I Hate The Homeless

...ness problem that plagues our city.

A news article from KSL made the rounds a few weeks ago on the Facebooks, so pretty much the entire state of Utah saw their expose on the "business of begging."  The article revealed that many panhandlers use the money they get from begging to support drug habits, rather than purchase food or shelter for the night, as most people probably suspect they would.  The entire tone of the article seemed to imply that these panhandlers are criminally deceitful and do not deserve pity or charity.

And the whole thing pissed me right the &$#^ off.

I'm not a terribly compassionate person.  Given a bit of disposable income, I'm far more likely to purchase another seaon of Ducktales than provide a meal for a hungry family.  Heck, I'm still holding a grudge against some lady who cut me off in traffic three months ago.  So this isn't really a call to Christian charity or anything - or, if it is, I acknowledge it's a fairly hypocritical one.

See, the article also points out that many of the people we see around Salt Lake City begging for change are suffering from some pretty serious mental illnesses.  They're sick people, but since they use the money they get from appealing to the sympathy of the general population to feed their illnesses, they get exposed to all sorts of scorn.  And, guys, that's a big freakin' deal.

Good mental health care is very difficult to find in the Salt Lake area - heck, in just about the entire state.  Even if you do find it, psychiatric services can be quite expensive.  Insurance plans are now required to provide mental health coverage (or will be as of 2014), but, even so, most plans used by lower-income households won't pay for finer care.  A lot of people are forced to attend programs that are understaffed and overcrowded - assuming they have the resources and capacity to manage their care themselves.

The truth is, I suspect that many of the people who beg for change are really in need - just not the need that they're advertising in Sharpie on their cardboard signs.  Obviously, the ills of the homeless and the beggars won't be soothed by receiving spare change from the holiday shoppers - after all, I doubt that the $0.78 I drop in the panhandler's cup after I buy my daily bagel will be used to cover the cost of a Lithium prescription copay.  Frankly, I'm not sure what the best use of that $0.78 is.  But I feel that it's criminal of us to shut off our sympathy because someone lied about their problem.  They've still got other problems, maybe even more serious ones.  We can be better people than that.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to finish up my Batman fanfiction where the Caped Crusader punches out lousy drivers.

News Newbie

I spend most of my Wednesdays out in Magna doing improv workshops with the Jesters Royale. Often, my favorite part of the workshop is a ten-minute segment we call "Pop Culture Theater," wherein we discuss a lot of current happenings and whatnot. Obviously, we usually focus on pop culture topics (big movies at the box office, popular bands, etc.). However, every now and again, someone will bring up something actually significant in the world at large.

For example, a couple of weeks ago, someone at the workshop mentioned a tear gassing incident that took place during a protest in New York. I asked him for more details - like what the protest was actually about - and he kinda shrugged and said, "I'm not sure they actually know."


He was, of course, talking about the "Occupy Wall Street" movement. And I had no idea that was actually happening.

Since then, I've tried to educate myself a bit on the subject, and I find that there's a LOT that's happened recently that I didn't know about. For example:

• The country of Greece is on the verge of financial collapse.
• Michael Jackson's doctor, who treated the pop star just before he died, is apparently still on trial for manslaughter.
• There was a little riot in Egypt that makes the "Occupy Wall Street" movement look like a pickup football game
• Apparently, people start running for president more than a year before the actual election.

I kid a little - I'm not a COMPLETE ignoramus, and I'd heard bits and pieces about all the above. The point still stands that I have next to no idea WHAT is going on in the world today outside of what's reported by The Daily Planet (Hot Tip: The Daily Planet doesn't actually exist).

So I've spent the last few days actively looking up news. It's weird, and I'm not quite sure I'm understanding EVERYTHING going on. It's like I've started watching a new television show halfway through the season, and I don't know who the characters are yet.

(I'm pretty sure that's a sad and telling metaphor I've chosen to employ.)

Anyway, I'm sticking to this whole "news" thing for a while. I mean, I'm an alleged adult now (at least, that's what my driver's license tells me). Guess it's time to stay informed.