Beggars and Choosers

I do not usually degrade myself to the point of hanging around crowds in the aftermath of a scene or whatever else it is the idlers congregate to see. However, this one was different. His eyes appeared weak but content as he lay on the first lane, blood oozing from the side of his mouth. His pupils seemed to move in a circular motion and then rested due North. His eyes smiled..

I pretended not to listen as the crowdy bus stop began to recount the events prior to the hit and run incident. "He was crossing at a blind spot and ignored the repetitive horn blowing..." One woman started. "No, no...." Another man argued, "The driver of the Toyota Mark X failed to give way at that zebra crossing where he was hit... These drivers are killers!" He continued, now sounding envious of people who had their own cars.

You see, I was among the few who had actually witnessed everything but knew better than to argue with a woman holding a degree in discrimination and a man with a masters in jealousy. I prefer to stand a few metres away from the bus stop so that I can beckon matatus like rich people do taxis.....and that was where it happened, right before my eyes.

He was what most of you refer to as a raggamuffin, a hobo, a bum, name it! Unkempt dreadlocks, a bruised face probably missing a few teeth, rags for clothes and a worn out pair of shoes and a lack of their trademark sacs probably made him an upperclass bum. Well, the bum was there and then at the brink of death and it got me thinking...

First, why did the driver not stop after he had hit the homeless man? Sure, the state would bring charges against him/her faster than a goldigger can say "I do" but clearly he seemed resourceful (he was a man in his mid-forties with an oversize belly so that cancels out chauffeur) enough to come out unscathed against the "nobody" he had just hit. Moreover, the tag man-slaughterer is softer than a hit and run murderer. However, maybe the assailant was a criminal who had dodged the bullet of adding on to his wrapsheet. Touché.

Second, why was no one willing to assist the victim after he was hit and left for dead? At this point I cannot stop myself from sounding like a complete hypocrite but something about doing as I say and not as I do comes to mind. I imagined if I had been the victim and thought that people would have come running to my aid. They would even not have let the hit and run driver get away....no way in hell! They would have beaten the living daylights out of him and proceeded to tax him for the beating they had rendered him with. Very few would help me out of the kindness of their hearts while more would do it hoping that I came from a well-off family who would make good of their investment. A larger number would come to the aid of my pockets but when all's said and done, good samaritans exist, but only when your hygiene and fashion sense are decent.

Third, I wondered why the man had jumped in front of a speeding vehicle. Whether he had a death wish or not is not in question but why did he have to go in such a crude and vile way? Did he not know traffic rules owing to his clear illiteracy? Perhaps he was tired. Tired of having nothing to eat snd still having to wake up to the same early morning sun that shone on rich people. Perhaps he had grown tired of being looked at like he was a weed in a flower garden that made all the roses look bad. Therefore he stepped in front of a vehicle at 80km/h because he could not stand to live the same day for years.

Fourth, I wondered what I had to contribute to the demise of the unpromising young man. Perhaps all the bums need is a little of our pocket change in their donation collection cups and a smile  to encourage them that each day need not be like their previous ones. I may never get to know what was going through the disturbed man's mind but one thing I do know is that one smile could have completely altered his life. Throughout the experience, only when the man was hit was he able to conjure up a smile....The smile that probably evaded him most of his life.

As more people gathered around the bus stop - turned - amusement park, a matatu came to a halt a few yards away from me. I grabbed my phone and marvelled at the time. Time flies, I should too...