Clark had actually wanted to ask exactly that, because he had thought about it before. Illegal immigrants had it bad enough, didn't they? They came all this way, had no legal status and no skills, and could only do physical labor in restaurant kitchens. But at least they could earn money and have steady work.
These people who chose to drift around looked like they had arms and legs too, and some of them had not yet ruined their brains with drugs. Honestly, who couldn't wash dishes? Even if they only made a thousand dollars a month, at least they would have something to look forward to. Why couldn't they work?
But after hearing the old man say that, Clark understood a little. The key was that psychology had developed too late, causing most people in the world to care only about physical health while placing far too little importance on mental health.
If you asked whether these people were physically healthy, they definitely had been when they first arrived. Human bodies were far tougher and more efficient than people imagined. A few hours of physical labor a day was no problem. Judging solely by physical condition, they were capable of supporting themselves through work.
Many people only looked at their physical fitness and judged them based on that alone. They thought that if they did not go out and find work, they were lazy, and that they deserved to be homeless because they had chosen it themselves.
But that view was terribly one-sided, because it completely ignored mental health. Mental health was extremely important to a person, and often even more important than physical health.
Someone physically weak but mentally healthy often lived better than someone physically strong but mentally unhealthy. Whether it was bodily pain or psychological suffering,