Handicapped

There she was, sitting on a wheelchair holding bags full of handkerchiefs. Shouting at almost everyone passed by her, "1 dollar, 1 dollar! Three for one dollar, please." And most of the people would just ignore her, treating her like another beggar, not worth paying attention to. I don't know what was in their minds: perhaps, they didn't need the handkerchiefs this handicapped lady was trying to sell. Perhaps, even if they needed it, three for one dollar was just too expensive for handkerchiefs? Or perhaps, buying handkerchiefs from a handicapped person was just not reliable enough? I don't know. But certainly, this lady has been waiting all day long for her to sell her handkerchiefs; to get money for her living, but there was none paying attention.

For me, this handicapped lady was not a beggar. The moment she started 'asking people to at least concern about her condition and help her by buying what she was selling,' she was no longer a beggar. She was no longer someone who pity herself and ask others to pity her as well. Neither was it an exploitation. Using her weaknesses so that people would be moved to help her. She was just trying to do whatever things she could still do even if it is on a wheelchair. She could just sit there, stretching her hands or holding a box so that people would pity her and give her some coins; but she didn't do that. She was doing something out of her limitations to make things work for her. For me, she was a handicapped with an able-men mindset. While often on the other hand, how many of us are able-men, but having a handicapped mindset?