A Selfish Society

Yesterday, a shocking event happened to me. It was, at first, a normal school day with all the same routines and schedule. However, I decided to go grab some dinner off campus (Chipotle). I noticed a homeless man sitting next to the restaurant and asked him if I could get him some food, since I had a buy one get one free burrito coupon. Instead, he just asked for a coca cola so I agreed to buy him one from the CVS next door.



Then the most random/shocking thing happened. A girl on a bike yelled, "Here dude, catch!" and tossed a to-go box of some rice. The only problem was that the toss was way off, and the food spilled all over the side walk. In response, the girl looked offended and scoffed at him while riding away. I'm sure the woman had a good intention to give food to a homeless man, but it bothered me that she was offended that the homeless man was caught off guard and didn't catch the food. Why couldn't she have taken the effort to get off the bike and hand him the food? Yes I know at least she made an effort to give him food, but to toss it at him nonchalantly like he was some animal?... that bothered me the most.

I'm not trying to hate on this woman or bash her. Instead, this situation made me realize how society has become so selfish. We are so caught up with our own lives that we don't care to help another HUMAN. It's as if life is a game of "every person for them-self". If you were neglected and ignored, wouldn't it hurt you? I'm not saying to always give money or something to homeless people, but it doesn't hurt to acknowledge someone's presence and say something to them. They are people who were created equally and uniquely just as we were.

Many make the assumption that the person is homeless because of their mistakes and wrong decisions. But that's not the case for every homeless person. Whatever happened to the saying "don't judge a book by its cover"? It seems that we use these mottoes and rules when we feel like it. We choose to help others when it's convenient for us or when it's along the way on our path to achieve our own goal.

All this was going through my head as I was buying the coca cola. I handed the drink to him and asked to pray for him. I'm sure he was tired of hearing people try to preach and convert him, but that wasn't my goal. He just seemed like a guy who needed some prayer and encouragement. In my opinion, it seems like these people have been neglected for so long that the pain just numbs away. When someone tries to genuinely help them, they see it as someone trying to make them-self feel good by "helping" a homeless person. People in society are always concerned about themselves: making themselves feel happy or good.

PS: I'm not saying that I'm better than anyone, I'm just as guilty as anyone else. However, I'm trying to change my ways from this realization. Also, I'm sure there are few who do genuinely care for others.