RSSDivine Delusions
There are a lot of people in New York City. We have people here from almost every demographic, every race, ethnicity, and every stratum of mental stability. Pressed as we are into small spaces every day, we have made ignoring each other an art form. We walk down crowded sidewalks, hardly glancing up, without bumping into anyone. We have learned to spend hours in packed subways, ignoring eye contact and the conversations going on around us.
With so many of us doing our best to stay out of each others’ way, it has become part of our daily routine to turn a blind eye to the homeless and mentally ill people. Despite the perception, not all homeless people are mentally ill. Yet, it’s safe to say that many homeless wandering the city, for lack of a better term, are insane.
Some days, it’s difficult to ignore these people, who often sleep in our paths, beg for change, or rant about things we do not understand. We all do our best to help these unfortunate souls from time to time, but usually it’s a matter of self-preservation to keep our distance. If we listen to all their rants and speeches or sit down and try to help them, we would bankrupt and emotionally burn out ourselves. As of May 2008, the New York City Department of Homeless Services, estimates 33,663 people stay in city shelters every night and countless others choose to sleep in the streets, parks, and subways. If a high proportion of the homeless are mentally ill, nobody would ever get to work, listening to their stories and speeches or trying to help them all with handouts. So, we end up ignoring them like we ignore everyone else around us. We avert our eyes, walk around them, turn up our iPods or bury our noses in newspapers. We hope they get the help they need, sigh a little, and move on.
What kind of help do the homeless usually get, if they get any? Looking for answers, I spoke to my roommate, who works in an inpatient ward for the criminally insane at the Kirby Forensic Psychiatric Institute on Randall’s Island. She works with heavily medicated men and women who have been institutionalized, because either they were deemed unfit to stand trial or were found innocent by reason of insanity. Many were homeless prior to their incarceration and had serious mental illnesses, which went untreated until they committed violent crimes. One of her patients, a man who converted to Rastafarianism, was institutionalized because, during his trial, he claimed that his religion made him a representative of the Messiah.
When my roommate told me, I was startled. Here was a man who had merely said that he represented the divine, and he had been locked up, while almost every day on the subway, I hear someone who claims to talk directly to God. Many schizophrenics and epileptics have delusions of directly speaking to God or being God, and we just walk by them or forget about them. I’ve even heard people who claim to be the second coming of Jesus Christ. I began wonder: What if one of them actually is Jesus? Would anybody even notice him making his beautiful speeches to crowds of iPod-listening commuters? Or would we take exception and lock him up like the man my roommate knows? If we medicated him for his “delusions”, could he perform miracles to prove who he was? For all we know, Jesus has come back to New York, and we have just locked him up or marginalized him as a crazy person. What a scary thought!
The idea that we may have locked up Jesus Himself is a bit far-fetched, but it’s scary how many people we ignore every day. The severity of the illnesses some homeless people cope with and the careless attitudes of the people around them upsets me. We’ve become so cynical and callous that we don’t even notice what they go through, or listen to what they have to say. The worst part is the difficulty in finding a remedy. There are overwhelming numbers of homeless and mentally ill in our city, and thousands more behind bars or in institutions. Is anybody listening to them? If not, how can we show more support?
7 Comments, Comment or Ping
TROUBLMan
I’m glad you decided to explore this topic. It’s something I’ve often considered. In fact, I believe Jesus is cruising the streets of New York. If not Jesus, than someone or people with his spirit. I ride the trains and I often listen to the speeches. I work hard to decipher their sincerity. And I always try to give them change. If I truly believe them I give; and sometimes I give to the people I don’t believe just because their performance was enough to capture my attention. Mainly, I give to inspire others to give.
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"A Mom"
This post makes you really think.
I remember my ex-boyfriend and I met a homeless man in the park. We started a conversation with him. It lasted for a couple of hours and he was very insightful and full of love and peace. As we were leaving my boyfriend introduced himself and he asked the man his name. “Jesus” that was his words. I never questioned what he said and reminded myself about entertaining angels. You never know.
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Q.
good post.. but yea, i did think the Hay-sus joint was far fetched, but i get your point.. it’s hard to decipher some times.. i often stop by and talk to people on the street, because i’m told that i have a face that makes people think i’m actually interested in what they have to say.. that may be true 25% of the time, but the other 75% i’m always on some “why me? why today?”, because my momma raised me right, and i can’t just walk away from them.. i rarely give out spare change, because i’m of the cloth that i want someone to earn my money.. handouts ain’t working..
another issue is that in NYC, there are too many fake homeless people.. i saw a white dude last week begging for money, and he went in his pocket and $20 fell out.. i told him, “you dropped your 20″ and he thanked me.. we all laughed, cuz it was just sad.. i know dude had to move from his spot with his dirty dog after his real money fell out.. so that is a major issue as well w/ many ppl walking by these ppl..
overall, it’s a sad case to witness.. i know a true homeless person on the train, by noticing that the car is empty.. that dude don’t clean.. them ppl coming on begging and bringing their kids?? i’m not with that.. that’s some BS in my opinion, because what sane person will prostitute their child like that for a dollar.. put your daughter in school, let her get her free meal, and you go beg by yourself..
sorry, i been in nyc for too long..
