Oh dear! It's bin night and that means the bin-pickers are out. I always put anything I think they might find useful on top of the bin, although that is not necessarily relevant as their needs are different to ours. Tonight I left a packet of edible leftovers as well as some old clothes and shoes, and now they are picnicking on the front lawn, with all their belongings strewn around them. While I am quite sure they mean no harm and actually rely on bin-picking to feed themselves - the very thought of it is horrifying to us privileged homeowners - I fear that other residents do not share my view that they, too, are human and have basic needs for food and shelter.
My greatest concern was that HWCFA might arrive home and not be very welcoming towards his unexpected guests, but I need not have worried - they ate, packed up and departed for bins new.
I think that the reason why we (and I reluctantly include myself in that generalisation, although I constantly strive not to) feel slightly threatened by the presence of the indigent is because of a learned reaction - that the poor may want to steal from us, and we are acquisitive and possessive by nature. The truth is more likely to be that they have no interest in our goods and view life differently, while the thieves and robbers live in houses already, drive cars and are employed to do their dastardly deeds by a third party who places an order for the goods he wants supplied - there is always a waiting market.
It is perhaps that we do not want to be reminded of those who literally have nothing, while we are surrounded by excess, and a sense of discomfit prevails. This would mean that we still have a conscience regarding the underprivileged and can still claim some remnants of empathy. Never a bad thing.
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