As a child, my parents always took me to New York City. We didn’t live there, but we had relatives there. And we always went to buy groceries in Chinatown. There was always that distinct fishy smell.

We rarely went to the subway. But I won't forget the one or two times I did as a toddler, no matter how many years have passed. It felt like a dream, but it wasn’t.

I remember that man sitting alone, playing his guitar in the connecting tunnel. My mom gave me some money and told me to give it to him. That was the first and last time. 

After that, my mom told me, “Don’t do that next time. They are dangerous. “If you give them some, they’ll want everything. They’ll rob you, and they’ll kill you for your money.”

Perhaps this perception is the problem. We look upon homeless people, the most distinct symptom of wealth inequality, and condemn them for their worthlessness, leeching off society with their laziness, lounging around in public spaces, being an eyesore in the streets, subways, cities.

Maybe we do pity them. But we are also fearful. We see them kicked out of public spaces by all, beaten to the ground by a cop, tents destroyed in the name of public interests, to such an extent we consider it normal. Homelessness has been on the rise, yet that’s normal.

One of the most infamous, persistent issues is rent. The fact that a landlord or investment firm has so much power over our lives is chilling.

Rent prices have outpaced inflation for years, so inflation is not the sole blame. What is to blame is simply greed. A desire for profits, for money, for a green piece of paper, has caused millions of people to be threatened with evictions each year. Each year, millions of people experience homelessness to some degree. 

In contrast to these people, in the name of profits, investment, and money, corporations, and wealthy individuals buy up property, snatching it from people who actually need it, and then renting them out at jacked-up prices. Investors buy a quarter of houses built each year. That’s what drives up prices and leaves people on the streets.

The fact that these necessities do cost as much as they do is laughable. For me, it would be incredible and unimaginable to refuse the starving, impoverished, and homeless, simply because they don’t have the money. It is inconceivable to deny someone their right to live, simply because they didn’t have some green paper. The very fact that all this is normal is insane. For me, this is not the so-called best, most perfect, or most free world.