Ugh, some people!

This past week I walked in on a man in his underwear. And it was in a Tim Horton’s.

In between bumper repairs, I had to take a pee break. I stopped at a Tim’s, one that keeps its main bathroom door locked. When they see you, they hit a button behind the counter that unlocks it. Once you enter it, you see two more doors: one for male and one for female. They push open.

That’s when it happened. I pushed, opened, and got startled at the sight of a 60+ year old man in his undies. He looked as shocked as I was, white bushy eyebrows raised with set of bulging eyes below them. I let out a “Geez!” and he let out a “F—!” Immediately I diverted my eyes and headed to the urinal, managing to mutter, “Sorry man.” And this is where it gets weird. While I was taking care of business he exclaims in a frustrated tone, “Whatever happened to privacy around here?!”

I thought, To me it seemed ridiculous to say that, but I felt I should say something back. Trying to keep a calm and positive tone I said, “Well, it’s a public restroom.”

Behind me he is moving his stuff into a stall. As he closes it, in a rather cranky intonation he grumbles, “Couldn’t even get my clothes back on!” I chose not to answer then. , I told myself.

It’s at this point in a story like this, that I fight an urge. It’s the urge to shake my head and say, “Man, what’s with people?” or some other “some people!” statement of exasperation. As I was washing my hands at the sink before exiting and some more of his stuff was still there blocking the soap dispenser, I still wanted to keep this kind of inner monologue from taking over. The reason? It’s simple: I don’t know his story.

How can I judge him if I don’t know what kind of a day he’d had? I don’t know what made him think it would be a private place to change, or bathe, or do whatever he was doing at the time. And what if he was homeless? He looked like he may have, if not some other situation that is less than desirable for most of us. I think if someone falls on hard enough times, I can give them a pass in times of ignorance or an emotional outburst (something that seems to be a naturally increasing result of poverty).

Sometimes it seems we have compassion for the poor in the context of either 1) people living in huts in a distant country, or 2) the romanticized Dickensian poverty: soot on their faces, bare feet, and so very thankful for a ha’penny or something.

Through his writing, Dickens wanted us to sympathize and do what we can to end the exploitation of the poor. Jesus Christ himself (not to mention the God of the Old Testament) seemed almost obsessed about their plight. Never stopped talking about them.

But we seem to think that the people who are strung out on drugs and destroying property aren’t who Dickens or Jesus was talking about. We reserve the right to judge. Things are different today. They’re not cute little orphans, nor hobos eating beans from a can by the railroad tracks. No, they are crooks. They are addicts. They are an eyesore. They don’t appreciate what’s being done. They’re not learning.

But I don’t believe they are somehow different. Nothing is new about poverty. I believe we should still sympathize. Maybe even more. Conquering drugs is as hard as trying to move a mountain. And the argument, “just don’t start doing them in the first place,” is perhaps an even greater example of ignorance.

Can we sympathize? Can we defend them when people gripe about them? Can we pressure our government to help them? As always, I’m not suggesting that I have the solution, nor that I understand everything about our situation in Canada today. But surely I can do these little things.

Can you?

Congratulations This is your week.

Best Actress:

Kelly Sheridan as Barbie in

Best Actor: Luke Evans as Scrooge in

Best Quote: “You’ve been Christmas Caroled, bitch!” – Tracy Morgan as Yet-to-Come in

It’s almost January. One of the two hardest months of the year to survive when you’re poor in Canada. But also the two months we forget about them almost entirely, not to mention losing any compassion for them that we may have had in December. Shouldn’t that change?