I don’t usually get angry when watching TV, but lately, instead of TV relaxing me, I’ve seen some things that have really upset me to the point of anger.
I may have high standards concerning compassion and concern for others, but that’s the way I was brought up. It’s the way of good, Southern gentility. You know, that “Golden Rule” theory, or “Karma,” or whatever you wish to call it.
We’ve all seen homeless people on the streets of cities, big and small. I don’t know about you, but it has crossed my mind from time to time, “I wonder what their story is ... what happened to put them in this place.” And, much to my own shame, when my children were small, I’d hold on to them a little tighter when we passed groups of the homeless, the ones who would follow us down the street asking for a hand-out. We’ve all thought at one time or another (and if you say “No, not me!” then my friend, you’re lying to yourself) that these people were just lazy or drunk bums, drug addicts, people who just didn’t care anymore, for whatever reason. The “reason” didn’t matter, only the fact that they had given up on themselves.
I saw a family of five on TV the other night that brought tears to my eyes, and I can’t get them off my mind. They look like so many young families that you see in the grocery store, or mall, or school yard picking up their children. Here’s the difference—they live in their minivan, they bathe at Wal-Mart or convenience store, they cook their food on a camp stove in whatever parking lot they can find that looks safe enough to park in for the night. This family is homeless.
They haven’t always been homeless—the husband and father is a carpenter, and due to the shortage of work in the homebuilding business right now, he no longer has a job. Without his job, they lost their home to foreclosure, and decided to go to another, larger city so maybe the husband could find work. Both husband and wife have applied for work everywhere, but still don’t have jobs, and not much hope for getting one. They have tried to get into a shelter, but there’s no room, all the city shelters are full.
Now, having heard this family’s story, here’s where my anger started. Within thirty minutes after the story on these people aired, someone at one of the “town hall meetings” for one of the presidential candidates stood up and started his comments off with this statement. “This financial crisis has everyone worried … if it weren’t for all these people who bought houses they couldn’t afford and have defaulted on their loans, then we wouldn’t be in this situation. Now I may lose my 401(k).” I know he said more than that, but I didn’t hear another word he said because I was so angry.
First of all, not everyone bought a house they couldn’t afford. Maybe they wouldn’t have defaulted if they still had a job! The man who was speaking was well dressed, obviously successful, and obviously employed. What would he say if that success and job were gone tomorrow? How long could he make it before the “wolf is at the door” and he’s facing foreclosure himself? Where’s the compassion for the thousands of people who were just living their lives, like we all do, and one day they wake up and find that all of their income is gone!? Not everyone is eligible for unemployment benefits, and those who aren’t used to a situation like this are, many times, too proud to ask for public assistance. So where do you turn, or what do you do, when you just don’t know what to do?
The man at the town hall meeting is not only one I’ve heard speak their opinion. The same opinion has been uttered by lots of “blue suits,” that all these people losing their homes didn’t deserve the right to own one in the first place, that they probably wouldn’t have qualified under ordinary guidelines, and they bought a house they couldn’t afford.
