"Don't coddle our people who fall away but don't reject them."

Indeed. It's hard to remember that when you live in a city plagued by these kinds of problems.

Here's a dark story from my shitlib days in NYC ( I still live there). Buckle up. https://twitter.com/real_thomas777/status/1306195823508762630

It’s a typical Monday morning. I’m running late to my office, so I pick up the pace to the subway station. Before I enter, a woman walks in front of me and cuts me off.

Looking at her face, I see a crusty stream of snot between her left nostril and lips, bloodshot red eyes. She has gray dreadlocks, ashy skin, worn out sneakers, ripped up jeans and a greasy green sweatshirt.

She said to me in a thick Jamaican accent, “Sir, can I have change to ride the subway home please?”

Like many people who live in New York, I’ve ran into impoverished people on subway stations, streets and subway cars asking me for money to help alleviate their suffering.

I’ve always felt for their suffering and given money whenever I can, but sometimes I get emotionally exhausted from empathizing with all these people all over New York. On this day, I was not only emotionally exhausted, I was in a bad mood.

I said, “No.” She looked at me with puppy dog eyes and said, “Please help me. I have no other way to get home.” Feeling sorry for her, I pulled out my wallet to search for money to give her. All I found was a crisp $5. I then asked her, “Do you have change for this $5 bill?”

She said to me, “I don’t have change.” I said,” Well, I’m not giving you this $5 bill.” She begged me to help her, saying she really needed to get home. I said, “Fine. There is a coffeeshop next door. I’ll buy coffee to get change from there. Wait here.”

After I got into the coffee shop, I mistakenly used my debit card to buy coffee and didn’t get change. What did I do?

I didn’t do anything.

I didn’t want to have to face her again. I just sat at a table and drank my coffee.

Then the front door burst open with the woman carrying a handful of quarters and dimes and running toward me screaming, “I have change! I have change!” As she ran in, the barista yelled, “No! Get out! Don’t come in here!”

Everyone in the coffee shop stared at me. Their faces were filled with shock. I thought loudly in my head, “Why me? I don’t deserve this. I just wanted to go to work.” I was filled with embarrassment and anger.

I stood up from my table and told her to immediately come outside with me. She held the door open for me so I could go out first. After I stepped out, I held the door open for her, and as she walked in, she dropped some of her change and bent down to pick it up.

At this moment, I was filled with anger about this entire situation and my patience was worn thin. I let go of the door and it hit her in the fanny. She fell over and dropped some of her change. What did I do?

I left her alone and walked to the subway entrance and waited for her to finish picking up all of her change. When she arrived at where I was standing, I told her with an angry look, “Here, just take the $5 and leave me alone!” What did she do?

With a determined face, she said, “No, take the change.” I was filled with anger, and I again told her to just keep the change. She looked at me with a teary-eyed face and said, “Can I get a hug?

What did I say? I said, “No” and walked into the subway station to catch my train to work. I never saw the woman again.

"Don't coddle our people who fall away but don't reject them either."

End of thread.