HOW HE SEES IT Compassion evades the less fortunate among us

By LEWIS W. DIUGUID
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
The woman walking behind me froze when I turned to look at her after a stoplight flashed red.
That became her signal to hurriedly walk in another direction.
This is the 10th year that well-groomed people in the heartland have made me feel like garbage simply because of the clothes I had on. At least once a year I dress in my old Army coat, black knit cap, faded jeans, frayed flannel shirt and grass-stained sneakers to gauge people's reaction to folks who appear to be homeless.
The message is unspoken, yet unmistakable. People who are better off make those who are less fortunate feel like pariahs. That sense of feeling shunned is among the "hidden rules" that Ruby K. Payne notes in her book, "A Framework for Understanding Poverty."
Communicating across the class divide seems increasingly forbidden. It adds to the isolation and misery of being poor. Contrary to the popular belief in these conservative, compassionless times, no one wants to remain mired in a life of poverty. Payne notes, "It's too painful to stay."
Price of being poor
This year the exorbitant price of being poor also went up. Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt plans to slash funds for social, mental health and health-care programs for the poor.
President Bush plans to do the same thing on a national level. Such acts will land more people in poverty and put those just getting by on the street.
Blunt and Bush fail to see what David K. Shipler notes in his book, "The Working Poor: Invisible in America." The problems of poverty are "interlocking." Shipler wrote, "The first step is to see the problems, and the first problem is the failure to see the people."
Downtown on the street, people dressed in business clothes were going to lunch. Many stood outside smoking cigarettes. Others hurried to finish errands.
Nearly everyone looked at me and then quickly looked away. The red and white Salvation Army "HOPE" pin that I had on my coat was lost to passers-by.
I noted one recurring street phenomenon. The fad of walking while talking on cell phones let users feel entitled to act disconnected from folks on the street.
A city that treats people as untouchables is a community that has lost its soul. People who also appeared to be homeless were friendly, telling me what the menu was at the community kitchen and offering a favorable critique of the free meal.
But I didn't stop to eat. I went to the public library to see how people who look homeless were treated there.
Last year, plans surfaced of efforts to try to keep homeless people from the new library. Fortunately, that hasn't happened.
People who looked homeless were throughout the converted bank building. They mingled with others who were doing research or taking a break from work. An exhibit titled "The Art of Structural Design: A Swiss Legacy" attracted a mixed socio-economic crowd.
I went to the third floor, where I sometimes go to write columns. When I'm in a suit and tie, people recognize me and stop to say hello. In my old clothes, no one knew me. But one person, Betty Howard, who was on a break from her bank job, seemed to care. I sat at her table. When I asked, she didn't mind saying she was reading "The Laws of Spirit: Simple, Powerful Truths for Making Life Work" by Dan Millman.
Compassion
She explained that it was about life, balance and compassion. I told her that I was surprised that she didn't mind talking with someone like me.
She asked, "What is someone like you?"
I said someone who looks penniless. She said the book from which she was taking notes helped her see the humanity in others.
"You can't judge people by their outside," Howard said. She explained that some people prejudged her. That never feels good.
Howard said she was not far removed from others who were less fortunate. She's from California and was raised by a single mother. She, however, managed to go to college, get married and have three children. No one should be so quick to judge folks who are not as well off.
"I think sometimes you come to a point in your life where you've made mistakes, and a lot of people travel down the same road," Howard said.
If only her wisdom could infect others.
"I think we're all on a mission," she added.
Indeed. Getting people to treat others on the street as human beings remains my ongoing concern.
X Lewis W. Diuguid is a member of The Kansas City Star's editorial board. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.