Homelessness and Hatred

This absolutely horrifies me:

The LA Times just reported on a man sentenced to life in prison without parole for setting a homeless man on fire. The attacker Ben Martin was fired for previously kicking a homeless man, John McGraham, outside the barber shop he worked at. But apparently Martin didn’t learn his lesson that violence doesn’t pay– after his dismissal, he returned to find McGraham, douse him in gasoline, and light him on fire with a road flare, burning him alive.

Another tragic story of the hatred exhibited towards the homeless.

I often wonder what causes this kind of animosity. I know people who are uncomfortable interacting with the homeless. I know people that are upset by crime related to homelessness. But I simply don’t understand why the very existence of a homeless person could fuel such a violent and disturbed act.

Then again, I shouldn’t be surprised. We’ve seen it all throughout history– between religious groups, racial groups… socioeconomic groups are no different. It just makes me really sad.

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