# What do you think of this Homeless Child Experiment?



## Gael (Mar 24, 2014)

This video was shot in CA to illustrate people's reactions to an American homeless child on the streets..

 The issue is not about him "not looking homeless enough" or "people thinking he's a scam." It's about how they don't even try to look and turn a blind eye so they can go about their days. Was it too much to stop for two seconds and ask him what was up? Where his parents were? Where his sister was sleeping? Nothing. And it was truly heartbreaking. We have the opportunity to help out and take it for granted while kids in other countries are dying and have no helping hand.


----------



## That Guy (Mar 24, 2014)

Truly heart breaking.  Look the other way, everybody.  Look the other way.

As warm and caring and kindhearted as we can be, the blind eye is turned more often than not.  

My dad warned me about the begging children in Asia and I had to ignore them or be drowned in their numbers.  I will tell you this true story and it is terrible.  A guy used to give a kid his C-Rat chocolate each time he returned from a patrol.  One day, he didn't have it and the kid called him a dirty name.  He turned around and shot him.

That, of course is extreme.  Back here, in The World, present tense, perhaps we've been overwhelmed by all the suffering.  The homeless population is growing and growing and growing and what's to be done?  Give every kid with a sign your chocolate.  Some days, you just don't have it.

God Bless the guy in the green shirt.


----------



## Gael (Mar 24, 2014)

That Guy said:


> Truly heart breaking.  Look the other way, everybody.  Look the other way.
> 
> As warm and caring and kindhearted as we can be, the blind eye is turned more often than not.
> 
> ...



I volunteered and sponsored Third World Children for over a decade in the US. The organization eventually set up programs in the US also for inner city kids and native americans. Interestingly, I observed the people who would step up quickest to help, were the ones with the least.

They knew what it felt like to want. That woman on the tape was revolting in her reasoning.

For me to see a child on the street like that should be a red flag on any level. Even if you feel it's a scam, you don't have anything to give, etc., You don't walk by a child on a street in a situation like that. The child could have been manipulated by an adult to beg, could genuinely be in trouble, etc., etc.

Even to report it to the authorities so that some sort of intervention occurs. These people were content to simply stare and keep walking.

"There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children."
Nelson Mandela


----------



## Warrigal (Mar 24, 2014)

I don't like this kind of "experiment" at all.
What was the outcome of it apart from some TV footage?
I think it is a kind of emotional blackmail that works against charity.


----------



## rkunsaw (Mar 24, 2014)

Those things are always scams. And these "experiments" edit out what they don't want you to see.


----------



## Gael (Mar 24, 2014)

Warrigal said:


> I don't like this kind of "experiment" at all.
> What was the outcome of it apart from some TV footage?
> I think it is a kind of emotional blackmail that works against charity.



I think it raises consciousness as to peoples attiudes towards those less fortunate and creates a dialogue.


----------



## Gael (Mar 24, 2014)

rkunsaw said:


> Those things are always scams. And these "experiments" edit out what they don't want you to see.



Very cynical. I wonder how you would have reacted to that child. I bet you would have deemed it a scam and passed him by.


----------



## rkunsaw (Mar 24, 2014)

Gael said:


> Very cynical. I wonder how you would have reacted to that child. I bet you would have deemed it a scam and passed him by.



Correct.


----------



## Gael (Mar 24, 2014)

CeeCee said:


> I know I would have stopped and asked where his parents were and where his sister was and I. Would have gone to the nearest food place and gotten them food...I even give homeless adults money sometimes even though I believe it's going for alcohol or drugs.
> 
> The reason I think people didn't stop or look is because they probably thought he was a runaway.
> 
> The people I know would have stopped or contacted someone.



The same with me and my friends. And even if he was a runaway that should have been investigated. You simply do not pass a young child on the street who was there like that. 

It may have been a bit OTT to shoot such a video, but look what it revealed. People will always come up with excuses to not put themselves out to help others. It doesn't wash with me.


----------



## Gael (Mar 24, 2014)

Compasson International is the charity I volunteered for and sponsored with. It's easily the most financially accountable one of it's kind in the US. 

You can donate safely and effectively to help others. And the truth is just like in the bible, the ones who do the most don't broadcast it either.

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.


----------



## littleowl (Mar 24, 2014)

I would have looked upon it as a Police sting. For Pedophiles.
I take lots of photo's for different charity's.Always on a voluntary basis.
If there are any children around the first thing I do is ask permission from the parents. I have never had one refusal.


----------



## Warrigal (Mar 24, 2014)

Gael said:


> I think it raises consciousness as to peoples attiudes towards those less fortunate and creates a dialogue.


There are other ways to raise consciousness. This is just a stunt.
I prefer programs/documentaries that deal with real situations and real people.
Stunts just feed into people's cynicism and damage the appeals of real charities IMO.


----------



## Sid (Mar 24, 2014)

To answer your question,    "What do you think of this Homeless Child Experiment?"


        I think it was to raise awareness.  It was created to make people aware of the producer.
        I am not very fond of this type of self promotion.
        Just my opinion that you asked for.


----------



## Gael (Mar 25, 2014)

Sid said:


> To answer your question,    "What do you think of this Homeless Child Experiment?"
> 
> 
> I think it was to raise awareness.  It was created to make people aware of the producer.
> ...



I wouldn't totally disagree, the guys pretty much a young jerk. But in the process it did bring up the issue of how we react to those in need. I saw what you saw but also noted the result of the video which was to expose the attitudes society has towards those in need. And in this case it was most distressing for it involved a child.


----------



## Gael (Mar 25, 2014)

Warrigal said:


> There are other ways to raise consciousness. This is just a stunt.
> I prefer programs/documentaries that deal with real situations and real people.
> Stunts just feed into people's cynicism and damage the appeals of real charities IMO.



I like documentaries too and there is a variety of consciousness raising approaches. But this did bring out a truth about peoples reactions. The message got out and it was an indictment.


----------



## That Guy (Mar 25, 2014)

Gael said:


> The message got out and it was an indictment.



Word.


----------



## Mirabilis (Mar 25, 2014)

rkunsaw said:


> Correct.



I am not sure that in California you would find actual kids begging like this.  A policeman would probably take him away and question him.  If he is actually asking for money, I would assume someone is making him do that and I would not want to support that abuse.  At the most I would report it to the police.


----------



## Gael (Mar 25, 2014)

Mirabilis said:


> I am not sure that in California you would find actual kids begging like this.  A policeman would probably take him away and question him.  If he is actually asking for money, I would assume someone is making him do that and I would not want to support that abuse.  At the most I would report it to the police.



At least you would not have just turned your back. They just did an experiment in the UK somewhat similar with about the same results:

[video]http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/watch-shoppers-ignore-lost-childs-3277009[/video]


----------



## SeaBreeze (Mar 25, 2014)

Warrigal said:


> I don't like this kind of "experiment" at all.
> What was the outcome of it apart from some TV footage?
> I think it is a kind of emotional blackmail that works against charity.





rkunsaw said:


> Those things are always scams. And these "experiments" edit out what they don't want you to see.



I agree with both of you. And I'm not being cynical either, just realistic. I never had a lot of money, but when I was younger, I gave to many homeless people panhandling in the streets. As time went by, I learned of the many scams that people use to get passersby to give them their hard earned money. Do I feel sorry for people who are homeless through no fault of their own...absolutely. Do I know that many of them out there begging on the streets are scammers...absolutely. I have donated to organizations like the Red Cross who help many people in America, but I do not give my money to street beggars anymore, I know better.


----------

