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February 04, 2009
Life : Of Buskers and Beggers
On Monday, as I went into work there was a street musician (a known "busker" in the UK and elsewhere, affording me the alliterative title for this essay) performing in the MUNI station. He was bluegrass fiddler of significant skill, and with very little thought I dug into my pocket and dropped a bit of money in his violin case. While I don't know the man's story, I would hope based on his skill that he is not homeless; but rather just a musician plying his trade for the public.
As I walked from the station to my office, I passed two of the "regular" beggars who ply that route. One is a man who clearly is much the worse for wear from his life on the street; but his slurred speech and distinctive smell would seem to indicate that some of his wear is self-inflicted by the abuse of alcohol. I passed him by.
The second regular beggar is a man in his 20's who positions himself just far enough away from a popular sandwich place to not be annoying, while close enough to hit up the customers of that establishment. I've seen him walk around, and he appears to be physically healthy but I recognize that there are other kinds of issues which can interfere with a person's ability to find gainful employment. I felt led to give this guy money on one occasion; but not Monday.
On my lunch walk I passed by another MUNI station, and there was a homeless man selling the "Street Sheet". For those unfamiliar with it (or the several institutions like it, such as "The Big Issue" in the UK or "Spare Change News" in Boston), the Street Sheet is a small newspaper published by a homelessness advocacy group. Homeless individuals who are willing to abide by the organization's rules are given copies of the paper for free for them to sell for $1 and are allowed to keep all of the money they collect. While the 8-page tabloid is clearly not worth $1, I make it a point to buy one whenever I see someone selling a new issue.
Later on my walk I passed by an older man wrapped in blankets sitting on a vent. He was not asking for change – in fact he said nothing. He just stared ahead with hopeless eyes that seemed to see nothing (just as most people did not seem to see him). There was a part of me (the Holy Spirit?) who wanted to do something for the man; but I didn't know what to do. Perhaps I should have just talked with him, let him know that someone knew he was there; but instead I walked past him and afterwards felt like the Scribe or Pharisee in the story of the "Good Samaritan".
While all this was going on, I was reminded of a homeless man who frequented our old church in Fremont – I'll call him "John". John would show up to most services and load up plates of food (yes, more than one) from the spread that was there for people during the break in the service, often taking a substantial percentage of the available pastries. He would do likewise at other church events. Here's the thing, as we got to know him we discovered that he was a trained optometrist, and has a brother who is a professional living in L.A. He was quite open about the fact that he could get a job if he wanted to; but chose to live on the street and off of the generosity of others. While John remained welcome within our church community, people knew better than to give him money.
These six people provide a good overview of moral landscape I am trying to find my way around living in San Francisco. There is so much need I see around me, and I just don't know how to respond. I am clearly willing to help those who are making an effort to help themselves; but I recognize that the people who most need help are those who are unable to make such an effort – people who might not be able to do more than ask for change, or perhaps not even be able to do that. Yet some of those people would simply use the money to buy things that would only make their condition worse, and some are in fact able to support themselves and live on the street by choice. That may be only a minority of the people I see on the streets; but their existence is a poison in my mind that I must struggle against.
I try to listen for God's voice within me to know when to help and when to walk by; but it isn't easy, particularly when that voice seems to indicate that what I should give is not my money; but my time (clearly there is work to be done in me). Anne and I have talked about putting together some tiny care packages (non-perishable and no-cooking-needed food and drink) that we could carry around with us wherever we go in the city and give out to people we see. Our assumption is that people who really are hungry would appreciate it, while those who insist on wanting money are more likely to be those who would use that money for unhealthy purposes.
I don't have answers; but God made a point of making me aware of all those people Monday and I thought I would share it.
Posted by Steven at February 4, 2009 05:00 AM
Comments
Another post that makes me sit back and go, "hmmmmm."
I find it interesting that the person it sounds like you were most willing to give to was the musician... possibly not a person in need. But he would have been the guy I would have been most likely to give to as well.
I dislike giving money to people on the street. I don't know the back story and a lot of times the stories supplied are false. For example, I've offered to buy a young girl in Chicago a train ticket when she asked for money to take the train (she declined the ticket). Same thing with a young boy in NYC looking to get to his aunt's in Philadelphia. In Cambridge, I've offered to buy a homeless(?) man a sandwich when he asked for money for food (he also declined but then I was offering a Big Mac). So mostly I ignore and shuffle on my way.
I love the idea of the mini-care packages and I truly hope they work. It is the kind of approach I would take.
Posted by: roland at February 4, 2009 10:03 AM
Yeah, I included the musician because it proves that the issue for me isn't the money itself (and because God made a point to drawing my attention to that fact).
Posted by: Steven at February 4, 2009 07:09 PM
