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From: serge@rna.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.flame
Subject: Re: How about helping our own
Message-ID: <43000002@rna.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 18-Dec-84 18:27:00 EST
Article-I.D.: rna.43000002
Posted: Tue Dec 18 18:27:00 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 22-Dec-84 01:58:16 EST
References: <709@loral.UUCP>
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Nf-ID: #R:loral:-70900:rna:43000002:000:938
Nf-From: rna!serge    Dec 19 18:27:00 1984

>And our street people.  Sure, they exist.  But there aren't that many of
>them, not compared to the poor in other countries.  But let's pick a random
>street person:  Johnny the crazy man, who can't keep a job because he
>forgets he has one.  Sending him food might help some, but Johnny's real
>problem is not that he's hungry; it's that he's crazy.  And no amount of
>money in the world will change that.  

This may have been true in the past, but recent statistics indicate
(as do my eyes as I walk around NYC) that more and more of the street 
people are NOT middle aged men and women who have flipped out on life.
Many of these people are young men, usually black, who are completely
sober and sane but cannot find work. They can be seen at any many
street intersections begging to wipe the window of your car for a few 
pennies. Africa's problems are horrible but so are the problems
that confront many disadvantaged Americans.