Proof That Stereotypes Are Usually Wrong

by Mark Horvath · 2010-09-09 09:44:00 UTC
Topics:

Yes, I too am guilty of stereotyping homeless people. I almost didn't talk to Sylvester. From a distance he looked a little "unstable." After a morning of making new friends in Atlanta, I had one pair of socks left. I started to cross the street so I would not have to pass him, yet became conscious of what I was doing so I walked back. I didn't plan on rolling the camera. I was simply going to give him the last pair of socks and move on.

Sylvester's story is one of the reasons InvisiblePeople.tv exists. His story is powerful. When I walked away I was in tears. Off camera Sylvester told me he was raped at 15 by the group leader of the foster home he was living in. I felt his pain.

Sylvester describes discrimination on the streets. He looks right into the camera and asks, "What makes you better than me?"

Mark Horvath is an activist for the homeless. He vlogs at invisiblepeople.tv and blogs at hardlynormal.com. He was formerly homeless in Hollywood.
PREVIOUS STORY:
Right to Privacy? Not if You're Poor
NEXT STORY:
Sallie Mae Blinks!

COMMENTS (4)

    Comment Policy

    · All fields are required to comment.

    [X]

    Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the campaign on Change.org. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments which, as determined solely in our discretion: (1) are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; (2) include content solely intended to personally attack the campaign creator, (3) are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them; and/or (4) violate our terms of service and/or privacy policy. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion. Please also be advised that: (A) we do not actively curate and/or monitor in any manner whatsoever the comments made on the Change.org platform, and (B) the creator of each campaign on Change.org may remove any comment at her/his/its discretion.