The basic principle and the inspiration for my project is how to transform uncomfortable or unwanted social interactions into rewarding and meaningful ones. When I was 15 I was in Los Angeles and as I was walking into a McDonald's a beggar asked my cousin for money. I cannot remember whether she acknowledged him or ignored him but she did not give him anything. It struck me as curious I asked her why did she do that. She told me something along the lines of 'he's only going to use it for drugs '. At that time I was living in a kibbutz in Israel and this was one of my first encounters with a person in such a situation. Nevertheless, since that experience my attitude towards such requests from beggars was pretty much in line with my cousin's.
While studying for my dissertation I came across the notion of social capital. I made a connection between two observations in this field. The first is that the more individual members contribute and support their community the better the community becomes. Or in other words, that just because you help to somebody else in your community the chance of somebody entirely different would help anyone else who needs it is increased. The second observation is that when people interact socially, they form some kind of agreement, a social bargain. So friendships for example is a kind of 'be there for me and I'll be there for you' type of agreement.
I had a realisation that relationships and interactions which I deem meaningful all make me feel I am getting something out of them. I then started thinking of relationships I did not rate meaningful which is where the beggar incident popped into my mind. It was almost funny to find myself in a situation where I am thinking 'what can I get out of a beggar? '.
What can you get out of somebody who has no material possession? Who is so desperate that he is asking me for money… Up until that point my reason for not giving money to beggars was that they might use it for drugs, or that I do not know what no use it for. So I started asking beggars for that information, but in order to make it meaningful even if they are lying I would video their response.
Traded £1 with a homeless so he'd tell me what he'll do with it #BeggingBargain @camdenTalking https://t.co/doJXyUXxXD
— Gilad Visotsky (@v_gilad) August 19, 2013
Suddenly, I was 100% okay with giving the money. It's almost like it didn't matter what they would do with it because they did something for it and therefore the money is theirs.To tap into this kind of conditioning in my brain and to manipulate it felt pretty amazing. I introduced a tiny change to an existing occurrence, and since my outlook of people has transformed. Because I now look at beggars as individuals with something which is potentially personally valuable to me.
for my project I want to use this premise and create something, I don't know what, that is engaging and nonjudgemental. I don't really have an opinion as to what needs to be done about the homeless people, beggars and the likes. But there are real steps that if taken (judging by my own experience) can change the way that we look at other (marginal?) members of society.
