Bums and Cops

This is an excerpt from my cultural journal that I have been keeping, and I figured that it was a good observation to share with all of you.

On Bums

So, I have decided that bums in Russia are scary. I suppose that they are scary anywhere, but when you don't understand them, then I think it makes them more scary. Only in Russia, though, would you get a cop with a grill (gold, no less) throwing a smelly (by that I mean PUTRID), drunken, belligerent bum off the train! What my tour guide told me over the weekend, though, was that they are not to be treated badly, but you should inwardly thank them for showing you exactly how not to live! Interesting outlook, no doubt! He also said that there was a study done by a British doctor, and he concluded that after living for 6 months on the street, there is a chemical change in the brain, and it prevents people from returning to normal life. This is terrible, but the guide told me that they chose that life, so not to feel bad for them. Plus, they get food, cloths, and papers (documents) from the government, but within 2 DAYS they show up again without any of these things. I suppose that its sad, but it is also good that the government is attempting to help these people. I guess its more than I would have expected.