Guess I Gotta Do Wrong

On Music, Culture and Unnoticed People

As a little girl in the 1960’s, I listened to music on my transistor radio. It was a small handheld device easily carried around. It only played AM frequencies but it brought music to my ears. As long as I could get a signal. I could bring it out in my backyard as I played. Take it in the backseat of the car or curl up in my bed with it to my ear.

Then in the early 70’s when I began junior high now known as middle school, I was given a larger FM radio/cassette player. Bigger Louder. We would carry it to the Lake as we spread our towels on the sand to soak in the sun. They would later become known as BOOM BOXES. With that large radio device, I could now also record my favorite songs. I sat by the radio listening. The DJ would announce the song and I would click two buttons at the same time and record my favorite song making a play list on blank cassettes. I am eclectic with my music genres. I loved music. I still love music. These days you may find me on satellite radio listening to channels called Smooth Jazz, 70’s on 7, Classic Vinyl and The Bridge. The past few days it’s been on R&B and Smokey’s Soul Town. I do love Motown music. Growing up in the 1970’s, “Soul Train” was a popular Saturday morning show that aired after American Bandstand. I loved the choreography of R&B and Soul music and could sit mesmerized by their coordinated smooth moves.

You can know a lot about a person from what music they listen to, how narrow or broad their scope is, what makes them uncomfortable, what music they simply don’t understand. Anyone who has raised teenagers can certainly relate to not understanding some genres of music. My own boys music genres vary even among themselves. Now that we live in New Orleans our musical landscape may also include Rhythm and Blues, Brass bands, Zydeco and a little Funk. We love Frenchman’s street where you can pop in and out of small music halls and listen to a variety of music. Music is culture. Culture is diverse. It binds us to the like and separates us from the unlike. We make a choice in life to either be fearful and suspicious, or brave and curious. With music I am brave and curious.

Recently I heard a song I had never heard before, recorded by the Motown group The Whispers: Seems like I Gotta Do Wrong. The lyrics jumped out at me, and tangled up my thoughts.  

Another day has come and gone

In a world where I don’t belong

Another week has passed me by

It’s not because I didn’t try

Nobody saw me walking

And nobody heard me talking

Seems like I gotta do wrong,

Gotta do wrong, gotta do wrong

Before they notice me

Another job that I just can’t get

A nice apartment, the landlord just won’t rent

I go to bed, but my sleep just won’t come

My belly’s empty and my brain is numb

Nobody saw me walking

And nobody heard me talking

Seems like I gotta do wrong

Gotta to wrong, Gotta do wrong

Before they notice me

ghettyimages.com

The songwriter seems to be saying the only way to get his or her needs met is by doing something wrong. We sometimes see this play out in children’s behavior, to get attention. But is this always the case for those who go unnoticed? I do not think so, but it caused me to start thinking.

Maybe I am more sensitive to these words because of the current news that screams at me everyday. Perhaps I am more sensitive because I’ve read about the huge cuts to government programs that specifically aid those who face extreme poverty or have disabilities that keep them from working. Those unnoticed people of society that live among us, around us, but we can’t see them. 

“Nobody saw me walking, Nobody heard me talking.”

Unnoticed People

As we go about our daily activities we encounter many people, but do we notice them? Or have they just become part of the scenery around us? Have you ever ordered food at a restaurant and realized you never even looked at the person asking for your order? Do we consciously tell ourselves that we just do not have time for them? Life involves hundreds of interactions a day, so do they just become part of the machinery of our cities? Maybe we just don’t want to take the time. We have things to do, places to be, more important people to attend to. Maybe we see a person from a different culture, assume they are an immigrant, and get angry because we have been told they are taking our jobs, that our taxes are paying for their healthcare. So we look on them with disdain rather than wonder about their story. Then it becomes easier to disdain or ignore another, and another, and another.

The lady cleaning the bathrooms at the airport. 

The old man or woman shuffling across the parking lot from the car to the store.

The clerk at the checkout stand who never smiles.

The stocker at the retail store making sure items we want are where we want them.

The homeless person in the wheelchair sitting on the side of the road.

The barefoot child at the park with the runny nose and dirty clothes. 

The obvious foreigner – with no or limited English.

The guys at the car wash making sure your car gets through the cycle.

The parking lot attendant who gathers carts and continually talks to himself out loud.

The intellectually disabled people who can’t communicate well and so make us uncomfortable.

Noticing the Unnoticed

Recently, we were traveling through the airport, and I stopped in the women’s restroom. The cleaning lady was there wiping the counters and cleaning up the trash. People came and went, and I watched for a minute as I washed my hands. She was working right next to me. I thought to myself, I wonder if she feels invisible. So, I looked at her and said. “Excuse me, if no one has told you this today, let me say I appreciate your efforts to keep this bathroom clean for us. I want you to know that you have value.”  I guess she was shocked as she just stared at me for a minute and then finally responded. “Thank you. Have a blessed day.” I wonder how many hundreds of people like her I have ignored over the years who simply want to know that someone sees them and that they have value. How many thousands.

