On My Happy Cloud

The Difference Between Homeless People and Bums....

I love stand up comedians. Because yeah, they're funny but they always have very strong view points that I almost always agree with. One of my favorite comedians, Dana Gould, for instance talks about being homeless and being a bum. I just wanted to share....


“I thought it took time…to become a bum. I didn’t know you could rocket right into it. I thought you had to attain grace before you fell from it. You can’t retire until you work. And they all have an ethic, they all have a hero…Trent Reznor T-Shirts, Nine Inch Nails, Rage Against the Machine….but have you noticed that none of your heroes are here? Trent Reznor’s not hanging out on the sidewalk in front of the convenience store? Maybe…he’s at work. He’s a professional musician. He gets paid money to sing F—the system to YOU. He takes that money and spends it on other businesses creating an economy. This basic exchange of goods and services is the backbone of every system you claim to not be a part of, so I can’t give you MY money. I can’t infect you with my dirty, capitalist money. I can’t be the corporate snake who takes you out of your Eden Paradise of sidewalk living. Homeless people have no choice. YOU have a choice. You’re not homeless. You’re ALWAYS home.”

Maybe this helps me understand the conflict I feel when I see a person on the sidewalk asking for money. We have a few very "hippy" looking pan handlers who sit on a corner doing this near where we live. They can't be older than us and we've even seen them on a cell phone while doing it. Interesting. Like he says, you have to attain grace before you can fall from it and how can you expect to panhandle someone else's money when you are so very against money in the first place. I consider myself a compassionate person but I also consider myself a very fair person. I'm more understanding to someone who lost everything than someone who says "F the system, got any change?"


Elaine Bradley