Todd Hiestand // Missional Living in Suburban America

Why Do We Hate The Homeless?

For the last year or so we’ve had about 15 people going down to Love Park in Center City Philadelphia to serve, get to know and bring food to the homeless population that lives there.  It’s been a very neat ministry and I’m pretty sure that these are the kind of people that Jesus would be reaching out to.  But, over the last year or so I’ve begun to think that this kind of thing is what “any normal person would do.” I mean, how can you not have compassion on those who have no home?  Admittedly I’ve only gone down once beacause of my schedule but the one time I did go was very eye opening.  I was amazed to meet some of the homeless men and women who had jobs, were doing there best to make it and at the same time meeting others who had obviously given up.  Their stories were all so different yet many of them were also the same.  On that night, the homeless became “real people” to me.  For so long I have gone down to Philly and tried my best to ignore them.  I thought they were gross and annoying.  Then I met them.  They are wonderful people.  People that God loves deeply.

That’s why this afternoon when Gary sent me an article in on Philly.com about a murder in the park that we serve in it broke my heart.   In the story you read that one homeless person killed another.  How sad.  Its quite possible that my friends from The Well know one or all three of the people involved in the story.

But, what broke my heart even more was the comments that follow this article.  Here are some examples:

stop2think says: “Let me get this right, a woman kills another for the love of a man who has no job, no home, and no future. There is indeed a lid for every pot.”

Mark C Student says: “that is one homeless person down - now if only they would all take care of each other so that those of us who work and pay taxes can enjoy our city - honestly - they have time to have sex love triangles and make all kinds of friends and sex partners - they could find time to get jobs - at least now this one woman has another solution to the homeless problem”

daddyimscared says: “OK..lets recap–in the heart of Center City we have TWO homeless woment fighting for the affection of another homeless guy, and one kills the other! They have the energy to kill but not to work??”

why says: “get them off the street. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. The rubbish, the crime, the exposing of themsleves and the filth. This is an easy solution. ENFORCE THE NO CAMPING. These people dont want help…..They want to have teh right to live on our streets and our parks…have sex……fornicate and relieve themselves in public…..How long does this city need to be subjected to this”

I would bet my life that these ignorant, insensitive jerks have never once spoken to, not sat with one of these homeless people.

Go ahead and read the article if you want… Of the reader comments I read not one of them were kind or had any compassion on the loss of another human beings life.

Ugh. I realize again jsut how radical loving the homeless and sitting with the homeless really is. This isn’t to hold us up righteous. We’re just following the example of Jesus…