Blind to a Broken Man’s Dream
Posted on November 5, 2009
Filed Under Daily, Life With The Boss, Life in L.A. | 33 Comments
Last weekend, The Boss and I side-stepped our usual exploration of the city we live in, and instead, went for a ride down Skid Row.
The Skid Row in L.A. has one of the largest stable populations of homeless people in the U.S. with an informal population of approximately 8,000 people. We saw drug addicts face down on the sidewalk and women half dressed covered in brown paper bags. I felt a jolt of fear mixed with adrenaline race through my body when we passed a man in rags vomiting on the sidewalk.
There’s no right way to ever capture the homeless through photographs without an uproar from onlookers. While some people believe that the only way to capture the reality of homelessness is through photographs, others feel that it dehumanizes, and humiliates the people who are suffering.
I agree with both sides of the argument, which is why we drove quietly through, and kept the camera at a distance.
The Boss and I have traveled extensively over the course of our lives — and we’ve seen real poverty, not only in our country, but around the world. But as Americans, sometimes we forget that no matter how little we think we have, or how bad our day seems to have gone, compared to the occupants on San Julian St. we are living in the lap of luxury.
We didn’t drive down Skid Row to mock, to stare, or even to try and understand.
We drove down Skid Row to reflect.
And the most painful reflection came when we saw this.
The Boss turned to me, and then pointed in the distance.
“You see that?” he said. “Some of the richest people in the world live less than a mile away.”
It’s such a juxtaposition — to see the wealth and the poverty side by side like that.
Even though I know that many of us give in charity, and volunteer regularly, sometimes you can’t help but feel like all of us, with our busy schedules, family responsibilities, perfect little cars, and future plans are just as guilty of being blind to a broken man’s dream as the people who look down at Skid Row from their high-rise buildings.
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33 Responses to “Blind to a Broken Man’s Dream”
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WHERE IN THE WORLD HAVE YOU BEEN?!? I MISS YOU SABRINA. I WAS JUST LOOKING YOU UP ON FACEBOOK THE OTHER DAY ONLY TO FIND THAT YOU WERE NO WHERE TO BE FOUND
AT FIRST I THOUGHT I WAS SPELLING YOUR NAME WRONG, BUT I FOUND NO SABRINAS 
WELL EMAIL ME..RADA TOLD ME SHE SPOKE WITH YOU FOR HOURS AND HOURS LAST NIGHT. HOPE ALL IS WELL.
OH AND I DO REALIZE THAT I JUST LEFT THIS ON YOUR PAGE. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO ERASE LOL. I DIDNT KNOW HOW ELSE TO SEND A MESSAGE FROM YOUR PAGE
Wow, what a nice reflection.
You’re right – sometimes we really do forget that according to others like the homeless, simple people like us live in the “lap of luxury”, as you say.
It really makes you feel grateful for everything that you have. I also wish I could help all these guys make resumes and find jobs, because I don’t think handing them cash does anything except buy them food or drugs for the next hour.
Subhanallah, what a wonderful reflection. I think you might enjoy a documentary called “Skid Row”. It follows Pras from the Fugees as he lives undercover on Skid Row for 9 days. It’s utterly heart-wrenching but such an eye opener for those of us who are so blessed to have a roof over our heads and food in our tummies.
Wow! In Holland you do have poverty, but not like this.. it is mostly invisible here. You do have lets say ‘weak’ neighbourhoods ( I live in one, after I got married) but its nothing compared with this.
I always wondered why America doesnt have a social system like us. In that way maybe these people would have a minimum income provided by the government. Even Obama’s healthcare plans are not well accepted in America, although it works in our country.
I know not every country is the same, but why dont the stronger people help the weaker people? In our system, I know when I will work fulltime after graduation I will provide the old days of people over age 65 through my tax payings. The young help the old have a nice pension. Why doesnt that work in America?
this was one of your bests posts yet
i especially loved this:
Even though I know that many of us give in charity, and volunteer regularly, sometimes you can’t help but feel like all of us, with our busy schedules, family responsibilities, perfect little cars, and future plans are just as guilty of being blind to a broken man’s dream as the people who look down at Skid Row from their high-rise buildings.
