This holiday season, there's no doubt that you have seen, or perhaps even participated in one of those "Help the poor" programs. For example, at my school, we had such a program whereby students were asked to donate socks full of useful supplies such as toiletries and the like to homeless people. The rationale, it seems, was that they would be able to shave and so on, and at the very least, they'd get a free pair of socks and a warm fuzzy feeling in knowing that someone cares for them.

Now, let's look at this a little bit. With the help of a friend who spent two years living on the streets, I've gathered that, more or less, homeless people regard all of these things as a joke. And why shouldn't they? Do you really think being able to shave a few times is going to help someone get off the streets? Do you really think having a new pair of socks that will last maybe a couple of weeks are going to help them climb over the wall between the homeless and the wealthy, which has been mostly erected by us, the very people claiming to help them?

I contend that these programs, these 'projects' are more for us, the upper middle class white people, so that we can feel better about ourselves. We can donate a few dollars worth of supplies, and delude ourselves into thinking we're helping people. We're making a difference. We can look in the mirror and say, "Oh wow, aren't I GREAT! I did something NICE and WONDERFUL and I'm going to heaven for sure!" In other words, by helping homeless people, we're fulfilling our own narcissistic desires.

Furthermore, we're sending ourselves the message that we only have to care once a year. Maybe twice. The rest of the year, where are these homeless people? Where I live, several homeless people die a year because of the bitter cold in the winter months, which is about 2/3rds of the year. We give them this small token of support for one, perhaps two days. It's pretty insignificant.

In closing, I have but one more question to ask of you. How far do you think a handout is going to go towards getting a homeless person out of the pit of depression, despair and bullshit that we nod and smile and say "That's bad!" about, and yet we created and try as hard as we can to keep them in?

Steve