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in People An Interview with jehan [UPDATED] With a life so fantastic, what's the reason we don't know who he is?
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() [UPDATE: June 11, 2016] This interview was published December 31, 2014 during my adventure in Hollywood. Since May 8, 2015 I have made my home in Utah. What inspired me to leave the life and path that I adopted during Occupy Wall Street? In Utah, I have a place that does not destroy my soul.
mm: I don't understand. j: I know, but you could understand if you invested some effort in understanding. Actually, that's what I do with the majority of my time. I just sit and meditate and ponder ideas and circumstances of which I do not yet have an understanding and invest my effort in achieving an understanding of such things. mm: That sounds religious or something. j: It's Buddhist, actually. mm: Are you Buddhist? j: That's an interesting question. Does it matter? mm: I don't know. Do you have a religion? j: I am a baptised Mormon. mm: When did that happen? j: 1996. mm: Wow. Okay. How long have you lived in Hollywood? j: For about three months. mm: I saw the Youtube of you singing in the New York City Subway. Have you been singing in Hollywood? j: No. Not at all. I like singing in places with good acoustics. There's so many people and traffic noise, it's not a very enticing idea, you know? mm: Have you tried our Metro system yet? j: No. I walk everywhere. I walked from the airport to West Hollywood. mm: That's serious. What other cities have you lived as a homeless person? j: New York, New Orleans, Miami, Nashville. mm: What about their metro systems? j: I walked everywhere. mm: These pictures are... I don't know. Have you taken a lot of photographs? j: I've taken some, but I have been photographed much more often than I've actually taken photographs. But, I rarely ever see the photos! mm: Is that weird? j: Yeah. The only thing that's weirder than not seeing the photos is actually seeing the photo.
mm: Hilarious. j: I know. mm: What have you found that's worth photographing? j: Myself. Me. Does that sound funny? It's true, though. I take photos of scense that resemble me or aspects of me. Sometimes put myself in the photo. mm: What do you mean? j: My shadow, foot, hand, reflection. Other than that, I like photographing my begging bowl and sign from my vantage point. Or my rucksack and bag lady bags.
mm: What?! j: I'm speaking solely from my experience. In my experience, if someone is actually homeless--meaning out of doors at night, as I am and have been for three years--it's only for a short while, because people seem to be so afraid of that, that they are willing to do anything to have a roof over their heads. And when I say "anything", I mean anything. Women are willing to do things that many women pray they'll never have to do and men are willing to do the same. There's the mentally and they are usually housed by the state very quickly. mm: So who are the homeless people we see on the street? j: The only homeless person you've seen on the street is me. Those other people? They just appear homeless. Maybe they're out and about to panhandle or get food or maybe they just don't have anything else to do. mm: Are you serious? j: Yes. I knew someone I met during Occupy Wall Street who was a skilled tradesman. He worked nights and slept wherever he could during the day. On the subway, park benches, etc. He said that he preferred to save the money that he would spend on rent to do other things. When his kids visited him, he'd take them to his mother's house. mm: That's amazing. So what have you been doing this for? j: To illustrate the universality of human needs. I believe in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, that humans should have their fundamental needs provided without having to sacrifice their dignity.
mm: What does that mean? j: You've seen CraigsList personal ads, right? mm: Yes. j: Should women or men have to seek "situations" with "generous" people just to have food and shelter? No. I believe the answer to that question is "No". That's the real problem. Not homelessness, but the scarce availability of dignified living conditions that do not destroy the soul of the individual. I am actually homeless, sleeping beneath the stars because I refuse to accept a "situation" that would destroy my soul. The life that I am living is the cost of refusing to trade my body, heart and mind for a roof. mm: Whoa. Okay. Wow. So if you're saying that the mentally ill are housed by the state and the sane people utilize CraigsList or something similar... j: Yes. mm: Then what about families? j: Families live in shelters. If you have a child, you are housed immediately. mm: The elderly? j: The elderly get immediate housing. Either social security or disabling ailments. mm: So who's left? j: Me. The only people left are the people that are unwilling to "sell" themselves. mm: How many of "you" are there? j: Not very many. mm: So the problem is what? How do we solve a problem that doesn't exist? j: Solve the problem that does exist: Scarce availability of dignified living conditions. mm: How do we do that? j: Without changing the entire system? We could share. If you have a large house and you're the only one living there, offer a room to someone who might need it. mm: You're not kidding, are you? j: Listen, if you were a young man or woman who suddenly found themselves in need of a place to stay and you had a choice between a CraigsList "situation" and a free room in a large house with a kind person who is willing to allow you the time to get back on your feet, what would you choose? mm: The free room with the kind person, of course. j: That's the problem and that's the solution. There are lot's of empty apartments in New York City that will be empty for years because of rent laws and all manner of New York City trivia. There's no shortage of housing. There are lot's of houses and homeowners with empty mother-in-law suites that are vacant. If they were made available for free to people in need, a lot of people could keep their dignity. mm: Are you happy being homeless? j: It's not about happiness. It's about being at peace with yourself. Being homeless is uncomfortable, it's a difficult life, but I love myself and I like myself. I believe that's something that many of the briefly homeless now living in "situations" would love to have.
mm: What makes you happy? j: Am I happy? mm: Good question. Are you happy? j: I don't know. I think so. There are things that I'm happy about. I lost 200lbs. That is a very happy sort of thing.
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