As a child, I remember jumping and poking my head out the car window looking for the two golden arches as we drove down the freeway. Once we spotted them my sister and I chanted “McDonald’s, McDonald’s” until my dad pulled off the freeway.
The large golden arches invite and serve people around the world to the famous establishment. “Billions and billions served” is proudly boasted in bold letters at every location.
However, an incident I recently witnessed left me dumb-founded by the ethics some of the employees and customers practiced at one particular location. No, I was not outraged by the food preparation of the branch, but by the human negligence of the place.
An older man entered the restaurant fully clothed, wearing shoes and without a dog. Following every rule stated at the door, he got in line to order a cup of hot tea. He looked a little disheveled. His clothes were tattered by wear. With a bundle tucked under his arm, there was little doubt that he was homeless.
Twenty cents short, a woman behind him in line gave him the two dimes to complete his order. With the tea in hand, he sat down in front of the television in the restaurant.
Next to him was a family. With too many members to fit at one table, a little boy sat next to the man and enjoyed the television.
As the man sat their sipping his tea, he sparked a conversation with the boy. He asked the boy if he was planning on going to college, if he could do the karate moves shown on the set, and if he liked baseball. The boy answered the questions and continued eating.
Later, I heard both when they started making comments about the film shown on the monitor. Engaged in slight conversation, the boy’s father went over and asked the man if he would like something to eat.
Bowing his head he said, “Yes, a Big Mac please.” As the father went to get the meal, the man turned to the mother and said he was not that hungry, but he did not know when his next meal may be.
He was eating his hamburger when the restaurant’s manager came over and asked him to leave. The man just shrugged his shoulders, shook the boy’s hand and got his bundle. He picked up his tea and hamburger. He left.
The boy’s father got up and went over to the counter. He asked the manager why he made the man leave. The manager told him that four other customers had complained about the man’s presence in the restaurant. “They are very destructive,” he added.
The only form of destruction, if any, that this man committed was spilling some sugar on the table, a crime anyone could be guilty of. This man’s state and lifestyle is one that is not aspired to. He does not enjoy living the way he does. He does not have a choice.
How are these people supposed to pick up and put their lives together, if society won’t even allow them to eat a Big Mac at McDonald’s? How are they to strive for a normal life if they are constantly shunned?
This man was not begging for money outside the door or drinking in the corner—stereotypes often connected with homeless people. He was having a cup of tea and a Big Mac. His presence brought a bit of revenue to the establishment. What was the problem?
He did not question, hesitate or even challenge the request of the manager. It had happened before. He was used to it.
Everyone has rights—the right to vote, the right to be seen as an equal by their fellow men, the right to sit in a McDonald’s and eat a Big Mac. The customers who made the manager ban the homeless man from the restaurant and exile him to the streets robbed the man from his rights—the right to be a human being and be treated as such.
Homeless people not only lack shelter, food and work, but lack the respect they deserve as humans.
