Loco (it’s his true street name) actually approached me—while I was leaning against a broad concrete pillar, listening to the band play at Church Under the Bridge. The middle area was sparsely covered with people lounging in chairs at plastic tables, and I was semi-people-watching, semi-wishing I could go home in good conscience. And then he addressed me, voice nasally.
We had a little discussion there before I asked him if he had the time to spare for a longer conversation, and that I was trying to gain a better understanding of homelessness. He agreed in his nonchalant, why-the-hell-not sort of way. We went to go sit on a curb in the sunlight.
By then end of the conversation, I was a little bit confused because it seemed like he had been contradicting himself in several respects. Thinking about it now, I guess that’s a hallmark of having emotions that are hard to pin down in words. Or maybe that he himself is confused about how he feels.
I knew, going in, that in any conversation, the person I’m talking with can easily lie to me at any point about anything, and that this is no less true for a homeless person who may want to change how they represent themselves to me. I just now realized, though, that it’s also perfectly possible that a person doesn’t even know their own stance on something, or what they have to represent in the first place. Meaning, internal conflict is a real thing in any human being. And that should be okay.
Signing off 🙂
-Isabella, 10/9/16
← Read Loco’s Story