Haves and Have-Nots
Paris, France
2013
Paris is no place to be without a steady source of income. (Is anywhere you might ask? It’s just that everything is so expensive in Paris.) I did notice though that a lot of the beggars on the streets in Paris seemed to be much better dressed in cleaner clothes than the typical homeless person I see in the U.S. They also seemed to eat well in that I often saw them eating out of Tupperware containers with fresh looking salads and other healthy looking foodstuffs in them. I wonder why that is? Perhaps someone routinely provides them with supplies? Maybe I should look into it.]]>
Haves and Have-Nots
Paris, France
2013
I Googled a translation for the man’s sign. I think it says that he is hungry?
Until I learn otherwise, I guess I’ll choose to live in the fantasy that the reason homeless people in France are dressed better and seem to eat better than homeless people here is due to the French taking care of their homeless citizens better than we do, being more generous in offering good food and clothing. It is probably truly a fantasy, though.
Your photo is evocative. A man who says he’s hungry, sitting on the ground alone and seemingly unnoticed, while everyone else seems to belong to a crowd of people enjoying the scenery or moving toward a destination.
Yes, the sign says he’s hungry. At least that’s how I read it. Government or private, the homeless there do seem better cared for. When they look like they’re quite normal acting and doing rather well it does make me wonder what their situation is that keeps them from finding something more rewarding to do than begging. (That’s rewarding in the sense of personal satisfaction or development, not monetary gain.) I can’t think of anything more boring, not to mention demeaning, than what they do day in and day out.