Monday, May 14, 2007

ONLY THE LONELY!



Reuters carried a story yesterday about a German man who had been dead for seven years before he was discovered in his apartment. I found the story rather shocking, unnerving.

I wonder how many people in the world are friendless and have also been abandoned by their families? Probably lots. After all, this is a throw-away world, one where we get rid of anyone or anything that is not of use to us. Loyalty come what may is a scarce commodity and getting scarcer.

Last night on television I saw welfare people explaining that they had to turn away hundreds of people from homeless shelters because there just wasn't room. But these weren't alcoholic old men but whole families as well as men and women in their thirties and forties who had to sleep in parks and under bridges! And this is in Australia, the supposedly Lucky Country (thanks John Howard for making the rich richer).

Caring for others was once considered to be a virtue. Now, for many, caring is restricted to one's self!

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Same situation exists here, too, Daniel. But ofcourse our government assures us that the economy is good and jobs are plentiful.

There had been a community of the homeless living under a bayou bridge near my apartment before the Flood Control people ran them off. One was an elderly man in a wheelchair. I always wondered ho he managed to get his chair down the steep embankment without plunging into the bayou. (For the uninitiate, a bayou is a creek or small river).

I live in an apartment building restricted to the elderly and handicapped. Due to the type of tenants here, there are always deaths. It isn't unusual for people struck with a heart attack or stroke to die alone, but what is sad is when Management either cannot find relatives, or relatives refuse to come. Some have children and grandchildren who never visit them. That is really sad and says something very negative about our society.

Daniel said...

A man in a wheelchair living under a bridge? What a terrible indictment of our capitalist world!

Meanwhile the rich gorge themselves on the best of everything!

Anonymous said...

Dan....This would only happen in the city. The city is the loneliest place in the world even if you live on the street before peoples eyes. They just dont wanna know....Places to be....Money to be made and "hey...what losers homless ppl are" they say religiously.(no pun intended!)
Zoe XXX

Daniel said...

It's better in the country but it's not perfect. The me-first attitude seems to be spreading.
Take care of yourself! xxxxxxxx

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