Social murder: navigating privilege and harm

This was prompted by a memory on FB. I’m reposting and including the content of the memory in this post: It is currently 2025. from today in 2020: I got privy to this (social murder as shared in the graphic) when I ended up homeless for two weeks in Dec of 2020. A wild tantric journey in which I stayed in a residential hotel with short -term rentals to homeless folks. I was transported into their lives and saw this happening. My heart broke all over again into a million pieces.

I’ve worked with folks who end up on the street my entire life. 15 of those years on the streets of San Francisco with various social service agencies…it’s getting worse, not better.

may our hearts hurt less everyday while we allow the enormity of these things to transform us into powerful agents of change…

From today 2025:

These issues are getting worse, not better. My condition, caused by the psych drugs and a myriad of other things led to homelessness for almost a year (it only started with the 2 weeks in Dec of 2020 as stated below).

I remained a relatively privileged person while I ghosted around those who had it worse than I did. I called myself homeless with resources (the fact is my medical condition threatens to steal away every last bit of our resources. This continues today.)

I was able to keep a roof over my head with cheap hotels for example.

It remained a heinous time as I was gravely ill and on the move. This was all by necessity given circumstances I won’t go into right here.

What I saw continues informing my window into the world of the most unfortunate and impoverished people on the planet.

Those without homes are not there because they deserve to be. They are not there because they are inherently unwell, toxic, worthless, criminal, mentally ill or drug addicts by nature. They are there purely by context and placement.

We do not control the context we are born into. We can only navigate it once we get here. At that point our limitations allow or disallow for opportunities many take for granted. Privilege and resources don’t always save us. It depends on everything we come into the world with and everything that happens to us. We are endlessly diverse just like the rest of humanity.

I don’t take anything for granted anymore.

I know my govt. wants me dead. This was true with a democratic leadership and it remains true with the *T*r*u*m*p* dictatorship we see emerging.

I remain privileged as compared to many with some significant parts of my history.

I have a lot of dead friends. I have a lot of disabled friends. I have several currently homeless friends and many others who have spent time on the street.

Ultimately I experience every person without a home as my friend in some sense. I experience everyone on the fringe in the vastly different ways that is manifested for humanity as my friend.

I feel everyone. We can all do this if we want to. We are truly one species. One organism. We are life and it is calling to us.

Let’s get to work. Let’s not let people suffer needlessly. If we are born with certain privileges we are often in a position to make a difference. We never know what someone is fighting however and we need to keep our hearts open to all.

More related:

• Give those without a home an apartment first, ask questions later.
• Addiction in a Consumer Culture
• Ask, not why the addiction, but why the pain?
• Posts on Trauma

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