So this song, Guess I Gotta Do Wrong, caused me to ponder. Is neglect and forgottenness a cause of crime? I did a search on the internet, and I found compelling evidence to say it is and deep down I believe this may be a factor. But I am no expert on social structures and crime. I am also cautious because research can be twisted to justify causes or stretched to prove misleading arguments. But still, I find myself very angry.

Another job that I just can’t get

A nice apartment, the landlord just won’t rent

I go to bed, but my sleep just won’t come

My belly’s empty and by brain is numb.

I want to justify my anger by writing about it. But do people want to read my rants? Yet another internet rant? I am not so sure. So many rants on both sides. Will mine really make a difference.

Their Heartbreaking Stories

Many years ago, I volunteered in various ministries in the Houston area. Stories from the crime ridden streets of the Fourth Ward of Houston. Trafficked teenagers in a safe house. “Ladies of the Night” in the spa brothels we visited. They were just trying to stay alive. I listened to many stories of heartbreak and hurt. Stories of forgotten people. Perhaps they don’t matter to most. But they mattered to me. I wrote about it here .

Last month, I wrote to my senators and congressmen about my deep concerns over cuts to Medicaid and the Snap program. I was filled with such sorrow and outrage. I am more connected now to those who depend on Medicaid and Snap because my husband and I care for my 66-year-old intellectually disabled brother. I’ve written about him and his community of friends. I fear the deep cuts that may affect his healthcare and those in his community. I have come to know several people who are caretakers and parents of adults with special needs. We are part of a thriving group of special needs adults. They have people who notice them. People who enjoy caring for them and including them in various activities in our community. These families are a gift to have as friends. They have taught me so much and helped us as we adjust to this change in our life. Read more here and Here

I worry about the loss of healthcare they may soon experience. Some have no other means of support. Will they continue to be forgotten and unnoticed people, pushed further and further down? There is not a freeloader among them. All of them are actively responsible for the person they care for, actively working every available hour with care. But some need more of a boost than others.

I am no expert on politics, in fact I honestly know very little. I have a friend that worked for a senator’s campaign. He thought he was joining up to fight and make a difference, but he soon discovered that it was more about fund raising and badmouthing the other candidate. So he resigned. It seems politics has become more survival of the candidate than listening to the people. But in spite of my ignorance, I am shocked by what is happening around our country. I am saddened every time I read the latest White House update. What are we really fighting for?  It seems our priorities have become profoundly more selfish. And this selfishness has been encouraged, abetted, and even led by people who call themselves Christians. This bothers me. It bothers me because I am a follower of Christ.

Gospel of Matthew

I recently started a study on the book of Matthew using Scot McKnight’s Everyday Bible Study. Living Everyday as Jesus taught us. In Chapter 4 of the book of Matthew, we learn of Jesus’ baptism and the beginning of his ministry. McKnight has us consider the three key aspects of Jesus’s ministry and action:

Now Jesus began to go all over Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness of the people. Then the news about him spread throughout Syria. So, they brought to him all those who were afflicted, those suffering from various diseases and intense pains, the demon-possessed, the epileptics, and the paralytic. And he healed them. Large crowds followed him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan. Matthew 4:13

Those three elements of his ministry are teaching, preaching and healing.

Many among us proclaim they want to “return” to our “Christian Values.” If true, then why are they not obeying the basic call of Jesus’ ministry, which is to heal those suffering from various diseases, the epileptics, and the paralytics? One of my disabled brother’s diagnoses is epilepsy. Recent congressional action cut a large portion of Medicaid funding. I fear this huge cut will affect the most vulnerable of people.

We may not be able to heal miraculously in the way Jesus did, but there are breakthroughs in science that have or are on the verge of eliminating diseases. Even non-Christians use language like “medical miracles” when referring to high-tech cures that are the direct result of scientific inquiry, funded by our government, by us, for the benefit of all.

Advancing medical cures and the basic science research that undergirds them is actually advancing the mission of Jesus Christ. And you cannot hear the good news of Jesus if you are sick or dead. Research over the years has led to many breakthrough discoveries and cures for various diseases. But now, people are denying previous research, avoiding proven medical treatment and we are seeing a significant rise in measles worldwide, a disease that had become almost non-existent. You get to choose in life between being fearful and suspicious, or brave and curious. Many have turned to fear and suspicion. But remember, Jesus did not just heal lepers, he touched them. Bravely. Not only did Jesus touch the untouchables He also communed with people who were considered social and ethnic outcasts of his day. Consider the Samaritan woman at the well. (John 4:1-26) She came to the well in the middle of the day because she was not welcomed by the others who gathered earlier in the day. Consider the “sinful” Woman who washed the feet of Jesus. (Luke 7:36-50) Simon the Pharisee basically recoiled at her presence until Jesus chastised him.

The Outcasts and Unwanted

Part of being forgotten, ignored and unnoticed is not being understood. Part of fear and discomfort is ignorance. I have a dear friend who teaches ESL classes at a local church in our area. she has many friends of various ethnic croups. She lovingly works with them, teaching them to read and write English and then pass citizenship exams. I asked her to share her experience of working with immigrants and refugees, and this is how she replied.

