August 30, 2001
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Light and Dark in Seattle
Wednesday, August 29: A day of promise and a day of shame. Twenty women joined in a vigil for Lukas Stidd today; ten homeless and formerly homeless women, and ten women not homeless. One woman simply passing by joined us after reading our flyer.
This death had a deep emotional effect on a wide circle. The image of Lukas being dead for several hours before anyone noticed has disturbed many people. They want to show that they would not walk by, complacent.
Yet this morning’s paper carried another horrifying story. A suicidal woman clung to the railing of the I-5 bridge for 3 1/2 hours, while drivers taunted her and yelled at her to “Just (expletive) jump … and get it over with!”
My friend Michele went around all morning saying, “The soul of the city is officially dead. I’m moving to Tacoma.” “Michele Give ‘em Hell with One L Marchand” is habitually dramatic, but I had the thought myself, “Seattle has gone right past L.A. and turned into New York.”
My mother used to say that the most powerful words in any human language were “I see you.” We all have a deep hunger to be seen. It is the secrets we keep hidden that make us ill. It is the anonymity of a crowd that allows us to be monsters. It is the denial of our own humanity that makes us deny the humanity of others.
Alone
despairing
she clung to the edge
Invisible
isolated
they called from their cars
I can’t see you
I won’t see you
go away
die
Nobody ever sees me
Please do me a favor today. Say “Hello” to someone you haven’t seen before.
Comments (3)
Excellent blog!! Thank you!! And I think I will “hello” everyone that comes by
I already do try to say hi to everyone, but seldom does anyone say it back, but I keep trying
wow…I don’t know if you still check this but I’ve known Lukus (that’s how he spelled it) since I was ten years old and we were best friends through high school. I periodically google his name and save whatever I find. Just wanted to say thanks for some more info.