ONLY IN BERKELEY...

I was waiting at an intersection on my way to campus today when I had a very strange encounter. I happened, for no apparent reason, to be singing "I Can See Clearly" and just minding my own business. The light was taking a really long time to change in order for me to walk across the street... so I kept singing. This old lady stepped up behind me and she turned to stare at me. So I politely smiled at her. All of a sudden, she grabs my face and pulls it close to her - so close that I can smell her breath - and gives me the coldest, scariest look and asks in a fierce whisper, "DO I LOOK DAMAGED TO YOU?" By this time, I'm a bit bewildered by the whole "up close and personal" encounter that I stare dazed at her for a couple seconds before I finally regain my voice to shake my head furiously to say, "No... no... you look... fine... " The light changes and I try to escape by crossing the street. This lady, given her old age, kept up with me pretty well. She walks right beside me and demands, "LOOK AT ME. LOOK AT ME!!!" And she pulls my face, again, towards hers and uses her other hand to point towards her eyes. For a brief second, I got so scared and my body turned cold. For a girl that did a lot of research on dark magic in high school, I totally believe in hexes and was very afraid that's what this lady was doing. I managed to break away from the deep stare and half run and skip down Telegraph with the crazy woman still calling out after me, "LOOK AT ME! I'VE BEEN DAMAGED!!!"

Okay, so what's the point, right? Well, lately, I've been reading a lot about issues dealing with poverty and homelessness. Just yesterday, I had a conversation with Caroline about how horrible the policies on deinstitutionalization have impacted the mentally ill. The mentally ill currently make up a large portion of the homeless. Furthermore, society's tolerance level of what is considered "crazy" has risen. As such, people who REALLY need help haven't necessarily received it. And part of the reason is because states keep closing mental hospitals and relying on federal support, which has been very meager. I know that the way I handled the situation today wasn't very tactful or sensitive. I think that lady really needs some psychological help (but then again, I think we all do, to some degree). And instead of trying to help, I ran the other direction as if my pants were on fire. Great... good job, Jamie. Social problems stare me in the face, and I just continue to ADD to the problem. What good is a Berkeley degree if I haven't even learned anything about social responsibilities? Hopefully others would have been the better person if faced with my situation today.