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LATEST SUBMISSIONS

Society’s invisible people

Monday, September 17 at 11:42 AM

This Speakout has not been edited.

By Michael J. McCarthy
There is an old Jewish parable: The parable of the fifth son. “A man has five sons. Four are at the table eating. But the fifth son is the one who is not at the table. The fifth son has gone wayward. Yet, his seat is still reserved for his return.”

Perhaps you have seen him, with all of his belongings in plastic bags. He is a heavy-set, middle-aged, black man residing on the city bench, along side the Tattered Cover Book Store, in Lodo. I certainly have.

I work as a cook at Dixon’s Downtown Grill. I come to work at 3 pm and go home at 12 am.
Seven-days a week, he sits with a defiant dignity – in silent protest. Not once has this homeless man ever asked for any food or money. Nor have I ever witnessed him pan-handling.

Oddly enough, at the very same location, a perfectly healthy, clean-cut boy, on a $500 bicycle relentlessly begged for spare change. I wanted to throw the little urchins’ bike under the bus when he didn’t take no for an answer.

No, the man on the green city metal bench was different. He was speaking to me, with-out saying a word.

I questioned my general manager about him.

He said that in all of the years that he has worked for Dixon’s, he never saw this man begging, not once.

All of the years! I thought.

With that response I felt deep shame.

I felt shame not for this homeless man’s situation, but for people not noticing; perhaps, not caring. He has sat there for years and no one has helped.

Secretly, I believe, some folks wish he would just go away. They would rather he was invisible. So, they blank him out of their existence.

He has become one of society’s invisible people.

These invisible people all too often have been deemed by society as “scum”. Yet, they are victims of urban plight and inner city decay - the poor and the downtrodden. They include: the homeless; mentally-ill; unwed mothers on welfare; runaway teens; ex-offenders; the uneducated and unskilled; illegal immigrants; and residents of inner city housing projects.

We forget that they are part of the human family. They are; like or not, included in the very fiber of the tapestry of life — the fifth son who is not at the table. Their struggles affect the whole of humanity, our very way of life. In order for me to hold my head up high, the man on the green city park bench needs to be able to also.

As fate would have it, I joined the ranks of the less desirable and unwanted, back in September of 2005.

In Summit County Court, I pleaded guilty to theft. I received a 3-year prison sentence. I’m presently serving the final weeks of that sentence at Independence House — North (community corrections), in Denver.

There is a stigma that comes with being an ex-offender writer and an activist. Some people ponder: Who is this guy to tell us anything, just look at where he has been? What can he possibly know? A damn criminal giving advice?”

I have to work twice as hard to get published, and twice as hard to be heard.

I know now how this homeless man feels: disconnected. Nevertheless, he has not given up. His vigilance and dignified behavior on the city bench (his home), says more about who he is, then all the people that whisk by him without a glance.

This man on the bench has staked out his own little piece of human triumph over great adversity, without saying a word.

We need to do the same. These invisible folks struggles are our struggles. By helping those most in need we grow in love and humanity.

Today, I’m going to talk to this man on the city bench.

We should recognize and acknowledge the homeless. We should recognize and acknowledge a prisoner trying to be heard. We should recognize and acknowledge: the poor, the destitute, and the downtrodden. The fifth son who is not at the table: Society’s invisible people.
Because if we don’t, we’ll lose ourselves in the process, or lack thereof.

Michael J. McCarthy is a resident of Denver.

READER COMMENTS

Let's see, sitting on the same bench since 1987!!

Guess sitting there is easier than getting a job and working!

Invisible, hardly!

Maybe Mr. McCarthy should just look at himself and continue to try and be an honest hard working citizen. Oh, me thinks he wants a position telling others how to behave and treat people. Since he has been to prison and now knows it all!

Right, get a life McCarthy and keep it. Meaning, keep a job and be a productive citizen. "Fate" just might keep you out of prison again!

Posted by gary on September 27, 2007 10:41 AM

Thanks Jim for the kinder words.

I wish you the very best. I see your a very kind person: proactive and involved. I'll stay out of prison and keep serving others.

Cheers,
Michael J. McCarthy
mjmccarthywrites@yahoo.com

PS Nice to have the constructive conversation.

Posted by Michael J. McCarthy on September 24, 2007 11:44 AM

Gee, Mike, had you done what you are doing now a little earlier in life, perhaps you wouldn't be "one month out of prison"??
Glad to hear that you did actually talk to the man on the bench, although until you said it, who knew? And, considering how much of your "point" is, apparently, based upon your greater knowledge of the mans situation then I have, that little tidbit is important, no?
As for Pam's, "what happened to you"?????
Nothing special. I've led a pretty much 'normal' life. Had some ups, some downs. Don't dwell on the downs much, I understand that life is a journey, not a destination, and sometimes the forks are, well forks. Some go well, some don't, but that's the way life is. One deals with things as they come along. I surely don't believe it necessary to establish my "cred" by blaming anyone or anything else for my circumstance. Even were that the case, that is others had a hand in whatever 'ill' might have befallen me, I still have the innate capacity to more affect my circumstance then anyone else does.
And THAT would be my "point". I'm about fed up with people who blame "fate" or any other unaccountable source for their trials in life.
But that's OK Pam. Take a cheap shot at me, then pat Mike on the head for being soooooo understanding.
If you can't see the irony in that, well.......

