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The Sound of Invisibility
Working in law enforcement for nearly two decades I’ve seen a lot of things. Most don’t warrant elaboration. More to the point, much of what I’ve seen would be neither pleasant to read about nor pleasant for me to describe. Even so, I am frequently struck by the pattern of things I routinely encounter. Poverty. If there is one overarching feature of my work, it is the din of abject poverty.
I use the term “din” with intent. Poverty is often loud. We’ve all heard the phrase “suffering in silence.” In my experience, a lot of the suffering is done aloud… out loud… loudly.
I spend a great deal of time in the company of people who literally have nothing. Home is a temporary construct. Food, clothing, shoes, all exist as near luxuries. Order is as fleeting as the breeze.
Over forty years ago, the eminent policing scholar, Egon Bittner, wrote about the residents of “Skid Row,” a term probably unfamiliar to many younger people. Skid Row was a place through which the dislocated and detached members of society ebbed and flowed.
As Bittner describes, “The fact that present whereabouts, activities, and affiliations imply neither continuity nor direction means that life on skid row lacks a socially structured background of accountability… every moment is an accident.” This leads to what Bittner terms “radically reduced visibility.”
