When I watched this video, I could do nothing but shake my head. Not just in disgust for our prison system, but also for myself.
I’ve been that guy who ignored homeless people, too busy to be bothered with another human being’s struggle. Sure I’ve given money here and there, but ultimately I can’t say I’ve ever cared enough to really want to help. Honestly I would not have even known where to begin.
I think a lot of people are afraid of being hustled, I know I can be pretty gullible sometimes and I’m not very “street smart”. I think many people like myself put up indifference as a defense against being exploited.
Watching this man on video talk about his experiences and how society devalues real relationships made me realize the truth behind my indifference. When he spoke about how people don’t want real relationships with other people anymore, it struck a cord with me.
The truth is I am definitely one of those people who have trouble forging and maintaining real relationships with people.. Now I do find face to face conversations to be more interesting than any other form of communication, so maybe I’m not a total loss.
This man also speaks truth about our prison system, and how it keeps people in prison beyond just having prison bars. In all this man tells us the truth. Yes, I’m sure there are things he leaves out, personal decisions he made that contributed to his situation. That’s true for any of us. I think what most people fear when they hear stories like this, especially conservatives, is the loss of control. Most people are terrified of losing everything and becoming what this man had become. I think we resent not how non-relatable people like him are, but rather the exact opposite.
But when you listen to this man more and more,the truth is that he sounds more free than many of us will ever be.
Here is the video.
