Today I was struck. Walking back from a quick lunch (ran down to subway), a black man asked me for spare change right outside the office. I didn't have any, told him so, life goes on. Already here is a series of edges, differences - white/black, affluent/poor, educated/not, etc. (Yes there are assumptions behind some of these, he could be educated) Sometimes the difference strikes so hard the interaction feels alien. I don't like this feeling.
There are also 2 key physical edges here (physically existent, although probably more mentally real). "B" is a row of metal posts designed to keep a vehicle from driving into our front doors. "A" is a set of columns directly in front of the doors, that sets them off from the in-betweenness of "B" - "A". Behind "B" is a ... call it a boudoir of sorts. Public-private. Generally not crossed into by anyone other than people coming and going from the building (the sidewalk itself is beyond "B"). And I've never seen anyone cross "A" who wasn't entering the building.
The man, we'll call him Henry, asked me for money outside "B". I said no and entered "B", and ran into a friend at "A". Stopped to talk. Henry then broke "B" and entered behind me. Was he "drafting" off of my entry? Doesn't matter. He asked my friend what time it was, and then asked for money. I was acutely aware of the broken edge - that Henry had entered a space that was, to put it bluntly, not a place that he "belonged" and that his entry was viewed with suspicion from all around. He seemed unaware of this.
He left.
Dear Henry: bravo for your bravery. Those barriers - physical/social - need to be identified, highlighted, discussed, and reduced. You forced the issue in a good direction today.
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