It's not our faults. 

In New York City, we're bombarded every day with a slew of homeless people, shaking coins in our faces on our walk to work, yelling out their stories in the subway, and lying on boxes on the side of the street.

It's a sad, sad tale, but most New Yorkers are desensitized to homeless people. We simply have to be. Otherwise we'd all be depressed and would give away all our money until we had none left.

So we're sad, but not that surprised to learn that when Richard Gere, of Pretty Woman fame and People magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive" in 1999, went undercover as a homeless man, no one noticed.

Last week. Gere wrote a post on his Facebook page describing his experience.

"When I went undercover in New York City as a homeless man, no one noticed me. I felt what it was like to be a homeless man. People would just pass by me and look at me in disgrace," Gere wrote.

He wasn't met with just scorn, though.

"Only one lady was kind enough to give me some food. It was an experience I'll never forget," Gere wrote.

When he was finished posing as a homeless man, Gere took action.

"After I was done, I walked around and gave food and $100 to every homeless person I saw. They cried and were so grateful. Be the change you wish to see in the world."

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"When I went undercover in New York City as a homeless man, no one noticed me. I felt what it was like to be a homeless...

Posted by Unofficial: Richard Gere on Thursday, October 8, 2015

We're touched by Gere's experience, and a little ashamed no one on the street noticed him. 

The fact that no New Yorkers (including us) noticed an extremely famous man pretending to be homeless reveals how numb we all our to homeless New Yorkers' plights. It reveals how little attention we devote toward noticing the people living on the streets.

It's important for all of us to remember that homeless people are people too. All people deserve kindness. We would all do better to remember that a little more often. 

Richard Gere, thank you for showing us the fallacy of our ways.

Check out Mayor de Blasio Admits That Homelessness Is a Real Problem in NYC

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