I wasn’t going to post of this incident, for it might smack of me being highly self-congratulatory. In fact, I wasn’t planning to post at all today, thinking that you might need a break from me. And maybe you do. :)
But when I clicked onto Sandra’s blog and listened to a very distraught lady’s very emotional response to dear leader here, I changed my mind.
In her short, emotional interview, in addition to being angry and distraught, she talked of the juxtaposition of good and evil in human behaviour.
It made me think of yesterday, when I believe that I did a good thing but did it in the midst of a kind of evil. Perhaps that is the wrong word because evil tends to denote purposeful malevolence, so let me just call it sadly unfortunate.
We don’t see too many down-and-outers (I assume homeless) in our town, so when I do, I am moved. Yesterday, we passed a man standing with a huge cart piled high with garbage bags containing, I presume, all of his worldly belongings. Because such sights are few and far between here, encountering people who need assistance, is somewhat emotional for me. And because I am not required to reach into my pocket often, I was able to offer him something.
He wasn’t begging and wasn’t even looking in my direction when I passed by, so that is what I did — passed by. I wanted to offer him something, but I didn’t want to make a show of it. Once past, I fumbled for my wallet and pulled out a twenty. Then, I turned back to him, tapped him on the shoulder and asked, “Would this help you?”
He said that indeed it would. I simply patted him on the shoulder and kept on walking.
So, I guess that was a kind thing to do and was all that I could reasonably do. But I should not have had to do it. Society should be able to better help those who need help in this life, for my belief is that people cannot help what they are. If someone can’t fit into society in the normal way, that someone is still a someone and, as such, is deserving of a decent existence.
I had a grand uncle whom I never met. He was a brother of my grandfather. He was a paraplegic, I think born that way. I have seen pictures, in which he appeared decently dressed and cared for. He was lucky in that way at least. Some people aren’t lucky, partly because the world has changed and the support of villages and of extended families has been lost for the most part.
So that is what the lady in the interview was talking about, or at least how I related it to my own experience, the juxtaposition of good and evil that lies within humanity. I think it is a good thing to reach out a helping hand if and when we are able, but the reality that we allow great needs to endure is a rather evil thing.
(I hesitated to post these rudimentary thoughts as perhaps being too maudlin or self-aggrandizing, but, as is plain to see and for better or worse, I did come back and hit that Publish button.)
I just read another blog where the blogger talked about Freud and living life with ordinary unhappiness. I try to give when I can if I see someone who is on the streets - folks say don't do it because they use it for drugs/alcohol. But still, I give anyway.
ReplyDeletePlease please continue to post any little thoughts, especially things like this which are universal human experiences. Worth sharing! We are each capable of both sides of actions, compassionate or hateful. If our world hadn't been divided into tribes, the "us vs. them" way of looking at each other, we might not have anyone we feel hate towards. But right now I see certain politicians (all over the world) who really pull my hate-strings. So the trick for me is to see that their behaviors need to have consequences (as do any abusive people of any age)...and there might somehow be some redeeming qualities within them! Maybe...
ReplyDeleteMy concern in giving cash where I often see a possible homeless person is that the recipient will spend it on drink or drugs. Our plaza has both a liquor store and two cannabis outlets. I have bought food, take-out after some consultation, mittens, socks. Our local health centre has a homeless person policy, and I do mean local, since we are so rural. Perth where I encounter these folk is working on it.
ReplyDeleteNo, I do not think your discussion is simplistic and it puts you in a very good light, if I may send a compliment. Too often, both individually and as a society, we pass by on the other side.
Isn't it interesting tgat we often feel guilty about mentioning a good deed we did, for the very fear you pinpointed: not wanting to seem self-congratulatory. How the man uses the money is his affair; you did what you thought was the right thing and to me that's what counts. I too have given money on occasion, if I had it. As to how the person uses it, well, how do we know how well charitable organizations use our donations? We hope they use it well, but can't know for sure.
ReplyDeleteOur society certainly needs to make changes. Here locally we rarely see someone pushing a buggy as you describe, but both small cities near us have serious problems.