Earlier on today I tweeted this:
"Just seen lad wearing t-shirt saying 'I have plenty of change, you worthless piece of ****. Thanks for asking.' How utterly repulsive."
I really couldn't believe my eyes. I just couldn't understand how someone could wear such a t-shirt. To brand themselves in such a way as to actually make a point of saying they hate homeless people. It was while I was waiting at the bus stop, and though I wasn't there for long, I spent a while on the bus cursing my own middle-class, polite, don't-want-to-cause-any-trouble -ness. I should have asked the guy about why he was wearing a t-shirt like that, and whether he feels so strongly about it.
But I didn't.
I had to check that the shirt actually said what I thought it said, because I thought it couldn't be that bad. It was. What is it that drove him to wearing this shirt? Had he been given a terrible time by a homeless person one time, and that has caused this immense hatred of them? Talk about radicalisation, if that was the case.
It makes me think deeper about why people would wear shirts that immediately creates such fierce feeling immediately. Of course, I saw the shirt, and I immediately created a picture of what I thought he would be like. I wondered what other members of the public would think if they saw it.
Obviously, controversial t-shirts are not something new. Topman was recently forced to pull some of their t-shirts as they were deemed to be explicit and offensive. You can regularly see t-shirts that don't particularly say nice things, but I'm sure to the wearer they might be funny to their senses - it's a matter of taste, I might not find it funny but they might, so I'd respect it.
But this t-shirt was just repugnant. Homeless people, no matter how many times you may think that it is their own fault, or they 'prefer being on the streets', have been dealt a rough hand. They may have been turned away by family members, not willing to give them shelter. They may not even have family. So to show such a passionate hatred for the down and outs of society is nothing short of kicking them further into a gutter which is harder and harder to get out of.
How I would love to see the guy actually be asked for change by a homeless person on the street! The scenario would be similar to that of one I've seen a few times - when someone has said something racist, only to notice that the man behind them at the bar was black. The times I've seen that they've backtracked so much they had actually walked out the bar and halfway down the street.
If there could be some line drawn to how repulsive, or repugnant, this blokes t-shirt was, I would love to know. If I see him again, be sure that I will talk to him. And I actively wait for it.
My mood was made slightly better stepping onto a bus when the pleasant bus driver calmly said: 'Aye up duck.' It's a benefit of East Midlands buses.
*A friend I know from Oxford has done extensive work with homeless communities there, and inspired her artwork. I highly recommend checking it out.*
"Just seen lad wearing t-shirt saying 'I have plenty of change, you worthless piece of ****. Thanks for asking.' How utterly repulsive."
I really couldn't believe my eyes. I just couldn't understand how someone could wear such a t-shirt. To brand themselves in such a way as to actually make a point of saying they hate homeless people. It was while I was waiting at the bus stop, and though I wasn't there for long, I spent a while on the bus cursing my own middle-class, polite, don't-want-to-cause-any-trouble -ness. I should have asked the guy about why he was wearing a t-shirt like that, and whether he feels so strongly about it.
But I didn't.
I had to check that the shirt actually said what I thought it said, because I thought it couldn't be that bad. It was. What is it that drove him to wearing this shirt? Had he been given a terrible time by a homeless person one time, and that has caused this immense hatred of them? Talk about radicalisation, if that was the case.
It makes me think deeper about why people would wear shirts that immediately creates such fierce feeling immediately. Of course, I saw the shirt, and I immediately created a picture of what I thought he would be like. I wondered what other members of the public would think if they saw it.
Obviously, controversial t-shirts are not something new. Topman was recently forced to pull some of their t-shirts as they were deemed to be explicit and offensive. You can regularly see t-shirts that don't particularly say nice things, but I'm sure to the wearer they might be funny to their senses - it's a matter of taste, I might not find it funny but they might, so I'd respect it.
But this t-shirt was just repugnant. Homeless people, no matter how many times you may think that it is their own fault, or they 'prefer being on the streets', have been dealt a rough hand. They may have been turned away by family members, not willing to give them shelter. They may not even have family. So to show such a passionate hatred for the down and outs of society is nothing short of kicking them further into a gutter which is harder and harder to get out of.
How I would love to see the guy actually be asked for change by a homeless person on the street! The scenario would be similar to that of one I've seen a few times - when someone has said something racist, only to notice that the man behind them at the bar was black. The times I've seen that they've backtracked so much they had actually walked out the bar and halfway down the street.
If there could be some line drawn to how repulsive, or repugnant, this blokes t-shirt was, I would love to know. If I see him again, be sure that I will talk to him. And I actively wait for it.
My mood was made slightly better stepping onto a bus when the pleasant bus driver calmly said: 'Aye up duck.' It's a benefit of East Midlands buses.
*A friend I know from Oxford has done extensive work with homeless communities there, and inspired her artwork. I highly recommend checking it out.*
No comments:
Post a Comment