All posts by Joline

One Man’s Reality Put Into Perspective

After watching the movie “Taylor’s Campaign” in class on Thursday (1/30), which was about the homeless man running for city council in Santa Monica, I was able to see and understand how the government plays a role for homeless people. This man wanted to make a difference for his local homeless community. He wanted to show people that just because he is homeless does not mean he is helpless.

In this movie, we saw how homeless people banded together to make a home on the streets. But we also saw police taking that temporary home away from them. We saw hospitals dropping off elderly people on the street, a woman trying desperately to find a safe place to stay for her and her young child, and a group of people who became family getting there safe place taken away from them. All of these things seem to be normal occurrences in our society today. This movie put these situations into perspective.

Most importantly, this movie showed the power of one’s voice. You are just one person, but you can make a huge difference in your society, just like Ron Taylor. He used his voice and his candidacy as a quest for equality and hope. We saw members of the homeless community spending their days searching for bottles and cans to have some sort of income. It shows the struggles that homeless people endure everyday and gives insight to those who maybe turn a blind eye to the homeless. Ron Taylor wanted to see a change for the homeless and even though he did not win, his courage, bravery, and his outspoken heart made people aware of what is happening and shed light on the lives of the homeless and how we can all make a difference.

To watch a clip of Taylor’s Campaign, follow the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GeoTK5SQEQ

 

Empathy

After reading “Nickel and Dimed” and “Book of the Poor”, I got some great insight into the lives of people living in poverty. Sometimes it is easy to get caught up in the stereotypes and judgments of people living in poverty. People question them, saying why don’t they just get a job or they think they did something bad which put them in that situation. By reading these and hearing the voices of these people helped me create a sense of empathy. Something that really stuck out to me was a man named Robert. He mentioned how he feels as if he has no where else to turn and no other options. Therefore, he has turned to crime (robbery), drugs, and alcohol. The fact that people feel like they have no where to turn, shows how there needs to be a change within our society. They have lost hope in society and hope in themselves.

homeless2[1]

During this past week, empathy had played a huge role. This data exercise put numbers into perspective. I got to see how people struggle financially on a day to day basis to make ends meet. It made me ask myself, what can I do to help? How many people are there solely in Redlands that are struggling? What is the city government doing about it? Lastly, what can we do about it? People often think that they cannot do anything because they are only one person. But helping the society has to start somewhere, even if you are just one person.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Nickel-Dimed-Not-Getting-America/dp/0312626681/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390870070&sr=8-1&keywords=nickel+and+dimed

http://www.amazon.com/The-Book-Poor-Their-Poverty/dp/1936863332/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390870352&sr=8-1&keywords=book+of+the+poor