A few days ago, while I was walking around in Little Five Points in Atlanta, I came across a homeless guy who was begging for money. This incident on its own is not surprising nor is it surprising that he stopped me and asked me for money. I have been approached a number of times before. What is surprising this time is what went through my mind. I realized that homeless people have an attribute that many of us should have but lack: a barrier to talking with strangers! Isn't a lack of understanding between people best curable by open communication?
Now, I know that genuine communication is different from begging for money which is why I didn't give him any money but instead smiled and said that I'll buy him some coffee and chat for a bit if he doesn't mind. He said he was fine with that. So I went inside the coffee shop five steps away and bought two cups of coffee, one for myself and one for him. (I wasn't sure what flavor he wanted so I chose something that wouldn't be too strange.)
In our little conversation, I was able to find out that he was originally from South Carolina but came to Atlanta since a relative of his said there's work here. Since he got here a few months ago, he has been out on the streets in the area of Little Five Points. I noticed that he had a limp in his right leg. I asked him what happened. He told me that he got shot several years ago but he didn't seem to want to go into more details.
Our conversation ended rather quickly since he constantly felt like reminding me that I should give him money so he can go buy a baloney sandwich. I don't like to give money since I don't know what they'll do with it and I had no guarantee that I would get better stories from him by buying him a baloney sandwich even after satiating his hunger. I decided to just leave him alone.
Later, I was thinking that if I was with a friend who would be willing to do this though, I would definitely have talked to him a while longer. I was reminded of an incidence several years ago when my friend and I were walking on the streets of Little Rock and a guy we didn't think was homeless asked us for some money. Since he didn't look threatening or crazy, we decided to take him to a nice little restaurant and hear his story. We learned that he suffered learning disabilities and had a terrible family upbringing. I wanted to keep in touch with him with email which he said he had one. Unfortunately, we never got in touch again so I hope he's alright.
It may seem like I have these conversations all the time but it's actually quite rare. Since my conversations with homeless people don't usually happen on a regular basis, when they do, they leave a mark in my mind. While I was talking with this guy, I had another flashback of a really interesting conversation I had with a homeless guy a few years back at a hotel in Arizona.
I was in Arizona for a space conference and on one of those nights there was a party in a crowded hotel room. I did not feel that shouting over the music and chatter was worth it so I went downstairs to cool off. There, while standing outside, a homeless guy came up to me and instead of begging for money as I presumed, asked if he can borrow my phone to make a phone call. Apparently, someone was supposed to meet with him and etc. I told him to come into the lobby since it's cold outside and make his phone call. He did and said that he needed to wait.
We sat in the lobby and talked for a little while before he mentioned Bruce Li. Coincidentally, I had a Bruce Li movie on my laptop and so we started watching it. One of the guards came by a few times and was slightly suspicious but I told the guard that he was cool so the guard left us alone for a while. Ultimately though, it was quite obvious and the guard told him he had to leave. The guy made one last phone call and thanked me before leaving. I hope he found who he was looking for.
I feel like that the more privileged we are, the less open we are towards those who are less fortunate. I watched a documentary called Born Rich before on rich kids and it's apparent that most of these guys never interact at all with people who are not rich. In other words, 99% of the people in this world do not exist for these guys. They have their exclusive parties and getaway vacations. On the other hand, you have homeless people who are willing to talk to anyone to get some money or for those who are more genuine, have someone care about where they come from. Clearly, for society to operate well, the amount of wealth should not be an indication of how much or how little you talk with your fellow human being. Communication between all parties should be welcome.
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