by Happy writer

Created on: September 20, 2008

Throughout history, the despondent and destitute have always been alienated, consciously ignored and sneered at. We, as a society do not like to see our shortcomings and one of our biggest flaws is our total lack of empathy for the unpalatable and uncomfortable. " Wait a minute," I hear the outcry now. "What is she talking about? I care. I give to the annual telethon to help those snotty nosed orphans in Bangladesh or was that Darfur? Whatever, I give therefore I care." If only it were that simple.

Giving is needed, always, and because we cannot rely on the government to provide funding for absolutely every cause out there, we turn to charities. Yet charity is not always about money. Another definition is kindness and tolerance in judging others, and this is where we fall short. If a stinky, unsightly man stands next to us on the bus, I don't somehow think we'll look him right in the eye and say, "Hi there, how's it going today?". As each stop passes, trying not to make it too obvious, we will naturally wobble away from him using all kinds of excuses, like moving over to check the bus route even though we know it by heart, or stepping aside to tie our loafers. We try to distance ourselves from the offensive odor in what we think to be an unnoticeably clever way, but the thing is, although that person is no spring time bloom, he knows what we are up to since he probably experiences this type of evasive behavior daily. Without realizing it, our getaway is discriminatory since the only difference between him and us is that he doesn't look too hot and smells like a toilet - a bit like our ailing grand father don't you think? But we let grandpa get away with it; after all we care about him, he's old, has lost a few neurons and can't fend for himself...And the person on the bus can?

On Sunday August 17th at 6:40 am, a vagrant walked into Starbucks on the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica and headed towards the bathroom. The staff, having had problems with these "types" before, refused him the use of their restroom and asked him to leave the store. He proceeded to defecate in the store and hurl his waste at the staff. This was no doubt an awful situation, repulsive not to mention unhygienic. But no sane person would do this. The man, it has been confirmed by both the police and a staff member at Starbucks, was homeless and suffered from mental illness. "I remember the case," Sergeant Akulfi said, smirking ever so slightly. " We don't have a report on him because

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