Making social change

I came across this article on the Cincinnati Enquirer's website that I thought I would pass along. It's about a group of teenagers from Mason who "panhandled for panhandlers" at Fountain Square today. Their mission was to raise awareness about homelessness in Cincinnati, where government officials have proposed legislation to ban panhandling and even withhold funding from shelters that house panhandlers.

Being from a pretty small town, I never had much experience with panhandlers growing up, though in hindsight I am sure there were many homeless families residing in my hometown. My first real memory of panhandlers was during a junior high school trip to Washington, D.C. Before we left, our teachers held an assembly to go over the itinerary for the trip and to lay out some basic ground rules. Rule #1? Don't give anything to panhandlers. Our teachers told us that all panhandlers were out to scam us and they would probably even hurt us if we looked at them or got too close. From that time on, I learned to fear people who were homeless. I learned to fear people who were different from me; I learned to fear the unknown.

I think that's one of the biggest reasons for inaction in this country. People are afraid of what they do not know. Sure, no one wants kids to go hungry or for a veteran to have to sleep under a pile of blankets in the park. But these problems seem too big and scary to actually do something about them.

Maybe that's why I was so struck by this article. Here is this group of teenagers from an affluent part of Southwest Ohio who saw a problem and decided to do something. Instead of saying, "Someone should do something about this," they decided that they are 'someone' and they can make a difference. The city of Cincinnati continues to foster a hostile climate towards people who are homeless, and many people either don't know or don't care enough to speak out against it. These teenagers recognized that once you know something, you can't 'un-know' it, and they set out to spread the word to anyone who would listen. They took a step to raise awareness about an ongoing issue in Cincinnati to people who typically have the privilege of not paying attention.

This group is taking action and making social change, all before their 20th birthdays. Rock on, young people. This is what it's all about.