Invisible people
Jim and I went to San Franscico to see the Chinese New Years Dragon Parade. It is always so much fun to
hear familiar music, eat Sichuan food and watch thousands of people participate in the parade. There are street vendors and performers for blocks, we enjoyed the band that played. This group of older
Chinese had a wonderful beat to a variety of music and great voices. A group bystander was dancing in the street and among the people dancing was a homeless man. It was so enjoyable to watch him engage in the dance. This might have been the first time in a long time he had a chance to be around people and
not be judged. Nobody was paying attention to him, it almost seemed like he was invisible to the people
around him.
That made me realize how many invisible people we have here in Merced, the many homeless people who nobody notices (unless they cause trouble), the many elderly who have been forgotten, the many
children and foster youth that have no voice. There are many poor who are forced into silence, many undocumented who dare not speak up.
The other day I was in a retirement home and was introduced to one of the ladies, and as we were
talking I learned that she was fluent in 5 languages and traveled the world. Yet on a Sunday she was alone in a place where nobody recognized her giftedness. Invisible!
I spoke with a foster youth and heard his story, the number of places he had lived, the trauma he experienced, the pain he endured, and yet it seemed like nobody cared. Invisible!
And don't get me started on the many unhoused or formerly incarcerated I encounter whose stories would make you cry, but nobody takes the time to know them. Invisible!
Maybe you are one of the Invisibles, or maybe you can make someone visible, or maybe both! Greet the person at the checkout counter; know their names. Look into the eyes of the homeless and see them, really see them. Engage with the youth who looks different than you expect and strike up a conversation without judgement. Invite an older person from your church or neighborhood over for a
meal and hear their stories. Find the giftedness in people and know that someday you too will become
invisible. Merced has been built on the shoulders of many people who have now become invisible. Don't let their stories become just a faint memory.