I have been accused of having to much pride in that I have not asked for all the help as often as I could – or more importantly as often as I should have. Pride? Or just the need ton preserve my dignity? I do not know. I will acknowledge that as my self-esteem has healed my ability to share the fact of my being homeless with others has grown. It is also true that after the latest ‘put down the homeless’ rant I heard I had to send the web address to this site to the household, not as Mr. H but as moi. I have not yet heard back but it was something I felt I had to do and was comfortable with whatever comes of that action. Of course this does emphasize that people have an image I in their heads of the homeless, an often highly inaccurate image, and do not see me (a homeless person) as fitting their image. Having judged me as a fellow worthwhile citizen they feel free to denigrate the homeless to me – how very ironic. A person at the table I was eating lunch at the Salvation Army at was likewise running down the homeless (or perhaps just trying to build herself up by putting others down0. When someone at the table informed her I was homeless she refused to believe it. After all I was to clean and presentable – not at all like the public perception of the homeless. She may well still not believe I was homeless but she did act differently after being informed I was homeless. lol She claimed she only came to the Salvation Army for company over lunch (from those she deems acceptable) and so she would not have any dishes to clean up. If these are the true reasons she was eating food prepared for those in need I can only suggest she take a long, hard, soul searching look in the mirror before decides to disparage the homeless. A case of the pot calling the kettle “sooty bottom”.

I will stop here and leave you with this thought – what does it truly say about the public at larges views and the true nature of the homeless that these self-appointed experts, who felt free to hold forth on how terrible and worthless homeless people are, cannot even recognize a homeless person sitting in front (or beside) them?