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Brian Kerin A&E Editor I sometimes tell myself, while walking out the door from my house up the street to University Way in the University District, "how nice it would be if not a single homeless person would ask me for change, or if I wanted to buy drugs, or if I wanted to buy the latest issue of the homeless paper, Real Change." I have lived in the University District for nearly six months, and although the positives of my nieghborhood outweigh the negatives, I still can't figure out why the U-District is a haven for transients. I mean, think of the demographic: young people between the ages of 18-30 with one thing in common: The University of Washington. Almost everyone living in this area is a student. Why beggars target us is a conundrum I cannot comprehend. Who says we have money? Who says we don't struggle to get even the most basic essentials for living? And, who exactly is supporting the U-District's homeless culture if I am not? I think about this issue quite frequently, and one question pops up every time: Why don't the homeless move to a more lucrative area of operation? The "suits" in Belltown or Downtown surely have more to give than a town filled with struggling students. As well, some of the suburbs and surrounding areas of Seattle would seem to be better places to ask for handouts. I never see homeless people on Queen Anne, which to me, would seem a perfect place to suck the loose change from Land Rover-driving "yuppies." Of course, I can't just group all the homeless into one single category. During the day, the most frequent transient sightings come in the form of the punk-clad young people, who for the most part just sell drugs and ask for cigarettes. I don't know any of these kids' stories. There could be horrible tales of abuse and neglect, but on the other hand they might just be stubborn kids who wouldn't adapt to their parents' rules. If the latter is the case, then these kids should just go back home and stop polluting my town with their loud mouths and tattered appearance. Another subcategory of homeless culture comes in the form of the middle-aged, sign-carrying, and morose-looking inhabitants of every street corner from the freeway off-ramp to the start of my street. Although, their signs don tales of suffering children and say things like "good Christian," I can't help to get the feeling like these signs might be as phony as the sad looks that carry these people's faces all the time. It would be so nice to come back from a hard day at work and not have to avoid making eye contact with one of these street-corner warriors. The last and most unwanted group of homeless to be found in the U-District is the alcoholics and junkies that wait till dark and then set up shop in doorways and building overhangs. I could especially do without this sad group of people. Walking from bar to bar, there's no way to avoid the raspy, unintelligible cries for change and cigarettes. Too often, I have found myself getting dragged into a sad story, sitting down with these people trying to give them a pep talk, only to see them sitting in the same spot the next night asking for change and attention from their next victim. Say I'm insensitive. That assumption is probably correct; I guess I'm fed up. I stopped giving change to the homeless the minute I moved to the U-District. It's the only way to keep from growing resentful. I truly feel every one of these people could get themselves off the street if they wanted to, and for that reason I don't feel sorry for any one of them, no matter what their tale of woe may be. To live in the best neighborhood in Seattle you have to train yourself to utterly ignore other human beings. It might be a sad realization, but it is my reality. © 2003 Shoreline Community College™ |