Unpersons

I subscribe to a word-a-day email through Wordsmith.org. I thought it rather fitting in light of Tuesday’s post that today’s word was unperson – noun, a person regarded as nonexistent. My piece on Tuesday 14 August was about people regarded as things, possessions without feelings. Today I am thinking about those people we don’t regard at all; those we avert our gaze from, pretending we don’t see them.

I remember a Big Issue vendor telling me years ago that she didn’t mind if someone didn’t buy a magazine; what really hurt her was when people acted as if she wasn’t there.

This is how many homeless people feel, as if they don’t exist in the eyes of the homefull. It’s why at Souper Troopers we talk about people being#humanbeforehomeless. You’re free to choose whether to give something to someone living on the streets. But, whatever your choice, don’t pretend they don’t exist.