This week I went to pick up a box of groceries at a farmers market in Berkeley. A whole street was closed off for farmers and to sell their fresh, organic produce. As I searched about for my groceries, I passed by a man and his ten year old daughter. The man had a soft complexion and warm demeanor. His daughter stood in a small grocery cart in front of him. He asked, "sir, would you be able to get us any food?" I hesitated for a moment, then asked, "what do you want me to get you?" He said "Chicken on a stick". I looked over to see a stand that was selling Thai chicken. "OK", I said, "Let me get my things and I will come back". I went and collected my groceries and came back to find that the Thai chicken stand had a line of about ten people. I was in a rush to get home and didn't want to wait in the line. I thought for a moment: I don't usually give money to people on the street, but I felt like this man would probably put it to good use if I gave him some money. I handed him the money I had in my pocket; he thanked me and I went on my way.
As I went home, I thought about the violence that is done to the sole of a man like this when he comes to the point of begging for food with his daughter present. I imagined what I would feel like trying to get up the courage to ask a passing stranger for food, and how awful I would feel inside if I were turned down or, worse, completely ignored as if I were not even worthy of recognition. The violence that those who beg experience each day must be enormous. How can we turn the tide of violence against those who are desperate on our streets? How can we interact with them non-violently, especially knowing that many times the money they receive is used to feed addictions to drugs and alcohol? These are some of the questions that I thought about after my encounter with the man and his daughter; maybe if enough of us think about these questions, we will start to find some non-violent solutions.