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"A Mom" reply on June 10, 2008 1:58 pm:
I get that same thing from people. I guess they feel I’m approachable and easy to talk to. I can’t resist stopping when people ask for money and I don’t question their motives I just give what I have.
I do agree that for some this is a living pretending they are homeless when they are not and that is also a concern with me because they make it hard for you to trust those who really need it.
I also have a problem with people using children. There is no reason a child should be out begging. They didn’t ask to be in this position and I don’t support a parent making a child beg.
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Malia reply on June 10, 2008 4:43 pm:
LOL!!!! Lord please help Q.! Okay I was with you on the whole Hay-sus joint being far fetched! But then you went wayyyy left. I’m going to help you! So get ya Bible out—–
Well to believers, that is just another fulfillment of end time prophecy. You see in the last days many will come claiming that they are Jesus Christ. In fact over the last few years this has been rather common and many uninformed people even followed them. But Jesus Himself warns us not to go where they are because they will have the power to deceive even the elect with their signs and tongue. In fact Jesus says that we are not to be fooled because “as lightning flashes from east to west so shall the coming of the son of man be.” Matthew 24:37 In that statement He warns us of these false deceivers. Anyway, Jesus ain’t comin in the form of a bumb anyway, he did too much work on the cross for him NOT to return in all HIS GLORY!!!!
Hebrews 13:1-2 says, “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels”. Could a chance encounter with a stranger be something more? I do feel A MOM, whether we’re helping an angel or helping a fellow human being made in God’s image, God wants us to be kind, merciful and loving—just as He is.
I think we should have compassion for one another all the time, period! I mean is it that hard to take time out of your day to say, “Hey, what’s up?” I mean, we even do that for our enemies, I know I do. I don’t judge the mentally ill, because you never know, that could be my mom, or brother, or child. I feel deeply for anyone who can’t control their thoughts, their mind. It’s so sad when I see people talking to themselves, or hitting their heads against walls and windows, or cry out for attention. It’s not funny, it’s really disturbing and I can’t imagine what it would be like to live one day in their shoes, nor would I want to. More than anything I speak as a sign of gratitude that I have control over all of my senses, I am immensely thankful. REAL TALK.
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Q. reply on June 11, 2008 6:58 am:
ok, Malia, i hear you.. i don’t think i went far left, but i feel you.. without all of the Bible thumping (couldn’t resist), i truly feel that when Hay-sus returns, we’ll all know.. I’m just thinking his Pops is going to floss him out this time.. Have him return with Kanye confidence.. I mean, that’s the least he could do this time, right? Being that the first time he had to deal with taunts like “that’s why you don’t have a father!”, “your mother’s a hoe!”, etc.. then, cats was using him as a pin cushion.. i’m thinking this time around, dude will be placed in a better position.. i’m just sayin’..
in terms of the mentally ill, i’ll come clean and say that i have extensive experience with the mentally ill through family and work.. i’m no expert, but i did have a show back in the day (QuEncy, M.D. - only jokes).. seriously, though, there are some key indicators that can allow you to separate the pros from the cons.. i was a part of a conference for the National Association for the Mentally Ill (NAMI), and it was crazy to see (no pun intended).. i still remember having a conversation with a PhD dude that battles with bipolar disorder.. brilliant dude.. but then he’ll flip out, and next thing you know i was talking to Crockett from Miami Vice.. i felt for his wife that had to deal with it, as on one occasion, he had her locked up.. he was having a manic episode, and was able to convince the cops that she was the one that was crazy and not him..
so i feel y’all, but at the same time, i don’t.. most of them are frauds in NYC.. across the world? probably not.. here in NY?? “kick rocks”..
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Malia reply on June 11, 2008 8:31 am:
LOL!!!! I can’t even talk right now because you got me over here crackin up!!! S-H-U-T U-P!!!! You really be on one!!! I’m gald God has a sense of humor, HE HAS TOO to put up with us!!! Yeah, I thought about that too….Jesus really had to go throuh it!!! And to not go postal on ‘em, that should be proof right there that he wasn’t the average dude!!!!
Yeah, you’re right about the con-artists. In LA there was a chick who cleaned the winshields for money (even when you didn’t want ther to)…she was always beggin’….one day I go to the video store and see the same chick so fresh and so clean rollin’ a Volkwagon Jetta - WTF???? Another incident happened when I was coming from the store and there was a bumb outside. I was in a giving mood so I pulled out a dollar but a $20 fell on the ground. He picked the dub off the ground and proceeded to pocket my money. I was like whoa! I said, “give me my money” and he tried to roll up on me! I pulled out my cell phone and started dialling 911 when he pulled my money out of his pocket and begged me NOT to call the police. Talk about PISSED???? I decided then and there that I’m not throwing my pearls to swine ever again. I work hard for my money! I wake up at 5:00AM every morning! I have compassion but I ain’t no fool!!! I don’t have compassion for an able bodied man or woman beggin’ for anything when they can go out and get a job just like me! If I offer to buy a bumb something to eat and he gets belligerent then he didn’t want to eat in the first place!…I’m just sayin’. If he wants to get high, he should get a job to support his habit…that’s not my responsibility!
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