Daredevil....

Daredevil is a Marvel comic book superhero who, despite being blind, is more capable than ordinary people by reason of his other heightened senses, his "radar sense" and his extraordinary agility.

The blind man in the picture on the left probably doesn't have any extraordinary powers, but I think he's a daredevil in his own right. You'd be too, if despite being deprived of opthalmic acuity you'd be insisting on making your living by begging for alms at busy street intersections.

Unaccompanied, sightless, and in such a hazardous environment from all the passing cars, some of them at speed, this individual poses not only a danger to himself, but also to motorists, who may not expect him to react to traffic conditions as a sighted person would.

I'm fully abled, yet at the back of my mind I'm still a bit terrified whenever traversing streets, knowing firsthand the effects of road rage and how downright inconsiderate Filipino drivers can be. The perils notwithstanding, this person does it almost everyday, all alone, with only a cane and his ears for sensing incoming cars. Not much of a margin of error, I would suppose, perhaps even an accident in the making.

While optically challenged individuals have my respect and are indeed pretty capable in other aspects, a busy street intersection is no place for them. Hell, you could be fully sighted and still be in danger, and all the accidents reported in the media attest to this.

I don't know about you, but I think that the DSWD ought to do something about this. Not only with regard to blind mendicants, but also members of ethnic tribes and young children who resort to begging as a means of livelihood. And with the Christmas season fast approaching, we can expect to see more of them in the streets in the coming weeks.