{"id":145,"date":"2008-08-06T21:31:26","date_gmt":"2008-08-07T02:31:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onthe8spot.com\/?p=145"},"modified":"2008-08-06T21:31:26","modified_gmt":"2008-08-07T02:31:26","slug":"two-sides-two-very-different-sides","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/onthe8spot.com\/index.php\/2008\/08\/06\/two-sides-two-very-different-sides\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Sides, Two Very Different Sides"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post<\/a> on the meeting of Curtis and Michael as part of Michael’s yearlong research with Sudhir<\/p>\n

Our journey begins with Michael and Curtis sharing a weekend together in Chicago. Each year I spend several continuous days with squatters to understand how they live on the streets. In Chicago public housing, squatters survive because some housing authority managers to pay them under-the-table to clean and fix the place \u2014 instead of unionized janitors. I learn a lot about the community by sleeping, eating, and otherwise hanging out with Curtis and his friends. This time, Michael joined me.
\nAt noon on Saturday I asked Michael and Curtis: \u201cWith only $20, how will you survive for the weekend \u2014 from now, until Monday morning?\u201d (Curtis and I agreed to exempt rent. It was hard enough using $20 to meet food and personal needs \u2014 Michael would never figure out how to squat.) Michael wouldn\u2019t sleep at Curtis\u2019s place \u2014 he stayed at the Four Seasons, but to his credit, he hung out in Curtis\u2019s neighborhood.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Classic case of culture shock;<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Michael drove his rental car around the neighborhood. When he returned to meet us he was exasperated. \u201cThe food here is awful! No fruit, vegetables are moldy. Only meat, canned food, and soda. What do kids eat? The guy at the store told me no one would eat fruit unless it\u2019s in a can. Is that true?\u201d
\nCurtis shook his head. I told Michael, \u201cWhen we get back to New York, I will talk with you about diet and quality of food availability in poor neighborhoods.\u201d
\nBut Michael was growing upset. \u201cAll I see are liquor stores and dollar stores and fast food. There was one guy who said he\u2019d buy my food stamps \u2014 50 cents for a dollar in stamps? How can people live like this?\u201d
\nCurtis laughed. He asked Michael if he\u2019d like some chicken and beans. Michael said, \u201cNo thank you,\u201d and sat on the cold linoleum floor. He was silent.
\n\u201cHow much does a banana cost,\u201d Curtis asked Michael. Michael looked embarrassed, unable to answer.
\n\u201cYou don\u2019t know, do you!\u201d Curtis laughed. \u201cSee fruit is expensive; raw food is too much for low income people. And we don\u2019t always have a fridge, so you got to keep things in cans. That way it can move with you. And one thing you need to know: low income people always<\/em> are on the move \u2014 not just squatters, all low income folks.\u201d
\nMichael started to write on paper and looked at me, as if to ask for permission. Curtis told him he could take notes freely.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This makes me think that maybe just maybe Michael could start shelters that close later when it’s not as cold:<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy not stay at a shelter?\u201d Michael asked.
\n\u201cNot enough of them around,\u201d Curtis replied. \u201cAnd you have to be out by 6 a.m. If you got kids, you can\u2019t take them out in the cold. So you stay in a store, or you stay in a vacant building. And no more food kitchens since the projects went down. Not a lot for poor people.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

reading his vaguely reminds me of the beginning of Dr Randy Paush’s last lecture.\u00a0 “Don’t pity me not unless you can do…..”<\/p>\n

Curtis then took out a cigarette. \u201cSee this? Always have a loose cigarette. You can always use a bathroom in somebody\u2019s house \u2014 maybe even get a shower \u2014 for one. Maybe your kid took a dump in his pants. Maybe you need some toilet tissue. Always keep a cigarette for emergencies.\u201d
\nCurtis cooked another plate of chicken and beans. He was about to eat it, but once again he offered it to Michael. This time Michael accepted. Michael looked overwhelmed; his face was perspiring. Curtis refilled his coffee and gave Michael one of his cigarettes to calm him down.
\n\u201cNot everyone lives like this,\u201d I said. \u201cAnd don\u2019t feel bad for Curtis.\u201d
\n\u201cNo!\u201d Curtis exclaimed. \u201cDon\u2019t pity me,\u201d he said, pouring some whiskey in Michael\u2019s coffee. \u201cThis will help you sleep tonight \u2026\u201d Curtis lit a cigarette and leaned back on his busted plastic chair. \u201cJust understand that you got to be creative. Even if you got a home, you still got to pay rent \u2014 so you take in somebody now and then. Maybe you let your friend stay in the house and they watch your kid, or clean up, or pay you \u2026\u201d Curtis kept on talking. Michael kept on eating.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The triumph of the human spirit. I have to go now, this is slowly bringing me to tears and this is embarrassing because I’m in my cubicle.
\nPS:
\nJuxtapose this with an article that made me realize that a lot o rich people have no idea how large a role the environment they had played in their fortunes.
\narticle here<\/a>:<\/p>\n

It is true that the larger a household’s annual income, the more likely the household will give money to charity. Half the households in the top 10% of the income distribution make charitable donations, but only one in six of the bottom 10%. But there is a twist in the figures. The worse off give proportionately more of their income. The top fifth of households give less than 1% of their total income, while the poorest 10th give three times as much, or 3% of their income.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I once noticed a boss and his underling walk past a disfigured kid begging for alms, guess who gave who some money and I was behind them so I know they weren’t sharing their charitable act.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This post on the meeting of Curtis and Michael as part of Michael’s yearlong research with Sudhir Our journey begins with Michael and Curtis sharing a weekend together in Chicago. Each year I spend several continuous days with squatters to understand how they live on the streets. In Chicago public housing, squatters survive because some … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Two Sides, Two Very Different Sides”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-links"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/onthe8spot.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/onthe8spot.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/onthe8spot.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/onthe8spot.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/onthe8spot.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=145"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/onthe8spot.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/onthe8spot.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/onthe8spot.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/onthe8spot.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}