Words: Do you have beggars in the US?

*man begging for money passes us on subway* 
R, my British friend: Do you have that in the US?
Me: What?
R: People begging?
Me: Ummm, yeahhh..... I mean in all the cities.
R: *stares at me with horror and disbelief*
Me: Actually, now that I think about it, I guess I didn't really see anyone begging when I was in London, hmm. Yeah we have them on the streets, on the trains, ya know, like here...
R:  *increases horror and disbelief*  Wow, I can imagine it's hard to see them and not be able to help. Like here it's especially so sad when you see the elderly or sick people... there's this one woman always shaking.....
Me: Yeah, we have lots of old and shaking people begging, especially since they probably can't afford health insurance so they can't buy medicine. It's the worst when you see them outside in the snow.
R: *stunned silence of horror and disbelief*  It makes me really glad to live in a country with a good welfare system.

It makes me wish we had a good welfare system.  And affordable health insurance.

It also got me thinking about how we have come to accept the effect of "becoming numb to suffering people" as a universal and necessary fact of life... but is it? Last week we passed a severely disfigured man begging and R seemed really upset and agitated by it; I just brushed it off and didn't think much of it. Her reaction is one of immediately in touch with humans, while I had to take time to contemplate exactly the poor man's terrible situation and likely history of exclusion, inequality, and pain before I felt what she did (and I even consider myself pretty in-touch with others). She said, "people like that should never be begging."

If a country has systems in place to support all its citizens, especially those that need the most help, then there's no need to develop coping mechanisms (like emotional distance) to deal with tragic conditions, since there are no tragic conditions.