DAVID/SCOOTER

prized possession : backpack

 

“Are you sane enough to function in society? Are you deserving of safety?” David, nicknamed Scooter asks. These questions and dozens more float around in his mind on a daily basis. Thirty years old and from Virginia, he has been homeless for six years and likes it that way. He moved to Tallahassee when he was younger to attend pilot school. “They wouldn’t let me because I am bipolar and had done drugs a long time ago,” he recollects. This didn’t sit well with his father. “He abused me about it emotionally and mentally. $40,000 spent on nothing.” “After this failure my parents became more and more disinterested about my role as an American.” Considering himself now free from obligation, family pressure, and societal norms, Scooter declares, “I’ve been homeless six years and its wonderful. It’s the most adventurous lifestyle you can get on this soil. The drunks out here are usually peaceful. They only get mad when you point the government in their face.” In regards to the other members of society, he gives his opinion on how mixed up most people are in regards to their priorities. “People are in a safety box. Half have Stockholm Syndrome from the government. I don’t need a place to stay, I don’t need fancy shoes, I don’t need bling. Some are secure with a roof over there head and that is okay.”  He says the cops are an obstacle to life outside but its okay because, “law enforcement are apathetic and lazy.” 

 

Prized Possession: His backpack.“Without this backpack, I’d be lost. Nothing gets lost. I’ve had this one for five months. I use it to put food in a lot.”