-- --

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Society's Trash

Homeless in the subway station
Photo by myself in Penn Station.

A homeless man seeks out a hint of privacy and shut eye.

--

I cannot imagine living on the streets. I bet you're always hungry, thirsty and tired, no matter what you do.

My days have been rather repetitive lately, since I've been busy, but I've noticed homeless people on all the streets I'm on.

Maybe it's just those particular streets? There is always the guy sitting on one corner with one leg, his amputated stump exposed. There is always the man in the subway station with large pieces of luggage stuffed full.

It's rather depressing. The longer I take photos, the more I notice of the homeless. It's a problem that will not go away.

Related posts: Life In High Contrast, Castaways, Down And Out In Soho and Life In High Contrast

12 comments:

Carly said...

That is sad... you seem very compassionate though, and there seems to be something, calling to you. Maybe right now it's just a whisper, because the discouragement of seeing the extent of problem. When the time is right you will see how to help in some way.

Jerez Sherry said...

I think the homeless serve a great purpose, one most folks over look, that is to remind us we have hearts.

Some fight that feeling, and try to say that they deserve living this way, and all of them are on drugs, alcohol, etc. We have strange ideas that it is what you do, not who you are that is important. But I feel that each person is important for who they are, not what they do. Humans have intrinsic value, all of life has intrinsic value. All of life is life, to be respected.

THank you for your post.

Wayne said...

Thanks for including that pic Kitty. We need to be reminded that our cities aren't just interesting buildings, nice views and quirky signs.

What I noticed on my visit was that homelessness and panhandling seemed to vary by neighbourhood in NYC. But I can honestly say that in my walking around I never saw it as bad as it is in Vancouver.

I lay the blame squarely on governments.

Mom Knows Everything said...

That is so sad. I don't know how they survive, especially ones with children.

dianasfaria.com said...

Homelessness is such a sad reflection of our society, but an important one to look at nonetheless. Thanks for posting a powerful photo Kitty.

• Eliane • said...

This picture breaks my heart.
In my neighborhood, there is one homeless man who always intrigues me because he is such a contrast from the usual homeless people. He is sitting silently on a plastic box, reading books or newspapers. He has long hair, always clean clothes, is often shaved. He doesn't bother anyone. People stop to bring him sandwiches or to chat. And he is there every day. He seems very peaceful and relax. And he is in a good mood pretty much every day. As if he was a modern age poet or philosophe.

Kitty said...

Most people living on the street are far gone in some respect. How can they not be.

I'm sure you develop a rather distorted view of things when you have zero comforts, zero privacy, zero security. You might develop some friendships, but your focus is consumed with trying to find food, shelter and a toilet.

I'm not sure what can be done. After seeing so many homeless, one cannot help but feel as helpless as they do about their plight.

Olivier said...

cette photo serait amusante , si......... vraiment très et trop dure....
this picture would be fun if ......... and really too hard ....

Kris McCracken said...

I hope that he punched a few holes in the bag!

The visible homeless are often a confronting sight for those not used to seeing mental illness up close (they often go hand in hand in Australia).

Diederick Wijmans said...

This is so sad. It really breaks your heart looking at this photo, and there are unfortunately so many of these homeless people.
You were able to catch sheer misery.

Anonymous said...

a great shot It must be so lonely out there!!!

Fredrik said...

A very important picture, like many have pointed out. Makes me appreciate what I've got.