"Normal people suck."

Last night was a huge eye-opener for me. Especially regarding my recent "studies" of society, and cultural values, rules, and roles... and Fringe Dwellers.

Yesterday evening, Laramie and I took some clothing and hot food down to the Tent City on Record Street in Reno. We met several characters down there who were some of the most human people one could find in this city... then came home to find some incredibly vile emails in my inbox. I posted about how I felt on my Facebook and Myspace:

"We went down to Tent City today to hand out the clothes already donated... fed several people some chili and biscuits... and all in all a really good time. The sewing kits and hygiene products were given to one of the "regulars," one of the women who look out for and help the other women and young people who come in.
You know... it's incredible... I sit here reading petty crap emails from people whose values are so set into the extrinsic ego... listen to people express disdain for humans they have stereotyped into this homogeneous, faceless, nameless, "lowly" caste... and I am ready to go back to the people on Record Street, because they're REAL, honest about who they are, and live close to their Core. I would rather go sit and talk with the men whose wives and children are being taken care of while they shiver in the snow, who are genuinely Grateful that their loved ones are safe and warm. I would rather go hug one of the women there who has no children and so can't get assistance. I would rather go eat with the clean cut young man in the nice dress shirt and slacks who has applied for jobs but still can't get one because he doesn't have a physical address or phone number for the employer to call. I would rather go break bread with the drunken lunatic whose jokes are so far "out there" that only he can understand them. I would rather go listen to the stories of the Veterans standing in line for soup, but who still can't come home from the war. I would rather dedicate my time, effort, and energy to that Fringe Dweller community rather than listen to the prejudiced rhetoric I've been forcing myself to read today. "

But there's more that I'd like to share here:

I also had to opportunity to speak with a gentleman who chooses to keep his "house" by the river, rather than staying at Tent City... because there's too many Normal people at Tent City and "Normal people suck. They're mean and greedy and don't know what life is."

I took me long hours of searching for the words to express how this simple statement really affected me. It was a shift of perception for me... one that I'm grateful to have experienced. Beyond the material items needed for life, there's a profound difference between the average person in the modern Western society and those who live in tents and tarps by the river: what they Value.

My thoughts wander back to the clean cut young man... and realize he was one of those Normal people... he was angry that I didn't have anything that fit him. He was still living with a sense of Entitlement rather than Gratitude... an attitude that doesn't gain much respect in the Fringe society.

When I think about all of the Normal people who have talked down about my work with and for the homeless, I have to laugh...
I wonder how the Normal people would feel if they knew that they have been labeled among others in a homogenized, faceless, nameless, "lowly" caste because their Values and Rules are among those who have been rejected by the Fringe Dweller society.

I think of the woman in Tent City who is affectionately called "Doc Mom," because she dedicates her time, effort, and energy to helping, nursing, and caring for other homeless people. Her "wings" cover those who are sick, injured, young, and/or new to homelessness... yet mainstream society will never officially recognize her for her work... because she doesn't fit the societal norm.

You see... these Fringe Dwellers don't really base their value system on how much or how little you own... or how much you give to them... but on how you Live and how you Act toward others.

Then I look at modern Western culture... mainstream society... those who hold onto their Ego so tightly... who self-identify through the stories that Ego tells them... who believe that these others are "unworthy" of their energy and efforts, which really means the Ego has labeled them in a "superior/inferior" relationship... those who act so ugly to each other... and I begin to understand why some of the greatest spiritual leaders of our time on this planet... people like Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Buddha, and Jesus... spent more time with the poor than the privileged.