was just sitting at the bus stop leaning over to sleep on her suitcase that she has with her. She must have been on the streets for a few months now from the smell.
Anyway. Went up to her asked if she was ok and that I wasn't there to harass her. What did I get from her.. "BUZZ OFF"..and twice I might add. I just wanted to scream at her for being like that but I can understand why. I was gonna get her some food but yknow, she didn't wanna talk to me.

Shortly after we left I just burst into tears cos seeing this kinda shit is a rare thing around here. And seeing that she was a older homeless person it just hit me hard.

I mean wtf goes on when you see a old woman on the streets. It shouldnt happen. Its fucked up and wrong.

Has seeing a person in need of help just made you cry? or am I just too sensitive.

............................ It´s you..

;)

haha geez thanks.

It is sad but most homeless have made the choice to be that way and are usually very rude like that it. It's too bad but it is better to just walk on by.

I admire your kindheartedness though. :)

Always had i soft spot for those kind of actions.

When I was 19, there was a homeless man that used to live right on my path to work. McDonalds used to have $.39 cheeseburgers then, so I'd buy him 2 and give them to him. He was always thankful and polite.

He died of cancer a year later. I just hope that I did something to make the last year of his life a little better. He was a vietnam war vet cripple, and I respect what he did for our country, even though I think war is a rediculous thing. I'm hoping he's sleeping peaceful right now, wherever he is.

Yes, some homeless have made the choice to live outside society's dictates, but a far greater number are mentally ill.

I don't know how it works in Sydney but a Chicago Tribune study some years back determined that over half the homeless in Chicago were schizophrenics. Many were formerly residents of mental institutions who no longer had insurance or were deemed "harmless" to the general public, so the are relasesed on their own recognizence - and without suitable emotional and interpersonal skills, they end up jobless, homeless and alone.

Yes, it breaks my heart, but one-on-one help does little good. Change must be made in the way we treat our mentally ill.

Canada does a pretty good job - they sometimes even let Urge use the computer all on his own like a big boy:D

Lala, ignore the incompassionate remarks. You're absolutely right. It's very sad. Her reaction towards your gesture of kindness may have been totally out of her control. She may have severe mental disorders that cause severe mood swings. It's possible that she wondered away from an elderly care center. I hope the case is not that her family drove her away.

I think what you did was awesome. Should you see her again, maybe call the emergency line and let a medical team know where she is. It's possible that she has alzheimer's as well (and on top of other things mentioned above). Since she's elderly they may be able to get her some care. It's also possible that her family is looking for her, as alzheimer's patients often wander away from home.

It's not that you were over sensitive, it's that you were overcome with compassion. There's never been anything wrong with that.:)

until my diapers are full then they come and get me and make me eggs.

We do have a homeless problem in the major centres (mainly Toronto)
but not much elsewhere - the climate may have something to do with that.

I was in Washington DC once on a course and i was appauled by the amount of homeless people there (nations capitol ??!!)
not to mention the incessant sirens .. it just never stopped .. freaked me out.

I have some pretty mixed feelings about the homeless... as Roderick 'squid-boy' Usher said above - the greatest number of them are people who cannot function in society because of various degrees of mental illness.
By that same reasoning they refuse to live in shelters because they dont have the reasoning powers to come in out of the cold or to understand that there are rules to follow in a shelter that wouldnt kill them to follow. (the canadian winters will and do kill them on a regular basis)

Sometimes I do lose compassion though. Everyone has had it with the kids who panhandle - wearing 150$ doc martins and heads full of hair care products. (the kids that bus in from the 'burbs because they see the 'life on the street as something romantic... until they're actually hungry and run home.

there was one guy in particular i developed a (unjust) hate for several years ago. I was working in a job i hated for a prick of a boss.. every day i had to pass this guy with his hand out on my way to and from my personal 8 hours of thankless hell .. and i developed a great resentment for this guy. Mostly because of my personal circumstance - but also because of this look he'd give me ...

things got better for me eventually and i could see my way to try to understand his circumstance and i didnt hate him anymore and was shameful for how i felt ...

the people that really piss me off are the people who sit on their asses at home collecting unemployement because they simply dont like to work.
I'll always hate those bastards no matter what..