Missed Opportunity

Last year I was in Union Square walking around with Elizabeth. I noticed a large rolled up carpet and teenagers jumping up and down on it. We immediately stopped in our tracks once we realized there was a homeless man inside of it trying to stay warm.

Homeless people hold a stereotype. Just like in Streetwise most of the class had preconceived notions about those children. Most people would believe the homeless are mostly left alone to live where they want to. Who would think they would be harassed when most just want to ignore their existence.

This would have been an incredibly gripping yet disturbing photo if I would have been able to capture it, let alone capture it well. Instead I did what any decent person would have done and yelled at them to stop. One of the girls actually asked me if I wanted to join them. I felt absolutely sick seeing it so I didn't tell them off in a polite fashion at all.

In a way I'm glad I didn't have my camera. Allowing them to jump on him for a second more would have killed me just for a picture. This day still sticks in my head clear as ever.