Underwear Goes Inside the Pants

While working at the McCarthy Dormitory last Saturday night, I decided I should turn some music on as I attempted to start my homework. I was about to click Wiz Khalifa's music station on Pandora, but decided I was in the mood for something different. I chose Dubstep. However, instead of some bass and random noises that people call music, a song in which a man was sharing his opinions on different issues in the world began to play. I was going to change it but then I began to see his humor (as he used extremely sarcastic wording), and posted some lyrics on my Facebook to see if anyone else had heard of it.

This homeless guy asked me for money the other day. I was about to give it to him and then I thought he was going to use it on drugs or alcohol. And then I thought that's what I'm going to use it on. Why am I judging this poor bastard?

To my amazement, instead of people continuing with the lyrics or commenting about them, I just got 9 likes and 2 comments from my family members who were not particularly happy about the drugs and alcohol reference.

The results of my "experiment" made me analyze exactly what I do think when I come into contact with the homeless. For example, if I am going to 7-Eleven or the market and there is someone in front asking for money, I either look for a different entrance or drive the extra half a mile to another location. I know that these people are not trying to hurt me or cause conflict but I am overwhelmed with such sadness and pity that I would rather not face them. Truth is, I have given homeless people money a few times in my life, but I did not feel better about myself. Instead I kept thinking about the person who had received my change. I wondered about things such as how much do they make in a day, how did they get to such an awful place as they are, and if they had any family?

I know I would never end up living on the streets because of my family, but there is always that “what if” question looming. What if I did become addicted to drugs or alcohol, would they be able to help me? And would the pennies and nickels people gave me help or hinder? It is amazing that a 4 minute and 54 second song could have such a strong impact on me.

Narrated by a comedian, Wikipedia states that the song toped the UK Singles Chart in which it was first released in 2006 under the name Lazyboy. While the song is funny, what isn't is the fact that the current homeless rate is 636,017, according to www.endhomelessness.org. This means that for every 10,000 people in the general population, 21 of them are without a home, and for veterans the average becomes 31 homeless vets per 10,000 vets in the general population. Because of these startling facts, I believe that there needs to be more programs out there that give the homeless opportunities to get out of their particular finiancial situation and start over again. Instead of people laughing at the problems of our world, they should be willing to take a stand and help make a positive change.

- Victoria Federico