You know I recently read an extremely powerful book,very disturbing where you are left with so much pain that you can’t even cry. I do recommend it for so many reasons, one reason is highlighted in the last paragraph of your piece.However, please note it is not for the fainthearted, I was disoriented for weeks & am still coming to terms with it, still have to finish it but needed to take a break… if you dare to see the plight of people in our world read “The Mole People”
You should see the slums in Cairo, there are places that have no electricity or running water in the heart of Cairo and just meters away from the Nile where some of the most expensive places are.
Wonderful post, Sabrina!
@ Sarah
Thanks for sharing, ‘The Mole People’ sounds interesting.
I think it’s really great that you and your husband ventured on this together. It’s such a blessing to be able to do what you love and what piques your interest with the one you share your life with.
On a different note, thumbs up to this post. I like the mixed posts you have on your blog.
We don’t really have poverty in Singapore so.. wow. I can’t imagine seeing homeless people. A lot of us have been so sheltered all our lives.
This reminds me of a post I wrote a long time ago. I was whining about schoolwork and projects, until I met an old friend who had to drop out coz her family couldn’t afford to send her to school. This is why I try to be thankful everyday. Sigh.
assalamalaykum,
My favorite line is “we are guilty of being blind to a broken man’s dream.” Wow. That’s really powerful.
Allah has blessed you with some mad talent.
so true. thats how it is at the place i work. its really sad.
great post.
To see this at its best or worst… travel to NYC. Wealthy, middle class, working class, poor, homeless.. live side by side. Not one of us or our families are safe from it. YOu can lose what you have at a moment’s notice. Find yourselves in positions and places you thought you were exempt from. But we are not. NONE OF US….
I agree also with one posters… homeless people at least in this country have options. they really do.. there are shelters.. people give money on the streets.. etc.. i passed a lady once in Manhattan.. three days in a row.. and watched her digging in a trash can. on the fourth day i stopped and offered her fruit and juice.. she looked at me as if i were insulting her.. and not even politely said ” NO”!!! and proceeded to the trash can. In NYC also there is an agency that goes around city, in subways on streets and tend to their needs…. In… Mecca… there are people begging on streets, woman trying to sell bodies, babies crying in their arms… most of them from African countries.. treated like trash… so its everywhere but i think in USA… at least they have soup kitchens, agencies, churches, and mosques.. that feed them and many many good hearted Americans willing to help.
“we are guilty of being blind to a broken man’s dream.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I respectfully disagree because ALL HOMELESSNESS DOESNT HAVE SAME CAUSE we would need facts on each person’s situation. every homeless is not a product of broken dreams..
who responsibilty is it and it depends on how that person became homeless… where are their families??? what brought them to this situation?? are we blind to the broke man’s dream who is not homeless???
i just dont understand your logic. while maybe you are trying to impress people with words it really doesnt say much to the situation that affects many many people in more ways then you may grasp from driving a day thru Ski Row. Talk to people who are at grassroots levels of helping the situation.
…it’s a simple post with a strong message, that is a step ahead of alot of us!
really??? a step ahead of alot of us. i dont think so. i dont think you all are familiar with the efforts made for the disenfranchised in the USA. so although a poetic attempt was made to impress a few cheerleading readers. its nothing compared to what is actually done for people who are finding or placing themselves in homelessness. Stop praising Sabrina on her attempt at creativity when it comes to such issues.
Samiya, i appreciate your post. The strong if you are meaning the wealthy are usually not the folks who are supporting the weak. I truly believe its the middle that supports the weaker in this country. There are of course a few exceptions. I appreciate people like Warren Buffet and Bill Gates who have are 2 of richest in world who give and will leave billions to educating.. which can ultimately can change a society and its ills.. like homelessness and poverty..
))
Dont get me wrong, I am not against Sabrina. I am just placing some questions on the sideline, things that I, as an european dont understand about America.
I didnt mean that all the rich people should help the poor with donations. In my country it is embedded in an social system, through tax payings everybody is contributing to the poor. So the poor can have something like a minimum income funded by the government.
Same goes for healthcare. Everybody has healthcare insurances even the poorest, because there is a social system and everybody contributes to it and why that doesnt work for America?
