It is not only Martin the Pigeon Man’s accent which gives him away, but also his perfect manners
I often make the mistake of taking for granted what others do not, or of assuming that some things are so obvious that they are obvious to all and need not be pointed out.
I made that mistake yesterday when I failed to point out that it is not only Martin the Pigeon Man’s accent which gives his background away instantly, but also – and more properly – his manners.
If you whip away the conditioning photograph and the knowledge that this is a tramp sleeping on the streets, and just listen to that conversation, Martin sounds as though he is sitting in a drawing-room with somebody he doesn’t know and in whom he is not particularly interested, some stranger to whom he has been introduced and who will not leave him alone, who is asking him persistent questions which he entertains with civility.
How many tramps say ‘Oh, thank you’ when handed a cup of coffee by a total stranger? They usually mutter and curse. Sometimes they even fling it away contemptuously, and inform you that what they actually want is cash.
Just look at the opening and parting exchanges between the two, and register Martin’s absolutely classic responses.
Donal Moloney: “Here you go, Martin.” {hands coffee]
Martin: “Thank you.”
Donal: “Are you ok?”
Martin: “Thanks very much.”
Donal: “Do you want anything else?”
Martin: “No, that’s fine.”
Donal: “Do you mind if I ask you a question, Martin?”
Martin: “All right.”
(…)
Donal: “That’s great. Say, would you like me to get you something else before I go?”
Martin: “No, that’s excellent, that’s great.”
Donal: “I pass here most days and I’d love to drop by and buy you another coffee some time. Is that okay?”
Martin: “If you wish to, all right.”
Donal: “And stay safe.”
Martin: “I will.”
Donal: “And enjoy your sleep and enjoy that wake up every morning. It’s been nice talking to you, Martin, I’ll see you again.”
Martin: “All right.”
Donal: “Bye bye.”
Martin: “Bye bye. Thank you.”
People’s childhood-instilled manners, along with their childhood-instilled accent, are the last thing to go. And that’s why they are surefire indicators, in extremis like mental illness and living on the freezing streets off hand-outs, of where a person has come from.
Put simply, Martin comes from the sort of background where he was literally programmed to make polite and civil conversation even with total strangers in absurd and unusual situations, and to deflect prying questions in a manner that does not embarrass his interlocutor or make him feel awkward. He is, even lying there as a vagrant on the street accepting a cup of coffee from a stranger, behaving with pure grace.
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The Malta Independent is reporting that the tramp claims to be from Malta.
He has not made any such claim, rather the contrary.
http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2013-11-26/news/martin-the-maltese-tramp-in-dublin-3298721793/
[Daphne – I have emailed the editor.]
They have changed it. Thank you.
More polite than ‘Hack off’ Muscat, representing us in the European Parliament.
Oh, look, the Ukraine has its own Alfred Sant.
http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/en/newsdetails/news/world/Ukraine-president-firm-over-EU-U-turn-amid-protests-20131126
Do you think Malta’s prime minister Joseph Muscat convinced the Ukrainian President that “Partnership” was “L-Ahjar Ghazla” (a partnership agreement with the EU was better) when he visited the Ukraine in September?
I still find it astounding that some readers doubt he is Maltese. It is so incredibly obvious to me, too. The only doubt I have is about his age. I suspect he is in his late 60s or early 70s.
Martin the Maltese tramp speaks far better English, and more gracefully, and has better manners, than Joseph the Maltese prime minister.
This man has a hundredfold more good values than many foul-mouthed, ignorant and above all stupid people who are loaded with money, driving flashy cars and wearing designer clothes, that now infest these islands.
No amount of money and university degrees can compare with “childhood – instilled manners ” which tend to last a lifetime.
That’s precisely what I was thinking.
I would also think he is Maltese.
He can’t be British – has no British accent.
He can’t be Irish – has no Irish accent.
I’ve noticed The Times have covered your story. Daphne you should make this a point. You have a wider network than the biggest media organisation in Malta.
[Daphne – I don’t think I do. I think what it is is that people like the personal contact, because they are reassured by it.]
Stating the obvious, but wouldn’t it be possible for St. Edward’s staff to dig into their records for the years in which Martin might have been a student there?
He might have changed his appearance but probably kept his childhood name. It would be a first step. Incidentally, during those years the school which was most sought after for its academic value was the Lyceum where children from all backgrounds were enrolled. Unfortunately its academic reputation is not what it was.