Posted by Jim in Erie on September 24, 2007 06:00 AM

"ron" said:
"We've all done something that would have landed us in jail,you've just been lucky........"
Which pretty much displays for all to see that "ron" is hardly presenting an argument based upon fact or rational thought.
"We've all done something that would have landed us in jail"?????
All?
As in All Three Hundred Million of us in the country?
How insipid and unsupportable a claim is that?
Begone "ron", you bore me.

Posted by Jim in Erie on September 24, 2007 05:35 AM

Jim,

I've gotten to the point that I'm wondering what happened to you?

Good luck man, I hope you feel better.

Thanks Mike. It's good to take a moment and look around to see who else is here without looking through them.

Posted by pam on September 23, 2007 08:40 PM

Well, Jim, I don't want to get into a pissing contest with you, you seem in good supply.

I did in fact talk to this Man. His name is Alfonso Casson. He has been homeless since 1987. And I helped him out, and we talked, AND WE ARE NOW FRIENDS.

You'd just as soon shoot the guy, JIm.

I'm also uncertain how much education you have, you seem to have difficult time comprending the point of my column. Are you aware I received over a 150 positive emails from all walks of life. Judges, cops, chaplains, veterans organizations, etc... What is wrong with you? You are SOOOOO bitter. I don't understand where you are going with this. You seem to need more help then Alfonso. He isn't bitter at all. He's actually a voraious reader. He was reading the book "cooked" which the author gave to him outside the Tattered Cover Book Store.

And where may i ask, are you getting the notion that I want pity? Does one normally blast their less than admirable past in the press? I felt I was showing a bit of humility.

You definitely read into the column way too much. The article is not about me or my crime, it's about healthy folks, developing a sense of compassion for the less fortunate.

Your thoughts actually; ironically enough, clearly illustrate thet need for this lesson. I'm writing this column for people like you, JIM.

I know you are a good person, but you are very, very cynical. Your heart has froze up.

Tell me something you do LOVE. Please.

I served in the U.S. Army, myself, enlisted, a 91P (x-ray tech.) Keller Army Medical Center, West Point, NY.

I went to prison, JIm. But I'm no shlock. I'm holding down two jobs (72 hours) a week, volunteering, writing letters, activism, getting published, helping my fellow man.... all one month out of prison.

And You? What, Jim? Filling the blog commentary with contempt?

I pray for healing and peace for you.
Cheers, JIm
Michael J. McCarthy

Posted by MIchael J. McCarthy on September 23, 2007 02:14 PM

Jim in Erie,you are such an ass.....You and your ilk have a,I'm better than you state of mind when it comes to yourself.....I would say this.....bullshit Jim,you have bone's in your closet just as all human being's do.Enough with your,I'm better than you B.S.....You are not better,you just have not gotten cought ..We've all done something that would have landed us in jail,you've just been lucky........

Posted by ron on September 22, 2007 02:02 AM

No Mike, I have not led a life free of 'mistakes'. Although I would argue that a "mistake" is not a crime. But if it makes YOU feel less responsible for your own actions, so be it. THAT, I believe, is part of your problem, and will continue to be so as long as you insist on seeing your crime as a 'mistake'.
I don't need to explain my life to you Mike, I didn't start with the poop line about "fate" dealing me a bad blow. YOU denied your responsibility, by saying "fate" and stating that you "pleaded guilty" to a theft. I've read a couple of your missives before, and both of them were all about how I, who didn't do a damn thing to make you what you are, should be understanding and forgiving and willing to watch yet more money go to 'helping' someone who put themselves in their current situation.
Have I been to lock up? Nope.
Have YOU served twenty plus years in defense of this Nations? I did.
Have YOU performed at ANY employment for 20 plus years?10 years? 5 years? Yeah, didn't think so.
You act as if because I don't buy into your bleeding heart whine about yourself or the likely invented scenario of the poor man on the bench, that I have no heart. ( And I say invented scenario not because there isn't someone sitting on a bench, but because you attributed so many things to him, without any supporting facts. The 'invented' part is the circumstances that put him on that bench. You don't have, or at least didn't offer, any facts at all, so you 'invented' some possibilities.)
Once again, I don't have any need to prove a damn thing to you, but.....
Am I supposed to provide my tax receipts for donations of time, money and resources to a variety of non profit organizations that seek to assist the disadvantaged? Why should I? You seem to think that writing a piece about how the rest of society is failing, when you have been convicted of failing society yourself, is a compassionate and wonderful thing. Actually, it's damn easy to sit at a keyboard somewhere and tell the rest of the world how to do it "right", right?
By the way, did you ever actually talk to the gentleman you wrote about? Or are you afraid that you might find out he is not the character of sympathy and noble effort that would play well in a follow on story?
I firmly believe that society does more then enough for the disadvantaged in our midst. But some of them just want to be a victim. It;s so much easier then accepting responsibility for their own circumstance, and working to make it better.
Having said all the above, I do truly hope that you take advantage of your current circumstance. It sounds as if you are near the end of the punishment phase of your conviction, and are working in a field that has some potential. That's a good thing, in my opinion.
But I would strongly advise that you knock off the poor poor pitiful me.....fate did me a dirty deal and I've got it so tough because of 'fate. You admitted to 'theft', and paid a price for it. Learn from it, act like an adult, and quit looking for sympathy from those who have no responsibility for your bad decisions.
Unlike some countries in this world, you have a chance to make better of the rest of your life then you have so far. Don't blow it, again.

