Reading Day 2
VagrancyRW #essay, #wandering, #parasite, #stranger
Vagrancy: being homeless without regular income Until around the late 80s, vagrancy was illegal in western society, and living as a vagrant was punished with forced labour, military service or imprisonment. The fact that you relied on the care and hospitality of others, for food and shelter, would make you a parasite. I would say vagrancy, as such, can only exist in societies focused on economic growth and efficiency, in which the value of things depends upon their potential to be quantified. Parasites Parasites obtain nutrients from their hosts, living on or in bodies of other organisms. Not killing their hosts but often weakening them. The word ‘parasite’ comes from ‘parásitos’ in Greek; one who lives at another’s expense, a person who eats at the table of another in return for amusement and/or conversation. Not so different from hospitality, in which you are invited as well, so why it’s negative connotation? Hospitality In every religion I know, it is preached that you should receive guests; strangers, relatives, rich or poor, and treat them with kindness, dignity, and respect. It seems that current societies have forgotten these values. Why have we become so scared of strangers?
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