Training for the collapse
I understand that living in America has meant that my life has put me near the top of the heap as far as access to creature comforts and food availability goes. However, I don’t think I’m alone in noticing that homelessness has increased dramatically in my lifetime. My job pays well, but my office is in an industrial part of town and homeless people routinely sleep right outside my office window. As I sit in my comfy office chair and boot up my computer for the day, sipping on my first hot cup of coffee and snacking on a breakfast bar, I can hear the guy who’s been sleeping next to our office all week picking his stuff up and getting ready to leave rather than deal with us asking him to move along. He’ll spend the day across the street, panhandling at the driveway to a supermarket, just him and his dog. I want to help, but I know social services are available three blocks away, and I don’t want to encourage the behavior. This really feels like training for the coming collapse. I’m gonna do everything I can to stay warm, dry, and fed while I watch people around me, suffer with hunger, cold, and uncertainty. Sometimes this feels justified and at other times I feel like a monster.