MAP Forum

I wrote this in January of 2013.

I watch the lonely and wretched fall through the cracks of a system that doesn't cater to them. They are on the streets without a home, without friends, without family, without a job. Love has eluded them. Every sign of affection has been denied them. They never were part of the crowd. They were always loners. Always misunderstood. Always frowned upon. Jesus would probably walk amongst them as nobody else will. They are indeed the "least of these". Their beauty and genius is there. BBut it is not to be shown. It is even called "sick", "evil", "odd". They are your artists, your writers, your saints, your musicians, your left behinds. They are the most underrated. They do not think like everyone else. They are shunned, beaten, harassed. Children are told steer clear of them. Sadness dwells in them and puts shame on the society that rejects them. The society of ingnorance. The society of bigots. The society of fearmongers. The society of greed.
This is a society that will crumble and as it continues to degrade those that do not conform to its narrow standards. This is a society deserving of death.
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Society today is no better than its ever been. It's still packed with greed, corruption, good and bad.

One thing I like to do with my kids every weekend is we take a bunch of bank notes out and we go into town for the usual reasons, grab lunch, do some shopping, but we look for homeless people as well and when we see someone we go to them, we give them a ten which is a decent amount and we talk to them, about who they are, how they're feeling, if they want to talk then about their past and future plans and hopes. The messaging I've given my kids is that ten dollars or pounds or euros is nice for us but it's really meaningful for them. Sometimes we'll give a 20 or anything up to 100. The aim is to give that money away and to learn something about these people and to see if there's any way we can really help someone. Maybe they are trying to get somewhere, maybe they want to work, maybe they have an addiction or are running from or to something. I remind my kids that it could be any of us some day, it must be hard to have so many people just walk by and not care.

My kids love doing this, they feel they are helping someone and they are learning about that side of society most people never see. Most kids or adults never really see that side of society. Sure they see homeless people but they ignore them beyond offering some change, I think people are afraid at times at having to confront their own societies.

That's one thing I love about churches and mosques and other religious groups, they do reach out to these people and they offer love and support. But it shouldn't be down to just religious groups. I wonder how many maps are homeless? How many maps pushed so far to the edge of society that they've walked away and just live running on the streets.

Just this weekend as we did this I talked to my kids about the problems faced by people leaving prison. Unable to find work and rebuild their lives but they must if they are to integrate back into society. We should be helping those to, helping everyone that society shuns.

That's one thing I love about churches and mosques and other religious groups, they do reach out to these people and they offer love and support. But it shouldn't be down to just religious groups. I wonder how many maps are homeless? How many maps pushed so far to the edge of society that they've walked away and just live running on the streets.

Just this weekend as we did this I talked to my kids about the problems faced by people leaving prison. Unable to find work and rebuild their lives but they must if they are to integrate back into society. We should be helping those to, helping everyone that society shuns.

I have read that for registrants, 80% are homeless. I am also on the registry and don't know how it is that I have been lucky enough to have both a job and a place to live. I guess that is because that state that I live has no registry registrations though some apartment complexes will not a allow a registrant like myself to rent form there. It is also crazy to me how we can release a person from prison and demand that they find work and housing yet at the same time make very tough for them to do so. Our system needs to change and it needs to happen quick.