The summer heat was stifling. It was so hot that people were frying eggs on the pavement just to see if it could be done. Too muggy and humid to do much of anything and that's how trouble can begin. The three teenage boys were bored out of their minds. No jobs. No money. Sick of video games and movies. Nothing to do but goof off outside the neighborhood store and harass people. Yeah, it was a really boring day.
Then the guy with dirty clothes walked by. Just another one of the homeless, but the teenagers were being threatened by the store manager, and started following him. The boys called him names; he kept walking. They tossed stones and sticks at him; he moved faster. He thought he had lost them and moved off the road into the woods where his camp was. The teenagers followed him, stealthily, as though they were part of the military. The man sat down, wiped the sweat from his brow, and tried to calm down from the scare the three had given him. He had dealt with all sorts of insults and attitudes by the others; those lucky enough to have money and a home. It wasn't his fault. It wasn't anyone's fault. He fell through the cracks and wound up with nothing; just what he had on and the few items in this little camp he had made. A stick snapped. He looked up with a jerk, fear spreading through him. No, those kids wouldn't have come here.
The boys were laughing! One of them dropped the stick on the ground. He motioned to the two others to circle around the guy. They did, dropping on bellies and worming their way to either side of him. They had him surrounded on three sides. The dirt bag was just sitting there. They watched for the signal - whoop! All three charged in and grabbed him. They pushed him fro one to another. He was scared to death as they spun him around. Then one started to hit him, then another, and finally, the last one. He fell to the ground covering his head and body as best he could. They tormented him with their fists, then branches, kicking and hitting him. One grabbed a rock and commenced to pound him.
He stopped crying and screaming, lying still on the ground. They laughed, "got rid of one of the scum". Laughing, they left, egging each other on about how heroic and masculine they were. They exited the woods far from where they left him and went their separate ways. No one saw the man. The boys went on with their lives, hanging around and goofing off. Finally, a deputy realized that he hadn't seen the man in a few days. He checked all the places where the man would go to and nobody remembered seeing him. The deputy went to the woods where he knew the man lived and began to search. He found the camp and gagged at the sight in front of him. The man was still alive, barely. Maggots were wiggling in his wounds which covered his head and body. The deputy called for help, staying with this injured person. The paramedics arrived and were overcome with what they saw.
The man was rushed to the hospital, he lived for another day, then died, from the beating. Within a few days, the teenagers were caught, charged with murder. Their reason for their action: They were bored.
True story, with a bit of dramatic license, after all only the boys know what actually happened and who did what. Yes, they killed a homeless man, for fun. Okay, I know what you are thinking, where were their parents? Well, I don't know. Maybe they were working. All I know is that three teenage boys killed an innocent man who hadn't done anything to anyone, his only guilt was being homeless and poor.
So, what is the purpose of this you ask, to talk about a disturbing and violent death? Yes, that is one reason; but there is another. Ask yourself this, have I ever called someone a "worthless piece of shit"? Have I ever said that someone should die? Have I ever thrown looks of disgust toward a homeless or poor person? Have I ever said that they don't deserve food stamps, welfare, or medical care? Have I ever done or said anything like these? Chances are you have. Maybe not really meaning it, but what do your children or grandchildren hear you say? Guess what, we all have done or said something like it; but here's the problem. When we say these things about anyone, we begin the process of degrading them. We condemn them as being lazy and how they need to get a job. We build ourselves up while we are tearing them down, making them less than human.
We look at them with disgust and our children and grandchildren see and hear this. They hear the message we tell them. They see the looks we give those less fortunate than we are. They carry that message and look to their children and the stigma of poverty and/or homeless grows to one of revulsion and abhorrence. Think about those who go to church every Sunday where they learn of God's and Jesus' love of the poor and to help the poor, but they are quick to demean and condemn the poor.
Let's face it, we have a problem. We have so profaned life, that the only lives worth meaning are those with money and wealth. We have forgotten our purpose to help one another and be there for each other. Oh I know, you are thinking who cares what you think? What do you know about anything? Well, I care what I think, and no life is worthless. All life is sacred and given to us to do more than worry about who has the most toys. Yes, life is sacred. Life is full of purpose and personally, I think the reason we condemn and judge is due to our fear. Yeah, fear again; but fear really brings out the worse in us. We are afraid, we could be the homeless and poor. The truth is we are. If we do not change our attitudes and thoughts on this subject we will be what we fear. Okay, I've done my soapbox. That's all you'll hear from me on this subject. Just do me a favor, think about it. Those three teenagers will be spending time in prison. The homeless man faced a death we all abhor. They were bored, but I wonder why they thought it would be fun to kill a man....Was it because of what they learned about the poor?
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