With friends like these...
As homelessness is a controversial subject, I would be disingenuous to refuse to account for making it the subject of art. The "thing speaks for itself" argument just doesn't cut it. Essay question required. Proof of subject mastery. Despite the difficulties, however, I will persist in defending my thesis.
You know the subject is valid, as well as I, and, by the principle of Aletheia (un-forgetting), I am confident that you, too, will come to agree with my argument. Let's begin with what YOU know. Everybody, at some time in life, experiences a moment of being transfixed by events as they whirl 'round oneself, "dizzying," making one utterly incapable of taking action -even if that was possible.
I know you've been there before. Never seen anything like it. Jaw-dropping. Fascinating. Hypnotizing. Over-the-top. A Happening. Epic. And, regardless of how you feel about it, beyond judgment -almost beyond words. It is an instance of what the Greeks referred to as epochē, defined by Britannica as,
"...suspension of judgment, a principle originally espoused by nondogmatic philosophical Skeptics of the ancient Greek Academy who, viewing the problem of knowledge as insoluble, proposed that, when controversy arises, an attitude of noninvolvement should be adopted in order to gain peace of mind for daily living."
I wish I'd said that! It summarizes the problem of homelessness better than I could hope to do.
To give the preceding concept context, I offer by way of personal disclosure reminiscences, at this time of year, on my past as a sales associate at Macy's, in New York City, during the Yule season. I was at that time working at a full-time job which satisfied my needs. The Macy's gig was temporary, "seasonal," part-time work. The pay was nominal. I wanted to experience the famous frenzy of Christmas shopping. Brace for the blitz. Test of my mettle.
As an entry-level cashier, my role was to support the lead cashier by ringing routine sales. She handled returns, credits, cash count, and all functions requiring past experience. The challenge for all sales associates was to be never more than a few steps (except for breaks) from the cashier's station, which was located near one of the doors on 34th Street. Be ready at all times. Look your best. Smile.
The buying frenzy peaks the weekend before Christmas. In the brief interval, before Christmas Day, buying is slightly off. Less crowded. All store personnel are about worn-out. As a diversion, shoplifters become more noticeable at this late hour, brazen, carrying merchandise openly from the store. Can't hide shoes still in the box under a coat. No need for secrecy. And they return, unlike paying shoppers, coming back again and again for more.
It came as a shock to my system, at first, to be ordered to stand down from attempts to stop shoplifters. Detention room is full, we were told. All we sales associates could do was shake our heads in disbelief. Without getting into details, it might help to characterize the scene as like a "flash mob," viewed in slow motion. At that time flash-mobbing was not yet a thing, but to describe it as a riot, would be an exaggeration. And, to repeat, it was all we sales associates could do to stand by and watch.
It is in comparison with this experience that I feel a similar helpless feeling about the homeless situation which I see everywhere. Helplessness is predicated on the inability to do anything helpful. What I struggle with is feeling guilty for that reason. Don't be hard on yourself, I say to myself. And, whatever you do (I continue), don't DO anything rash.
And so, as the year 2023 sputters to an end, we regard with wizened un-surprise the failure of California's brief, as amicus curiae, to the Supreme Court appealing lower court affirmations of homeless people's due process right to protection from enforced relocation by State, and municipal, government. Search as we may, we must be satisfied to infer the writ's failure to solicit the Justices' sympathy from the lack of news reports of acceptance.
Forgive me if I find humor in the situation. I can't help cringing at the irony of the appeal foundering upon the dignified steps of The Supreme Court, much as an anonymous vagabond falls prostrate on the steps of the local City Hall.