I volunteer as an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher to members of the immigrant community and assist those who are seeking to pass the U.S. Citizenship test. During my years of working with immigrants, I have found all of them to be hardworking, honest people, interested in becoming citizens and establishing a better life for their families.  

While I try not to be too intrusive into my students’ lives, I have, however, become close to some of my students.   My first students were a family of three from Venezuela.  They left Venezuela due to the government’s interference in their business and the overall political climate.  They paid handlers/coyotes thousands of dollars to lead them on the dangerous trek through eight countries to the United States.  The mother and nineteen-year-old daughter dressed as men for fear of being assaulted and raped.  Currently, Dad is working installing windows, the daughter has obtained a certification to teach pre-school students, and Mom works as a teaching assistant at a school.

Another student who is from Guatemala is currently working in Housekeeping at a hotel.  He was an attorney in Guatemala.  He is so happy to be here but worries constantly about his family and friends in Guatemala.

My student from Yemen just obtained her U.S. Citizenship.  Her stories of the bad living conditions caused by the war in Yemen are hard to imagine – no electricity, difficulty getting medical care, food insecurity, lack of communication and transportation resources, the list goes on.  She and her Yemeni husband own three small stores.

My Brazilian student was born in the Amazon jungle.  He had to quit school in third grade to help support the family by working with his father.  He was bullied throughout his early life because he was small and later because he was gay.  He left Brazil because being gay was not accepted.  When he came to the United States, he began cleaning homes and working for some cleaning services.  His stories of how he would be hired for a job at a certain agreed upon price but when the job was finished, he oftentimes was given less were disheartening. One person told him “If you don’t like it, let’s call the police.”  Today this young man runs his own very successful cleaning business and I’m proud to call him my neighbor.

I have had students come to class immediately from work - still having paint on their clothing and hands or some with grass on their shoes.  Almost all students struggle to survive on the low paying wages they earn and to make time to get to English class.  Learning a new language and culture is difficult when you’re worried about the possibility of being deported and trying to earn enough money to pay living expenses plus trying to send money home.  Each student wants to prosper and provide a better life for their families.  Isn’t that what we all want??

My friend is doing the work of the Kingdom. Welcoming the stranger and proclaiming the love of Jesus through her acceptance and friendship with the various people she meets. She is also listening. To individuals. To their stories. And you can hear her compassion and concern. Categorizing and dehumanizing the stranger or the outcast or the disabled makes it far easier to deport them, to cut off their healthcare, to let them die. We need limits and laws and rules and structure. We also need morals and compassion.

What does Jesus Say

After we encountered the mission of Jesus in Matthew, as we discussed above, Jesus begins his Sermon on the Mount with a list of people he considers to be blessed.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. 

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 

Blessed are the humble, for they will inherit the earth. 

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy. 

Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God 

Blessed are the peacemaker, for they will be called sons of God. 

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness for the kingdom of heaven

is theirs.

In this launch of his ministry, Jesus first four categories are not the haves, but the have-nots. They are people characterized by their lack, not their abundance. The next three are people who hold blessed interior states of being, mercy, purity and peace. None of these people will be noticed by society, or valued by society. These are people that nobody sees walking and nobody hears talking. Jesus turned society on its head, with its elevation of wealth, pride, war and cruelty. Jesus turned society on its head then, and now. Today, as I watch and read of the cruelties that are taking place across the US and the world, I am saddened that pride and power have taken the place of compassion and humility.

McKnight views it this way:

Until we see just how odd Jesus’s group of the blessed is, we will fail to grip his kingdom vision.., The virtues of these people groups Jesus mentioned are not to be understood as commands to be poor in spirit etc., but statements about persons who are already poor in spirit, etc. What stands out is that Jesus does not bless the rich, or the well-fed, or the laughers, or those with a good public reputation…Simple, quiet faithfulness is rewarded, while the proud and loud are pushed into side rooms to deal with later.

McKnight continues with this powerful conclusion:

“Blessed” points out people groups who do the right thing according to the teachings of Jesus. A blessed person is someone who, because of a heart for God, is promised and enjoys God’s favor regardless of that person’s status or countercultural condition.

Pause a moment and meditate on this teaching of Jesus. Not the Jesus the pastors and the politicians and maybe even your friends and fellow Christians say is the real Jesus. No, the Jesus of the Beatitudes, the Jesus of the four gospels. Listen to his teachings.

I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me,I was in prison and you came to visit me. (Matthew 25:34-36)

Stop, Pause, Listen, Look, Notice

See the people around you, in your communities. See the unseen. Hear the unheard. Take the uncomfortable risk of being brave and curious.

Because the people around you are all made in the image of God.

A Little Something Extra

The Whispers singing Guess I Gotta do Wrong on Soul Train

If you ever have the chance to see The Temptations Broadway musical

“Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations

DO IT!!