Seeding Transformation

How do we become heroes? Are we each doomed to lives of lethargic insignificance and casual indifference? Or can we be something more?

Stand Up For Kids, the homeless youth outreach organization with which I have worked for over a year, is an excellent example of cautious heroism. SUFK goes out into the streets and shelters, asking youth what they need and giving them what we have. And while homeless outreach is more daring than say, a bake sale, the organization generally limps along with a handful of committed volunteers and not much fervor. The status quo remains unchallenged.

How then do we transform? How is it that we stand up?

Pain Tolerance

While in the shelter I got into a friendly conversation with a guy in his late twenties. He was telling me very enthusiastically how he was now dating someone in Germany. After I congratulated him, he went on to explain his plan for visiting his new boyfriend. He needed to sort out the flight, but he would have three months to find a job in Germany. But first, he needed to get his teeth fixed.

He shows me his lower jaw, which has no teeth at all. The story is that one of his wisdom teeth became infected, and the infection spread. So he had to have all his teeth pulled.

"Ow, sounds painful," I say.

"No, I didn't feel anything. The gave me some gas, and then some Novocaine but, nah, I didn't feel a thing."

Very manly, I think to myself.

Conversation turns back to his boyfriend.

"He has two piercings. On in his lip - here - and one... a bit lower."

"Not his toe I assume," I reply.

"No, not his toe. Man, I could never get that thing pierced. Ouch."

...

Manly pain tolerance, it seems, does not include tolerance of penile pain. It it a performance of masculinity to be hyper protective of one's penis?

Constructing Identiteis

While with Stand Up tonight I met a man in a shelter whose son was in the age group we serve. He said his son was in the shower, and that he would go get him. After passing on the message, the father stood with us, explaining how his son had an open scholarship to a motorcycle management school, all he had to do was get his GED.

It struck me as interesting how quickly the homeless father offered this anecdote about his homeless son. The implicit message was clear: "My son isn't a bum, this is only a temporary thing."