we cry "the innocent women and children" to appeal to the masses, to try and force their sympathy, but the men and boys are innocent too.

I have seen sons crying out for their mothers, their fathers, their siblings. I have seen them break down at the loss of their families. I have seen them cling to their dead and grieve.

I have seen fathers cradle their dead children, seen them kiss their faces and hold their little hands. I have seen them faint with grief when asked to identify the dead. I have seen them carry their sons and daughters. I have seen them fasting to provide what little they can for their families.

I have seen men and boys digging through the rubble with just their bare hands, I have seen them comforting strangers, playing with children, rocking them, hushing them, even if the face of such imminent danger. I have seen them cry, seen them grieve, seen them break down into each other's arms, seen them be selfless, beyond selfless, becoming something I don't have a word for.

I have seen the men who are doctors refuse to leave their patients, even when they have no medicine or supplies to give them, even when they're threatened with bombings. I have seen fathers who have lost all their children pick orphans up into their arms and proclaim them their child so they are not alone. I have seen men and boys digging pets out of the rubble.

Paul Celan, Selections

Robert Edwards, Stand (in memory of Rachel Corrie), in Seeds of Fire: Contemporary Poetry from the Other USA, Edited by Jon Andersen, Smokestack Books, Middlesbrough, 2008, pp. 51-52

Having someone/something to catch you when you fall is why we live in a society. It's why we share the cost of running the society.

When times get tough, don't look out only for yourself or see the world only through your own experiences.

Realize a lot of great, smart, talented people can lose their housing. And have. Many times.