His voice resonated with fear as I approached the young man. He was saying something to every passer by as they came and went from the drug store. It was in the same pitch an insistent four year old uses when they are determined. I couldn't hear what he was saying over the heavy Christmas Eve traffic until I got within arms reach.
He was asking for money for food.
It was evident he was intellectually challenged.
He was white, young, and tall.
He otherwise would not have a problem finding donations.
Except, by his left eye was an indistinct prison tattoo. He didn't have a chance in a culture conditioned to fear those that have been othered by our prison industrial complex.
His clothes consisted of a light coat that ended at the waist and a fedora with a narrow brim. His slacks and shoes were of medium and light weight, respectively. He was carrying his belongings in a clear plastic bag. He was thin without the telltale signs of drug use in his complexion.
I told him I would buy him food and asked if he liked teriyaki chicken. He said he had never had it in a light Texas accent. He praised Jesus with the earnestness of a neophyte. And each word he uttered indicated he was what was once termed "slow". We walked over to the chicken place and I asked if he liked chicken and rice he said yes. So I went on explaining this style was like barbecue. He seemed pleased by the prospective meal and soda as I left him sitting in the little restaurant.
The temperature itself was relatively mild if one did not take the ice tinged fog into account. I'm happy he has food in his stomach on Christmas Eve, and not the horrid factory food that were the options if chicken wasn't on the menu. But someone with an obvious intellectual impairment at the level this man had should never find himself in a strange city. The bus station is across the river from us and the road I found him on has its own bridge.
I've heard of patient dumping and service cuts due to austerity. So I wonder if this young man is just another victim of a system designed to set the value of a human as low as possible.