Posted by Jim in Erie on September 21, 2007 09:38 PM

Hmmmm, this guy has been on the same corner for years and he is still fat? I ASSUME he isn't a buddha and so therefore must be getting his chow from somewhere. So, someone IS giving him money and or food, just not when you are around.

Perhaps he is selling drugs on this corner? Perhaps he jumps in his Ferrari when you aren't around and heads off to his crib. Truth be told, you have no idea what this guy's life is about.

Posted by Dravur on September 21, 2007 03:18 PM

Criminals like you, Mike, can go through an entire lifetime blaming others for their failures, working hard at being full-time victims and feeling sorry for themselves.

Mike, you are suffering from an "O.J. complex" and nobody buys your bad act. Instead of working hard at convincing others that you are a helpless and pityful victim of society, may I suggest that you do society a huge favor and work equally as hard at remaining invisible.

Posted by Hank on September 21, 2007 11:55 AM

This column isn't about me, it's for folks like Hank and Jim from Erie, teaching them to have a little heart, compassion, and forgiveness for others who make mistakes, or have a tough time functioning in life due to unfortunate circumstances.
I don't want a thing.

I would like for society to recognize that if you help the whole (your fellow man), you truly help yourself.

People like Jim from Erie, may have never set foot in prison, but I dare say, they sound far more trapped, far more imprisoned, far more full of cynism than I could ever fathom.

I'm not bitter, I'm full of life and hope. What would be their suggestion? That I keep on stealing?

I'm creating hopeful solutions for myself, others like me, and people like Hank and Jim that perpetuate everything dismal in the world.

I'm not crying. Too me they sound like the big babies.

I wonder have they ever messed up themselves? Are they without fault? It sure doesn't sound like it.

I wish them healingand peace.

God Bless You, all
Michael J. McCarthy
mjmccarthywrites@yahoo.com

Posted by MIchael J. McCarthy on September 21, 2007 11:24 AM

BoooHoooHooo....Waaaaaaaaaaaagh!

Who stole my hammock...where's mine?...You owe me....Help me Hillary! Personal accountability and personal responsibility is not fair and requires too much work.

Stick 'em up!

Posted by Hank on September 21, 2007 10:50 AM

"As fate would have it, I joined the ranks of the less desirable and unwanted, back in September of 2005.

In Summit County Court, I pleaded guilty to theft."
Fate? That darn "fate", and it's totally random nature!
Give me a break, give us all a break. This is at least the second letter I've seen from you where you refuse to acknowledge your responsibility for your crimes.
It's called credibility, and you do yourself, and your 'cause', no favors by playing victim.
You acknowledge that, as of your writing, you have never spoken to the man on the bench. And that your exhaustive further knowledge of him is based upon the statement of another that the man has been there for 'years'.
That's it? That's all you know about him?
Yet from that single bit of information you determine that he is a "fifth son", shunned by society as 'scum', and left to rot on a lonely park bench in a bustling city?
Wow, you've missed your calling!! To heck with writing, revival tents all over are looking for just your skills!!
You don't have any idea what circumstances put that man on that bench, do you? You don't know what help he has sought out, or not, to change his situation, do you? You have no idea if he has family, friends, or social service contacts have tried and failed to alter his life, do you?
Yet, in a barely concealed attempt to plead your own "poor, poor pitiful me" case, you have determined what, how, and who he is. And that society at large is somehow not only responsible for his situation, but doubly responsible to correct it.
Or maybe it's just "fate" that did him in, and no one can fight "fate", can they?

Posted by Jim in Erie on September 21, 2007 09:38 AM