Sample Rough Draft

Who am I? Essay

WRITING THE ROUGH DRAFT

I’m aggravated when people describe a homeless person as detestable.  They may without a home, but they are still a human being worthy of respect.  In his song “Angels With Dirty Faces,” Homeboy Sandman uses various images and scenarios, that resonate with my view of homeless people and the situations in which they find themselves. In doing this, Sandman is able to create a critique that breeds ideas which provoke my desire to help the homeless. Though often I want to wait for an extraordinary person to stop injustice, Homeboy Sandman identifies situations where I can choose to help others or ignore their situations.

Initially, Sandman presents a man who wanted to avoid homeless people, as I often have wanted to avoid them. The man in the song tries to justify his lack of compassion by appealing to his own busy life and schedule.  He identifies that he has his own commitments:

I ain’t a bad guy for keeping my cash caught up as poverty passed by

Looked right in my staring eyes and asked, “Could I spare a dime?”

Next guy wouldn’t spare his, Why should I spare mine?

Call it, “New York state of mind,” but please bare in mind

I know he in a bind, but he gone go buy beer and wine

I work my 9 to 5 trying to provide for me and mine

Not to sponsor every slob that survived Vietnam.

The narrator claims that he has a job. He is busy doing his job.  Since many people who are homeless are ex-veterans from the military he stereotypes the homeless man as a slob from the Vietnam war.  Most likely, the homeless man will spend his money on beer or wine, since lots of homeless people have addictions.  When I saw these verses I thought of a time when I passed a man on the street wearing dirty tattered clothes and thought to myself, “Why doesn’t this guy get a job? He is disgusting.”  I was a full-time student who worked different part time jobs and I felt like I earned what I had through hard work. Afterwards I felt bad.  I lacked compassion. I realized that developing superiority based upon my work led me to be cold-hearted towards those who might be in difficult circumstances.

In addition, when I focus on myself and my achievement, rather than the real-life obstacles others face, I fail to “walk in another person’s shoes.”   Though I have worked hard in life, I’ve been provided with many things I take for granted.  I had family dinners every night, and parents came and supported me at sporting events.  Some people’s parents are not able to spend time with their children.  Other parents do not encourage education or support their children’s goals.  Many homeless people come from backgrounds of abuse and neglect.  They want to live in better situations, but they have lots of obstacles in their way and many people judge homeless people.  In the song a perspective of a homeless man is portrayed when he (or she) says:

I’m just trying to catch a ride, please spare a bike

You ain’t got to act like I’m some type of parasite

Caught up in a paradigm, I’ve lost Paradise

Silent as a pantomime every day of life.

Here the homeless person just wants a bike ride.  He is yearning for a small taste of human compassion, be it a bit of food or a loving conversation, he needs to feel connections to other people.  Instead, people treat homeless people as parasites.  Homeless people are dirty and frowned upon.  They may have uncivilized mannerisms or smell bad.  So as a consequence they feel isolated and become taciturn or go crazy.  It would be difficult to be homeless and isolated; I need humans to care about me.   The love my friends demonstrate for me through conversations and our quality time together makes me feel valuable and loved.  I’ve known homeless people who are ignored or written off as crazy.  They have elaborate stories about realities that are a bit skewed.  Yet, I can give them a sympathetic ear.  I can hear life from their angle rather than my own.  I am called to be a friend to those in need. 

            Even though I want to love others, my actions show otherwise.  Sharing my possessions and time is often difficult.   In the song Homeboy Sandman describes how humanity as a whole lacks empathy, “I mean the human race panned into straight Raccoon/Blessed to just to have food, than have gratitude/But you wouldn’t bless the next man if he had “achooed!””  Here a raccoon, an animal used to scrap and savage for food is used to represent the human race.  Humanity is cut-throat.  There are times when people don’t even say “bless you” to the person next to them when they sneeze.  I am self-centered, however, with God’s help I can be compassionate towards others.

            It is no doubt that by incorporating situations of homelessness that resound with my experiences, Homeboy Sandman encourages me to try to make a difference in the world. The perspectives of a common man, a homeless man, and Homeboy Sandman towards the situations and circumstances that surround homelessness demonstrate that people have different reactions towards what they encounter in life.  “Angels with Dirty Faces” brought me face to face with the reality that my actions speak fathomless words.  I can hold ideals of justice, but until I assist those who are mistreated, my ideals are meaningless. A homeless man will not know if I have a superior condescending attitude or a passionate sympathetic attitude unless I demonstrate it.  My mind can’t be read by others.  I must concentrate on the opportunities I have to help others, trust God’s voice, and act.   God loves all people equally and I want to do the same.  Though the world may look down upon homeless people, I need to love them.