I know this one well from personal experience...
I was homeless; 'the look' judged me worthless
By
Michael Sullivan, Special to CNN
January 26, 2011 9:53 a.m. EST
Editor's note: Michael J. Sullivan's first novel, "Necessary Heartbreak: A Novel of Faith and Forgiveness," was published by Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon and Schuster. He is working on the sequel, "The Greatest Christmas." New York City (CNN) -- I remember vividly when I got "the look." My hair was grimy and my clothes smelled from having been worn for three straight weeks. I buried my unshaven face into my jacket as I stepped onto the E train in New York, clinging to my green garbage bag of belongings.
It was holiday time and the train was packed, but it was my home at night during the winter of 1983-84. I was exhausted from walking so much, searching for a job. A seat opened up between two passengers and I sat down. A well-dressed woman gave me "the look."
How did I know what "the look" was? Well, I used to give it before I was homeless -- a mocking stare that told the person that he or she wasn't fit to move about normally in society. I was conditioned at a very young age to view all homeless people as worthless alcoholics and drug addicts. They were not human -- they were thugs and murderers and a burden to society. Or so I thought. Until I got "the look."
During those bleak, frigid winter evenings and mornings, I realized that people who shared those subway rides probably thought of me in the same way. Humiliated, I left the seat and stood by a pole near the end of the car, cringing in fear of another "look."
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http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/01/26/sullivan.homeless.writer/index.html?iref=obinsite