(con·di·tion·ing) (kon-dish-un-ing) 1. learning in which a stimulus initially incapable of evoking a certain response acquires the ability to do so by repeated pairing with another stimulus that does elicit the response.

Living in downtown Los Angeles, I think that the conditioning occurring between individuals in the area to be particularly intriguing. It is a melting pot of young urban professionals and homeless; two groups that, under normal conditions, would remain separate and relatively ignorant of the other’s position. However, in the burgeoning community that is young, urban, professional Downtown Los Angeles, these two groups find themselves in a daily clash that should pit class against class, but instead it has become a very plain sort of interaction. For the most part, the upper classes in the area ignore the homeless, despite their attempts to draw their attention.

Both are “residents” of Downtown, attempting to live, work and play in Downtown LA (neighborhood slogan). Many of the paying residents have settled into a way of dealing with the regular interruptions into their relatively privileged life. I try to be as pleasant as possible, knowing fully well that the homeless begging me for change have a hard life, and I don’t want to add further stress. I usually respond with “I’m sorry” or “Not today.” However, I do know many individuals that will curse out the homeless, in an attempt to condition them into not asking for money. Alternatively, they are seeking to condition me to feel sorry for their situation in order to evoke an emotion that might cause me to donate. This seems to be the overarching goal of homeless (or any industry for that matter), and the only way I see to resolve it is to donate to the homeless shelters around town to ensure that I am doing my part without encouraging the negative habits of the homeless in my neighborhood.