That doesn’t explain the loon on the corner that does it every day at the top of his lungs…
OK, I exaggerate, but he does talk loud enough to hear 100 feet away.
I learned from a signing interpreter for the deaf that indeed, the deaf sometimes sign to themselves.
I learned on this board that there are charity organizations that give old hands-free cell phones to people so that they appear to be having conversations with other people instead of responding to their own hallucinations. This helps prevent others perceiving the person as dangerous and treating them as such.
That’s one of the main problems with the new technology. It makes it harder to tell the crazy people from people actually talking to someone 
I encountered this a lot when I was helping out in a soup kitchen. I woudl often sit down with the people and try to engage them, or at least listen.
You know those moments in movies about group therapy when they’ll get someone to pretend to be the Dad, and make the kid confront him and say all the things he wishes he could? I think it’s like that, only without the helpful partner. Some may be so far gone that they actually see the person there, but I think most are just so full of emotions, and their filters are so worn from pain and stress that they just let it out and say what they need to say. Many seemt o have no choiceint he matter, others can stop it if real interaction is available.
You’d be amazed at how alone these people are though. they may be on the street all day, and a hundred people might drop a quarter into their cup, but only one or two will say “Hello” and those two hurry on without even waiting fro the response.
The lives of these folks have been so painful, they could probably talk for a month with an attentive therapist and still have more to say.
When I was in college, in an urban area, part of our orientation materials advised us that we were likely to encounter individuals who carry on conversations with people whom we will not see, and that we should react sensitively in those circumstances.
I believe not talking to oneself is a modern societal concept, it a is learned concept not to and talking to oneself is considered taboo. People who have felt that society has given up on them have no reason not to violate the taboos especially when it is somewhat, if not totally normal to do so.
So, no pointing and giggling?
Around here it is because the homeless are so ruthlessly aggressive and predatory if you bum a guy a cigarette or a dollar he’ll attempt to use every single manipulation known to humankind to escalate the donation, including following you and yelling for blocks. If you give someone five dollars to buy something to eat before a word they are demanding money for a drink and dessert, and what about dinner? And breakfast tomorrow? You think this money last forever?
When a donation is seen as a sign of weakness, it isn’t surprising most avoid contact.
We just explained that we were pointing and giggling at things no one else could see.
This is exactly why I no longer interact with them. I have had them follow my wife and I down the street multiple times and attempt to put their hands into my wife’s coin purse. We have also encountered large groups of them rushing in on you if you give one of them any money.
I was homeless for a couple years, on and off. Part of the time I was employed, part of it I wasn’t.
I used to panhandle quite a bit. It pissed me off to no end when other people would behave like this. Made it way more difficult for the rest of us. I’d always respond with a smile and an enthusiastic “Thank You!” and that was it. I vastly preferred standing by the edge of the street with a sign (“flying”) rather than walking around asking for money (“spanging”). However, in some areas, the cops will hassle you a lot for flying a sign so you have to be sneaky.
Some standup (possibly Louie Anderson) said that they should take all these homeless & pair them up. They’d still be talking to themselves, but at least to every1 else from afar it’d look like they were having a conversation.
(((((cjepson)))))
Wow. I wasn’t expecting to see this 6-year old zombie of mine revived. And so lively at that!
LOL! I didn’t even notice until you said it. Some topics are always timely I suppose.
Goes back further than that. I remember hearing it in a Lily Tomlin bit about NYC in the early 1970’s.
As for blue tooth headphones; Nowadays they are inexpensive and ubiquitous, but a few years ago I observed that they now made it harder to differentiate between schizophrenic homeless people who might mug you and sociopathic yuppies who were working on a deal to acquire your company and outsource your position*.
- PROTIP: Look at the shoes
I take my 20-month-old child out for a half-hour walk every day – most of the time, he’s on my shoulders. He doesn’t talk yet (three clear words). Anyway, half the time I’ll be talking to him about anything and everything. It gives me a nice feeling of relative freedom to talk “to myself” without risking odd or disapproving looks from passersby…although I still feel a little sheepish if someone sees me talking to him, because really it’s not THAT different from talking to, say, your dog.
(Yes, I’m aware that talking to a toddler like this is recommended to promote mental development.)