I just visited the controversial website pimpthisbum.com and was really drawn in to Tim's story. Basically some guys turned one homeless man into a viral marketing campaign. Some say it is taking advantage of Tim, or degrading. I tell you what is degrading, turning the other way to people living on the streets. That is what is degrading, and its not so much degrading to the homeless, its degrading to us, the people that look the other way and don't help. It brings us all down when one person is suffering. Like John Donne said, no man is an island.
Through this web site Tim is getting a chance at treatment as the Sunray Treatment center in Seattle has donated the fee of alcoholism treatment for him. I donated a few dollars. I am out of work right now and I normally am not giving any money until I get back in the workforce, but I was moved to help out. I always give a few dollars or what I have handy when I walk past a panhandler. If it was me asking I would want someone to help me. I don't have any judgement on what they will do with the money either; a real gift of charity should not come with strings, I don't think. So I am pretending Tim is someone I am walking by and giving $5.00.
