Milo (64) died in a public toilet on Tuesday.
People expressed their grief and condolences on the local newspaper's facebook page. "That they had gone to help a homeless man in the area by taking him hot food and drink on a recent cold, wet night." We all saw Milo camping in the open, facing the southerly winds after he'd been evicted from the under croft where people wanted to park their fleet cars. He was part of our civic furniture, a ragged curiousity piece in a pale blue coat studded with tarmac. Sometimes when it was cold we all gave him hot food or cigarettes and when it was too late we all recorded our acts on facebook because we all are a good people, living in a kind, caring community who all let Milo (64) die in a public toilet on Tuesday.
So full of ragey sadness about this.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, fuck momentary facebook feels and the paper using it for 'content'.
Oh look ... there's Grumpy Cat.
I did notice that it was someone's job to find accommodation for Milo and other homeless foreshore dwellers to keep them out of sight during the ANZAC commemorations. Or at least just keep them out of sight.
I did notice him sleeping by the railway line as I drove out of town a week ago, when the cold first set in. A brief thought: "Shit he won't last long there," as I drove home, listening to something on Radio National.
It bothers me bad that we as a collective considered Milo's suffering on earth as everyday or interesting or quaint. This is a big fat fucking fail, Albany people. We can do better.
DeleteThis morning I rang my holy roller daughter in tears about Milo's death and she said, 'He's dining at the King's table tonight, Mum.'
Poor fucker. I am 64 in a couple of week's time. I sleep in a nice warm bed though.
ReplyDeleteYep - it's absolutely fucked. Can't think of anything cleverer to say.
ReplyDeleteHey Sarah, I remember not so long age us having a conversation about you giving him some tobacco. Soon afterwards I was at Dan Murphy's and got a six pack of Matsos Ginger Beer. He was there at the door, quiet as usual. I gave him one and he cracked it open. Big thankyous, he said it was nice, but he preferred normal beer. Your daughters a scream! Lets hope the king serves him normal beer and not Matsos. Its strange how we need these post-mortem meeting discussions. We are so frail.
ReplyDeleteXXXXXX No words. XXXXXX
ReplyDelete"Momentary Facebook Feels" ... fuck them, indeed. :(
ReplyDeleteI see homeless men all the time at the mall bookstore where I work. For the most part no one gives a shit about them except to complain about them sitting in the shared seating areas.
I don't know anything about this bloke and I don't use FaceBook; so obviously I'm suitably qualified to give my 2¢ on the matter:
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that the tragedy here isn't that he had to die the way he died, but that he had to live the way he lived. In the end, compassion is much more convenient once you've decided there's nothing you can do to help. And I don't think there's anything special about Albany in that regard. To paraphrase our current PM:
The poor shall always be with us. There's little anyone can do for those who choose to be homeless.
***
He's dining at the King's table … Let's hope he likes peanut-butter, bananas, and classic rock, more than he liked ginger beer.
Goodness Jennifer, I've never heard you swear before!
ReplyDeleteThanks Anne, Michelle, Tom and Alex for your comments.
The day before he died I mentioned him to my uni class because we were talking about class in Australia. I mentioned that stuff about 'defensive architecture', you know, where some prick in planning implements park benches with arm rests in the middle. Other places such as Vancouver put park benches in with these shelters you can flip over the seat to stay dry. It costs bugger all to the community and saves lives in a really basic way.
Yes, the poor probably will always be with us but to paraphrase that lofty sentiment, it's a measure of our community that we didn't deal very well with one of our most vulnerable people.
I try to keep it clean for the most part, but this kind of thing burns me up. Last Christmas Eve at work as I walked in the door a homeless man asked me to buy him a sandwich. I told him to go inside to our café and order whatever he liked, and I went in ahead of him to leave the money with the girls serving. When I mentioned it to the Assistant Manager the first thing out of his mouth was "If he's panhandling and bothering our customers he'll have to leave". I did my best to shame him for it and let him know in no uncertain terms what a despicable piece of shit I thought he was. It was pouring rain, cold, and CHRISTMAS EVE and he wanted me to turn away a hungry man.
DeleteI made sure that after the man finished his meal he had an extra coffee and a bag of pastries to take with him. And that's so little to do. :(
Well said Sarah.
ReplyDeleteThe poor and homeless get treated the same in all of our so called civilised countries. No matter where we live we share the same problems, the same solution: not my problem.....
defensive architecture, eh?
ReplyDeleteRight. … 'cause if there's one mob we need to defend ourselves against …
'Defensive architecture' must be one of the more offensive terms getting around these days.
ReplyDeleteIt's always instructing to see how bureaucrats use language.
It's hard to get people to even consider the idea that 'there but for the grace of God go I'. I always give money to street people who ask for it because I figure if they are asking, they must need it. It's such a small thing to do and I don't feel magnanimous for doing it.
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting in class today, talking about his death in relation to class systems in Australia. "Who is responsible? Milo? The community? The government?"
DeleteSomewhere in between all of these things was the consensus.
I'm very sad to read this. Today I also saw a news posting of an inappropriate article about two suicides in my brother's community and I was saddened to see that bandied about as well.
ReplyDeleteMy time in America did show me though that at least we are better at looking after our people than them. It doesn't make what we're doing right and its small consolation but one all the same.