I saw my first homeless person in December 1981, 35 years ago.
I shot this video on Thursday, December 15, 2016.
View at full screen, if you can.
Most people consider a sight an elderly man shoving a cart of wet
belongings in a drenching rain normal.
They want to live like this, we say.
The State Hospitals were so much worse, we say.
It’s too expensive to fix, we say.
Think of all the lies we have to tell ourselves
to make the daily sight of human suffering
seem normal.
Then remember that all of it is the result of our vote.
Tin can at my feet
Think I’ll kick it down the street
That’s the way to treat a friend
The video is made from photographs of San Francisco’s mentally ill
homeless between 2012 and 2015.
“I Think it’s Going to Rain Today”
Song by Judy Collins
Lyrics by Randy Newman
No one would want to suffer like that!
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There is no escaping the fact that we are witness to the consequences of unchecked capitalism.
Everywhere I go in San Francisco there are people huddled in doorways, sleeping on wet mattresses or bundles of rags, digging through garbage for something to eat in front of a Whole Foods store, or waling past blocks of streets lined with tents that are a pathetic attempt to deal with a problem that is a direct result of the refusal of our elite to pay their taxes.
How much low income housing would Trump’s two decades of unpaid taxes buy?
I’m reminded of something I heard somewhere: You are my other me. When I take care of you I take care of myself.
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Damn, those are some powerful photos. I can’t help but hear “Human BLINDNESS over flowing…”
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Thank you…I’m glad I started to take pictures….
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Oh the irony…and the sarcasm. We have people who could live in the same huge house and never speak to each other, and then you have this. It really is pathetic. What a beautiful song and beautiful pictures that I wish you didnt have to take.
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They are there…my job is to document what I see…it’s an honor to take their photos…
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I hear you. If we as a society had our priorities in order, you wouldn’t have to. Til then, please keep taking them.
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Thanks..check out the Skylounge…http://commonsensegal.com/2016/01/26/from-the-sky-lounge-could-you-be-loved-bob-marley/
It’s fun…:)
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Thank you. That was fun. The undertow is in the lyrics. Bob Marley was great.
It squelched a rant..against how the establishment works…for now 😉
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🙂
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very moving!
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Thank you…:)
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I was going to vote Democratic anyway. Did you see you were on my post of Champions today? I don’t expect you to accept the award, just was checking in to see if any of my Peeps stopped by. Smiles, Robin
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Glad to hear it and yes! Thank you!
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A sad comment on society where our Governments allow this to happen and keep on happening. We need to invest in people again, treat them, move them into suitable housing and have care in the community to ensure they remain well.
Hugs
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I find it so confusing.
Deinstitutionalization is a failed public policy…But we continue to treat the result as if we don’t know why it’s happening. I mean, I know that as creatures we are not perfect…but is it really possible that we can deny what we can see with our own eyes, because if that’s true we’re not going to make it to the next
stage–I don’t see how we can…
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Robert, I don’t know what to say. That moved me deeply. And you took all the pics….
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Thank you, Erika…the photos are all mine, taken between 2011 and December
2015.
Of all of the different singers who’ve covered this song I like the Collin’s cover the best.
She taps into what I sense as a longing in the lyric for evidence of God’s grace as it is expressed through acts of compassion…
It’s similar in that way to the Sound of Silence, which also apt for our times:
And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made
And the sign flashed out its warning
In the words that it was forming
And the sign said:
“The words of the prophets are
Written on the subway walls
And tenement halls
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Wow, when you quoted the lyrics and I heard the melody playing in my head it gave me chills. And I can only agree. Although I don’t know the other versions of “I think it’s going to rain” this one went along so well with your photos in its expression. You did a very poignant video, Robert and I hope it affects something.
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Thank you for leaving a comment, Erika…I enjoyed making it…it popped into my head and the pictures just fell into place. If it causes just one person to question the justice of doing this to people it will have done its job…:)
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I think exactly the same about what I do. If it reaches at least one person it did its job. 🙂
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🙂
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Very moving. I wish I could help everyone that needs it.
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You can….Vote Democratic, even if you have to hold your nose…and vote for propositions designed to fund housing and mental health programs. We need treatment if we are to get well and be productive. Let me put it this way…you probably know and like dozens of people with mental health problems-use your vote to give them a chance to heal…
I appreciate your comment.
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I’ve always leaned more toward Democratic than Republican.
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I would vote for Eisenhower in a Second….The people we call Republicans are Dixiecrat’s…these were the guys that supported George Wallace–the segregationist.
In a race between a real Republican and a Democrat I would vote for the most qualified person
…but in a race between a Dixiecrat and a Democrat, the Democrat is always the most qualified, because they don’t hate our system of government…they actually want to govern.
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I agree!
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🙂
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Or a wife.
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OK…now I’m confused…:)
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Tin can being kicked down the street…how you treat a friend…or a wife.
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