The Unknown Companion

The Unknown Companion 

Humanity may be naturally free but limited by their society as earlier philosophers discussed in their treatise on man’s freedom in nature, namely John Locke and Thomas Hobbes, to name a few. To what extent do members of the community have an obligation or “Social Contract” to protect persons who do not usually take part in the community norms? Before government existed, everyone was sovereign and did not respond to any form of government which was eventually created for all the members of the community to agree on rational standards as John Lock suggested. Similarly, but not concurring, Thomas Hobbes argued that human nature is selfish and must be controlled. These are indeed logical arguments for man to live civilly but what if man deviates and creates malice toward another nonparticipant? This personal incident may make you think about the injustice that still exists in our society toward homeless people. What about the unknown companion, do you care? 
Every breath was being constructed by the plastic walls of the tent that protected me from potentially harsh weather conditions. But not now, because the hands of this criminal gripped my neck and forced me to watch the other criminal attempting to suffocate the unknown companion. This other person was trying to escape through the tiny windows and vents on his side of the tent, hoping to venture out of the flapping unzipped vinyl entrance. The assailant pushed his arms through the plastic walls and gripped my companion’s neck with enough force to cause his head to turn several directions until it swayed forward and rested on the stretched plastic where his mouth, lips, nose, and eyes were firmly compressed and permanently fixated on the plastic wall. It looked like the Han Solo kryptonite set in Star Wars Return of the Jedi! 
Could this be a foreshadowing mirror image of me I thought as I watched this murderous assault on my companion. In perspective, as far as I could tell, there were only two of us originally in the tent but upon falling asleep any number of persons may have entered the tent. After some reflection, which must have lasted only a few seconds, there may have been more than just the two of us inside the tent. I did not know. Was the companion safe? Am I safe? 
My companion’s, or who I thought was my companion’s mouth, was wide open, displaying his last breath of life or crying in terror, or both. The whole time, 2 or 3 minutes, I could not hear what was happening but could only see that these perpetrators, 3 or 4 of them, were trying to cause harm. I heard the suspects conversing outside of the tent, but the sounds were muffled because of the struggle taking place with my companion and behind me, another pair of hands were still gripped tight around my neck. When I got the chance, I reached out my arms to unzip the roof of the tent only to see several people strolling by, clearly showing acts of disregard for our safety while my companion and I suffered this brutal assault. With my hands still around my neck, I managed to swing my elbows backward only to be restricted by the plastic walls which were not strong enough to fight off these killers. Yes, these assailants were interested in more than stealing something but hurting or killing us. I managed to push back the arms of my assailant around my neck. Thank goodness for all those years of doing push-ups! However, it was not enough to stop another blade from penetrating my lumbar region because I was now sitting in a prayer or meditative position gasping for enough air to yell for help but all I could see was a few pedestrians omitting my predicament.  
Now, 4 minutes after the first assault on my companion, and still out of breath and unable to speak the body’s fight-to-flight response finally kicked in. Still, I succumbed to yet another brutal assault from the same person who was trying to strangle me. Luckily, I only had this one assailant to worry about but what could he do next, and with what weapons? Stupid me, I had no weapons with my companion. Sleeping in this tent only protects us from the weather conditions, not violence from brutal criminals. Sleeping here makes us subject to potential criminal acts on the streets without any aid besides what friends may do. But it seems like we have no friends on the streets because everyone is concerned about their survival. And the police are there to keep you obeying the rules rather than protecting you, so it seems.  
The blood was hot like spilled coffee and started to sting me when the blades penetrated my butt and groin. My puffs for air were only restricted by the tent wall I was pressed against. From what I could tell at this critical moment was that my companion was choked to death and the same was about to happen to me. Not only choked to death but stabbed to death too. I inhaled as much air as I could manage but the plastic wall was restricting my attempts of further breaths, any attempt of a full breath did not seem possible, only small puffs against the tight rubbery surface which contracted and extended following any inhalation of air in my mouth and nostrils.  
It was becoming clear that within ten minutes of my companion’s struggle and suffocation, the same was about to be my destiny. With my head still peeking out the small fly-screen window of our tent I was able to get enough air in my lungs to scream – “Help!” and simultaneously I managed a quick yank of my forearm toward my assailant on my side of the tent. With my forearms I pressed on my chest like a mummy I pushed my upper body backward which allowed enough space between the strong firm hands and my mouth to inhale enough air to say something. Of course, the word help was the only logical word to use. But it did not work and to my surprise, nobody came to our rescue. I continued to watch the pedestrians in this secluded desolate grassy knoll nestled between two business buildings with trees, and shrubs that surrounded our camping spot. How can we die here in a business district when people are walking to work at 6 in the morning? Why should they care about two victims of a violent assault, in a tent, outside of their working spaces? In most cases, they do not care.  
By now I am sure you are asking yourself who is this companion in the tent who was brutally suffocated? It matters because the same thing is about to happen to me. All time stands still for two potentially homeless people who are simply trying to get a good night's sleep among working citizens surrounded by brick walls to protect their lifestyles and not subject to the same risks from perceived deviants surrounded by plastic walls. Sometimes he would leave unexpectedly which made it confusing to figure out where he was at half the time. Therefore, this victim in my tent could have been my significant partner or someone else. Who knows? He could have left the tent because he had bladder issues at any time during the night. 
For those of us without friends, the companion was a significant partner in sharing our insurance benefits rather than walking to work at 6 a.m. every day. Sad but true. There are personal limitations that may or may not force us to live surrounded by plastic walls and mobile equipment. My companion could be you because I awoke from this nightmare with the fear of its potential reality always in my mind. I am not one to lecture about the disparities of being homeless, however, fears are a consistent concern for myself and the unknown companion. 
 Also, the dangers of the street are indeed a reality for thousands of people and millions in other countries. For example, I read about an older man who was dragged from his outside sleeping quarters in his tent somewhere in eastern Africa and eaten alive by hyenas—praised America for its infrastructure, which the homeless sometimes use to survive; but the risk of crimes against the homeless is a social concern and ignored except by politicians who promise solutions but nothing seems to solve the problem. 
This may have been a dream but the elements of it are always in the subconscious as Freud reminded us about the significance of our dreams. Sometimes there are no heroes to be found, especially in a society that tends to disdain homelessness by ignoring crimes against them. But isn’t omission a crime in itself? It does not matter but the more mysterious question does-- who is my companion in this dream? Is it me? An old friend? One of my parents? A revered but forgotten relative? Was it you? Or an aberration? Do I sound paranoid? Let me ask this question because the was never a chance to see the face of the unknown companion, the face was obscured and strapped in vinyl and plastic like a sculpture in stone for the coroners to take away. All levels of society exist for people on the streets, including those with mental and physical issues and so on. The companion could have been anybody. 
Humanity is not naturally free but limited by their society as earlier philosophers discussed in their treatise on man’s freedom in nature especially if you are a non-participant and this is when you risk death or injury. It is indeed society that is constrained when incidences like the one I just described happen because society does not care about the homeless getting assaulted. In other words. If you do not believe this to be the case, ask yourself what would you do if you were one of the pedestrians watching two homeless people being assaulted with knives. I guess that you would not intercede, or would you? Who Cares?  
 
By Brian Hautau 
November 5. 2023