What if you were the first person in your family to save up enough money to open a bank account at the big bank in town?
Heck, you’re the first person you KNOW who is going to open a bank account!
So you wake up one morning and head to the bank.
As you approach, the sign enthusiastically reads “WELCOME”
You push the handle of the door and it doesn’t budge
You pull the door – won’t open
You look through the window and see plenty of customers inside, none looking your direction
You knock to get someone’s attention, no one looks
You knock louder and the security guard glances your way – apparently just to frown and turn away
you knock again and a nice lady finally notices
She actually gets out of line and approaches the door
She also tries to push and pull the door open – to no success
You see her go and find an employee of the bank, asking for help
From the look on his face and shaking of his head you can see he will not
The woman returns to her line, glancing back in your direction with a look of sad resignation
You want to get in
You have tried to get in
Someone has even tried to help you
But you are still locked out.
Now what?
what if the bank wasn’t a bank, but a school?
what if it was a hospital?
what if it was a professional job?
what if it was a church?
and you remain ever on the outside looking in
written as part of a synchroblog on seeing through the eyes of the marginalized
Here’s a list of all the contributions for this month’s synchroblog:
Kathy Escobar – Sitting At The Rickety-Card-Table-In-The-Family-Room For Thanksgiving Dinner
George at the Love Revolution – The Hierarchy of Dirt
Sonnie Swenston – Seeing through the Eyes of the Marginalized
Wendy McCaig – An Empty Chair at the Debate
Ellen Haroutunian – Reading the Bible from the Margins
Christine Sine – Seeing through the Eyes of the Marginalized
Alan Knox – Naming the Marginalized
Margaret Boehlman – Just Out of Sight
Liz Dyer – Step Away from the Keyhole
John O’Keefe – Viewing the World in Different Ways
Steve Hayes – Ministry to Refugees–Synchroblog on Marginalised People
Andries Louw – The South African Squatter Problem
Drew Tatusko - Invisible Margins of a White Male Body
Cobus Van Wyngaard – Addressing the Normalized Person
Tom Smith – Seeing Through the Eyes of the Marginalized
Alan Knox – Naming the Marginalized
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Arthur – I loved this post. Very powerful!!
f you get a chance please add the links to the other synchroblog posts – you can find them at the end of my post “Step Away From The Keyhole” http://gracerules.wordpress.com/2010/11/09/step-away-from-the-keyhole/
[...] Arthur Stewart – The Bank [...]
[...] Arthur Stewart – The Bank [...]
[...] Arthur Stewart – The Bank [...]
[...] Arthur Stewart – The Bank [...]
[...] Arthur Stewart – The Bank [...]
arthur, thanks for this. very powerful image & oh so telling..
I’ve talked to a LOT of people over the last decade who have experienced exactly what you describe DIRECTLY FROM THE CHURCH. It’s the church’s doors that are locked. Or, more aptly, it’s the hearts of the congregants that are locked. Wrong clothes. Wrong smell. Wrong economic class. Wrong language.
[...] Arthur Stewart – The Bank [...]
[...] Arthur Stewart – The Bank [...]
[...] Arthur Stewart – The Bank [...]
Love the imagery of your post. When I was in High School I worked at a bank that was taken over by the FDIC and the day they closed the bank there was this little old lady who kept knocking and pressing her face against the window begging me to let her in. I could see the fear in her eyes but the feds had all the door guarded. I wanted to help but I could do nothing. I think that is how many people feel when they look at all the systems working against those in the margins. They want to help but can’t figure out how to get around the guards. Great metaphor!
[...] Arthur Stewart – The Bank [...]