Just came on here today and saw this:
“while maybe you are trying to impress people with words ”
“affect people in more ways then you may grasp”
” a poetic attempt was made to impress a few cheerleading readers”
********** hmmm…..nice, much??? Relax peeps. Sabrina wrote an article to make us reflect. She didn’t create poverty.
“which can ultimately change a society and its ills.. like homelessness and poverty”
*********** I would add to that list anger and hostility!!!…
*********** As Muslims (& non-Muslims) we can respectfully disagree without resorting to attack mode. Just a thought.
“Stop praising Sabrina on her attempt at creativity ”
********** umm, it’s HER site!
lol!
Some of you people take things the WRONG WAY….. maybe you are not accustomed to opposing views and opinions. RELAX PEEPS
i am not writing against Sabrina…. at all at all… dont take offense whenever someone disagrees with her. or questions her writing.
@reflecting.. NO ONE is in attack mode. you are not reading my posts correctly. i see.. its not uncommon way of writing or responding in blogs. it is what people do in blogs.
..an emotional post results in emotional response and that is ok! it shows a lil heart which is vital in all things important…
marwa, I really don’t think that Sabrina is ignorant of the fact that people are homeless for different reasons. That being said, there are many that are homeless because of poverty.
This post was not meant to introduce possible solutions, nor did it intend to analyze the causes of the situation. I think that Sabrina wrote it to prompt us to reflect for a few minutes – something we all might benefit from doing more often.
@louli, why speak for sabrina? bottom line you have a website/blog.. those who post shouldnt blast others who dont hand clap everything the author puts out. its is very immature in my opinion.
on the other side of M-Y opinion i think the graphics on her site are AMAZING… !!!
@marwa U obviously have no idea about hip-hop music. sabrina’s post that u sarcastically say she’s trying to be creative and poetic is from a TuPac song called “2 live N die in L.A.”
“Nigga got smoked by a fiend, trying to floss on him Blind to a broken man’s dream, a hard lesson…”
If u knew about the song then u would know that she probably likes TuPac, and does not really think that all of us are blind to homelessness. I agree with louli. N just bcuz someone has a blog doesn’t mean u should come here and say whatever u want. And dat goes for so many of the sabrina hataz out there who come here to leave negative comments. if u think u can say nething u want bcuz she has a blog that’s like saying just bcuz someone wears hijab in public a stranger can walk up to them and call them a terrorist. If the woman tries to defend herself, the person can say “u were in a public place so i can call u a terrorist if I want.” just bcuz a blog is in a public place dat don’t change the fact dat a blog is by da author and for da author. We read it because we like it, and sometimes if I don’t like wat she says I just keep my mouth zipped because I’m a Muslim woman too, and my parents raised me to be careful of wat i say n how i say it and to b nice to others even if i don’t like them bcuz others will learn from my Islamic manners. Just bcuz u can say something, doesn’t mean u alwayz shud.
ps sabrina i do like you tooonnnzzz!!!!!!:PPPPP
Keep up da good i mean GREAT work!
Hey Readers. Just a quick note about the words we choose to use when we post in the comments. If you feel the need to say something that can be construed as profanity (in some cases this pertains to slang) please use *** in the word(s). We have a very diverse group of readers who come here, and we’d like SOL to be a place where people don’t feel offended by specific words, even if used in the context of what you’re trying to express via the comments section. As far as being offended by each other’s thoughts — well, that’s bound to happen because we can’t help how we feel. I for one try hard to offend anyone I can any chance I get.
Only kidding.
Kind of.
seriously. this is mad ridic…it doesn’t matter what she titled this as…i think it’s safe to say that everyone thought about this post after reading it…and if it was a person from abroad, it was educating them about a rough area in the U.S.
holler
@ no.. nisa you are wrong that is NOT what i was referring to. how tacky…. sabrinah, plz know i was not trying to offend you. what these other readers think is not important to me.
@ nisa..Well this is USA.. take it from someone in hijab not only on body but on mouth as well; people can and will say what they want. does it make it right no?? i wasnt trying to be ” right” when i responded to the entry.. you are the one who took it to a classless level…. i didnt attack Sabrinah personally. I was responding to a website’s post. It happens in the real world ALL THE TIME. respectfully!
Well I think I had enough.. Sabrina, time for a new post (plz a funny one)