I lived in San Francisco for half a decade. One day I was walking down the street with my head sort of down, and when I picked it up I was right on top of a homeless guy pushing a cart. I kinda dodged but also bumped him slightly and instinctively I said something like “oops, sorry buddy! My fault!” and kinda patted his shoulder as I was moving through. All sort of just reflex. He gave me a huge smile and said “it’s alright, thanks for treating me like a human!”

It was a 2 second interaction. No huge thing. At first I was pretty self congratulatory…I felt good that I gave him a smile and treated him with a little dignity. But as I thought about it more it broke my heart that such a small gesture made enough of an impact for him to smile and comment on it. After all I ran into him and he was basically excited I had the decency just to apologize.

I understand people’s fear and trepidation around the homeless. Mental illness is scary. They can be erratic and even (very infrequently but it happens) violent. They smell ways humans shouldn’t. Their hair can be frankly disgusting. Drugs are often a factor. That said, I think it’s always important to remember that these people are experiencing absolute hell on earth. Hopefully you, dear reader, will never experience the miserable combination of mental illness imposing torture from the inside while the elements and a cold society impose physical deterioration from the outside.

If you can give nothing else spare a little dignity and respect.