The homeless people in my area seem to be facing a new problem, as if living on the street didn’t offer enough troubles already.

Homelessness

Since I’ve had friends who have found themselves in this situation in the past, I tend to notice the people who have been forced into living on the streets, and I’ve always tried to help them if I’m able. The homeless problem has never really been ‘somebody else’s problem’ to me, and lately these unfortunate beings are becoming more visible in the town where I live.

The other day I overheard a conversation about this visibly growing homeless population on the streets in town, and I particularly noticed the conclusive statement at the beginning of the conversation: “Somebody is running a stable of beggars!” They then explained how a stable of beggars would work, and I kept on eavesdropping in amazement, as I hadn’t heard of such a thing since Charles Dickens and his Oliver Twist, and certainly wasn’t expecting to hear the 21st century middle-of-America version of this business model.

A New Twist on the Stable of Beggars

In just the last year it has become more common to see people standing at busy intersections holding a piece of cardboard with their plights abbreviated into a few words, in hopes of getting a handout from the captive audience; those drivers who are waiting at the red lights. I’ve given money to these panhandlers in the past, when I could feel their anguish from my comfortable-enough car, I thought. Now though, I was hearing something that really got my attention.

What if the person standing on that high-traffic street corner with the cardboard sign is actually working for someone else? What if their boss comes by in a car after lunchtime and picks up the beggars, takes them to McDonald’s for a 30 minute break and then sets them back on their corners for the afternoon's traffic?

Allegedly, that’s exactly what was witnessed at one of the busier intersections in town one day recently, and now it nearly boggles my imagination to envision how such an operation would work right here in Average Town, USA. I imagined nonetheless, and saw what a rare and cold mentality it would take to set up such an operation as that, where this shady business owner takes advantage of people who are out of luck by offering them a chance to earn some money and get a free lunch, while then completely taking advantage of the kind, giving hearts and trusting spirits of unsuspecting motorists all day long.

Who Needs Help In The World

There’s a part of me that can’t believe that this is really going on here, and the logistics of how such an operation would even work are probably beyond me, or at least beyond where I care to venture. The main thing that I noticed when I heard this story though, is that this sort of Panhandlers Inc. won’t help the people who really need it. This may raise the question, who really needs help? We all do.

My trouble is, that if I see one person suffering in the world, then I suffer. Nature designed us to feel this empathy, it’s a common part of human nature, and with the exception of a few psychopaths, we all have this nagging empathy, and it won’t go away. We were designed this way, it’s one of our superpowers.

In using this empathy, we can see what bravery and desperation it would take to stand on the side of a busy, affluent intersection asking for money, and we can surely see what a potent spell the dollar has cast over us all. Without the dollar’s filter in place, we are able to see that these beings that have been labeled homeless, beggars and bums are actually us-- when seen from Earth, and when addressed on a soul level; that is me standing there in spirit, daring each motorist to examine themselves, to get their own Sharpie marker, their own piece of cardboard, and then stand in front of a mirror for a few minutes.

The story of the professional beggars, if true, must describe a rare type of person who could dream up such a business, and while I don't want to be tricked or cheated, the tale won’t deter me from helping people when they need it. I will still offer a hand at the risk being pulled in, and yet I'll know when it’s time to withdraw my trust. I work with a formula that I was taught long ago:

It is better to trust strangers and risk being occasionally cheated, than to live a life of constant suspicion, and then still get cheated on occasion.

We Can’t Do This Alone

There are countless reasons and situations that can cast a person onto the pavement, and whether it’s a complete surprise, a tragedy or just a run of bad luck, it can happen to anyone. Sometimes the dingiest clothes house the brightest souls, and we are all learning more about the control that a centralized money supply has had over our minds and our societies for such a long time, so that our imaginations will include everyone, even the ones who are showing us these things as they stand with their mirrors on the roadside.

Be they actors dressed as bums, or bums teaching us how to act towards each other, we can’t do this ‘better world’ thing without them, and they remind us that we are all humans, which doesn’t cost us anything, and is probably the best place to start.

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thanks for reading along, all artwork above is by me, 2017, ballpoint pen, color pencil, and then some digital alterations

@therealpaul