Tragic, fiery death of an 'invisible' man

Jan. 24, 2008 12:00 AM
E.J. Montini

It wasn't until his clothes were on fire that we noticed Aaron Taylor. And even then, our interest lasted only until the flames were extinguished and the dreadful soot was washed from the bench outside the Paradise Valley Mall where the homeless man burned to death.

He was 36 years old. It was Christmas Day.

The story of Taylor's horrifying end made the local TV news. But it was Christmas Day. No one wants to dwell on the story of a homeless man being incinerated on Christmas.

This is probably why you haven't heard or seen much about Taylor unless you're a reader of Phoenix New Times, which has followed the criminal investigation.

More at:
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0124montini0124.html

:banghead:

Having worked in my church's meal programs for the homeless and working poor, I can no longer see street people as "invisible." We're instructed to treat them as if they were guests in our home, and they respond well to that, because so often all they get are abuse and looks of disgust from passersby. Yet some of them have clearly seen better days and have interesting stories to tell.

there are Americans living and dying on our streets.

If you are considered "somebody" every scrap of your life has great importance to the masses. However if you are one of those who melt into the crowd,don't have much,haven't done much or fell thru the cracks of society you could die a horrid death and you will be liucky to find the story somewhere hidden in the newspaper "as a filler" when they can't find an ad to put there.
We have sadly become a nation of extreme pecking order and your importance goes accordingly from up on that grand pedestal to someone just taking up space on the planet. Worse yet many who feel the ones at the bottom aren't even worth a mention, a cup of coffee or a ragged blanket on a cold night. As a whole WE have become the deciders. WE have made up our minds who lives in this world,who just exists and who shuld be totally ignored. If our planet was flat I have visions of people being pushed off into another galaxy just to make space for future VIP's. When did this happen? How did this happen? Many people who wuld never think of missing church,will walk around someone who is homeless. Many of us have turned into snobs of the worst sort. We fret over property values if a home in the area is destined to house the homeless yet complain when they are in the streets. Just lovely comments as "It doesn't look nice to see "them" sitting/laying there" But they never offer solutions,just revulsion.
We need to stop this callous attitude. We need to do something now, so stories like this will not only make the front page but it will get people moving to prevent further attacks.