Oh, I'm very glad you spoke up, you've made some really astute observations. :)
Thinking about it, isn't one of the reasons we often turn away from street people the guilt we feel when we see them? We know that what we can do, or maybe what we are willing to do, isn't going to make a real difference in their lives. We're not going to bring the homeless person home, and if we did, there are thousands more like that one, so, it's easier to cope with our response by turning away.
In urban fantasy, we can look at the problem, but in a less threatening way. We can feel sympathetic, but we can't bring the characters home, except in the imaginary sense. Which isn't to say that the sympathy we feel might not help us to modify our response to someone on the street. It's just that we don't have to face that guilt head on.
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Thinking about it, isn't one of the reasons we often turn away from street people the guilt we feel when we see them? We know that what we can do, or maybe what we are willing to do, isn't going to make a real difference in their lives. We're not going to bring the homeless person home, and if we did, there are thousands more like that one, so, it's easier to cope with our response by turning away.
In urban fantasy, we can look at the problem, but in a less threatening way. We can feel sympathetic, but we can't bring the characters home, except in the imaginary sense. Which isn't to say that the sympathy we feel might not help us to modify our response to someone on the street. It's just that we don't have to face that guilt head on.