Atta boy, Darius!

Darius is the convict I correspond with through my church's prison penpal program. He is serving a life sentence at Western Illinois Correctional facility. You would not want to his life. His every move is monitored and restricted and his days are literally filled with darkness and stench. I acknowledge that he is there because he is a convicted killer, and that he cannot ever fully repay his debt to society. But he is a human being, too, and whenever I write to him, I recall that Christ said, "whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me." So I keep the lines of communication open, letting him know that no matter how hopeless he feels in there, someone out here cares about him.

In June, I wrote to him honestly regarding my biggest concern about Covid19 -- that it will ravage the homeless population. You can't shelter at home if you don't have a home. You can't socially distance in a shelter. You can't wash your hands regularly if you don't have access to plumbing. With so many companies encouraging work from home, there are fewer passersby to rely on for the change that fuels your life. You could very well die before this is over.

Darius surprised me by echoing my concern. He admitted that while his life is unremittingly awful, at least he knows where his next meal is coming from.* He added something to my list of deprivations that hadn't occurred to me -- with fewer people dining out, there's likely less food in dumpsters for the homeless to scavenge. He also acknowledged that he has access to minimal health care, and minimal health care is more than the people on the streets get. 

When I hear someone complain about being "oppressed" because they're asked to wear a mask in public to protect their neighbor, I think, "SHAME ON THEM." Even a convicted killer serving a life sentence has greater empathy than these people. 

*Though you don't want to hear how he describes the prison food. You wouldn't be able to look at a chicken breast the same way ever again.