Yes, I know this article has a strange title and you are probably wondering where I am going with this… Well first, let me start with the homeless in Spain.
I have been living in Madrid, Spain for the past four months. Madrid is beautiful and I’m sure you’ve heard all about its beautiful architecture, great food, lively nightlife, and friendly people. But what you may not know is how big the homeless population is. Homelessness has been an increasing problem in Spain ever since the 2008 economic crisis which left tens of thousands of people jobless and in poverty.
Today, an estimated 40,000 people in Spain are homeless and in Madrid specifically, it is argued that between 2,000 to 5,000 people are without homes - and one-third live directly on the streets. There is actually a “homeless hangout” right near my flat in Madrid. There are about six or seven individuals who set up their homes using cardboard boxes and hang out and sleep there at night.
As I was walking home late one night last week, I heard the sound of a fart noise. I was startled and confused because I thought I was alone. I couldn’t see anyone else walking around. And then I remembered the homeless people laying a few feet away from me. And I started to think, how often do I walk right past them and forget that they are there. They had become a fixture.
When I first came across the homeless hang out near my flat, I was a little worried about walking in the area by myself at night. For my safety, I learned that the thing to do is to look the other way and just keep walking, and in a sense, forget that they are there. As the days went by, I developed a normal routine and passed by them every day without thinking twice. I began to ignore their existence. However, the problem with this is that when we ignore the homeless and ignore poverty, it doesn’t just go away.
A famous comedian Louis makes an interesting and comical point about our ignorance and unwillingness to help when it comes to the homeless. Living in a major city makes you normalize seeing homeless people on the streets. Have you ever noticed that if someone outside a city sees a homeless person for the first time, they immediately become sympathetic and saddened, wanting to help or give money. They are more willing to help than someone exposed to seeing it every day. But when they offer, you scold them or tell them not to bother.
All it took was a fart noise, something so trivial, to make me realize that we are becoming blind to the problem of the homeless. The "bystander effect" takes place in which we think someone else will give money or help the homeless, and we are excused. How long will this go on and can we simply ignore them forever? Does ignoring them reinforce the problem? Is there something we can do?
