Even though giving a homeless person a pair of shoes was a generous and gallant gesture it does not justify the way the fame, glory, and publicity just focuses on our "hero lust." What about the guy who now has a pair of shoes but is still homeless? And, he's only one of many in the richest, greatest, blah, blah, blah, society in the world.
Focusing on this one persons act and doing the hero worship only distracts from the "real" problem which is clearly a consequence of our "class structured" society. The homeless guy is right on in complaining about being exploited. It's too bad Mother Teresa isn't still around. She could teach us a thing or two about how to be charitable and help the poor.
The homeless man who recently acquired a pair of $100 boots from a police officer is already barefoot again. “Those shoes are hidden. They are worth a lot of money,” Jeffrey Hillman tells the New York Times, after reporters caught up with him in Manhattan’s Upper West Side. “I could lose my life.” He revealed mixed feelings about the moment that warmed hearts around the world. “I was put on YouTube, I was put on everything without permission. What do I get?” he asked. “This went around the world, and I want a piece of the pie.”
Still, “I appreciate what the officer did, don’t get me wrong,” he noted. “I wish there were more people like him in the world.” And: “I want to thank everyone that got onto this thing. I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart. It meant a lot to me.” Hillman offered pieces of his life story: He was in the Army for five years, starting in 1978—he had ID to prove it—after which he worked in New Jersey kitchens. He has been living in New York City for about a decade, mostly on the streets. He has two children he rarely sees. How did he become homeless? “I don’t know,” he told the Times.
Homeless ‘shoe man’ shoeless again and wanting more
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