When I lived in the UK I used to pass by quite a few tramps. I didn’t like to give them money in case it was used for an addiction of sorts. However, I would buy a sandwich. I remember one such time when I bought a sandwich with cottage cheese and it being refused curtly telling me “he was vegan.”
So what?
No need to be so rude, Catherine. It just emphasises Daphne’s point that often a tramp wants cash and is rude about it. Unlike Martin here who is gracious and polite.
I think you have probably missed Daphne’s point. She was not making a point about “tramps” (how rude – nowadays we call them homeless people, by the way). I think she was making a point about how extremely well-mannered Martin is, end of. Compared to people in general, not just “tramps”, reason being that he comes from a particular background.
By the way, if I was rude to you (I wasn’t – you should see what I’m like when I’m rude – read on) it is because I dislike your attitude. You seem to have taken it to heart that someone once rejected your cottage cheese sandwich.
More so that a homeless person (a “tramp”) might wish to have a choice in what he eats and that this choice might have a moral basis. Your comments are the usual “look at what happened to me once” style of someone who probably gives out sandwiches to homeless people just to say they give out sandwiches to homeless people.
You view your actions as so generous that you are completely taken aback when they are not received with endless gratitude. If you approached the man with such an attitude, I can only applaud him for telling you where to get off.
Language is important. Calling homeless people ‘tramps’, ‘bums’ or ‘hobos’ dehumanizes them AE, especially in the context of your ‘ I-once-gave-a-tramp-a-sandwich (and he was rude) story.
Homeless people say that the worst thing about being homeless is that they are invisible. Of course it is kinder to offer a sandwich than to walk past, but your attitude reminds me of a benefactor at a Dickensian orphanage.
There is a whole host of judgement in refusing to ‘fund addictions’. Perhaps the man was cold and suffering from alcohol withdrawal and there was cold comfort to be had from a cottage cheese sandwich.
Why didn’t you ask him what he needed, or did you travel with a bag full of cottage cheese sandwiches dispensing largesse to the bums/hobos/tramps as you went along?
Civilised behaviour is not demonstrated by using “politically correct” vague terminology to conceal true facts (“homeless person” who is not necessarily a “tramp”).
[Daphne – I agree on this one. Tramps (British English) and hobos (American English) are one thing. Homeless people could be anything, starting from those who have had their home repossessed.]
If you wish to differentiate, and as you say, there is a need to differentiate as there are all sorts of different cases, you would refer to “tramps” as people who live on the streets.
I’m not one for empty politically correct language either, but I think sometimes it has its place and this is one such situation. Please don’t dismiss correct form offhand.
I don’t intend to look down on anyone or wish this observation to come across as such, I merely feel that it is important in this case. And since I work in this broad area I have had plenty of opportunity to observe its importance. The point I made above was also broader, and was elegantly developed by Dom, who managed to say exactly what I was thinking.
Yes Dr Saliba, that’s why charities are always called ”Help the homeless’ or some such and make no mention of tramps.
And I think when we speak of ‘the homeless’ we refer to people who have no roof over their head and live in the streets or under bridges, not necessarily to people who have had their home repossessed and are perhaps living with relatives or friends or have made some other arrangement.
I think when you say ‘the homeless’ you immediately think of someone like Martin, and not of X or Y living with their mum and dad because they fell back on their loan repayments and had their home repossessed.
But I do agree with you that civilised behaviour is not demonstrated solely through politically correct language, and it bothers me that you have picked on the linguistic issue but not some of the attitudes displayed here.
Nevertheless, language is in a state of flux, and some terms that were acceptable 20 or 30 years ago are now perceived as pejorative.
I have to agree with Catherine and Dom on this one.
The word ‘tramp’ has negative connotations. This is not merely a question of political correctness gone mad.
I have never heard a homeless person referred to as a ‘tramp’ in ten years in the UK, and the reason for this is that the term is deemed to be offensive and exclusionary.
This is not just some silly nicety. The fact that ‘tramp’ is exclusionary is precisely the point.
(also ‘tramp’ has come to mean a loose woman)
My god what an over reaction. You have read way too much into what I wrote. No, Dom, I did not ask what he needed. The one I offered a bit of lunch to would have told me he wanted whisky, hence his retort when he said he was vegan. Did I really need to spell that out?
Well, actually, AE, you do need to spell out your conclusion.
Here’s your bigoted logic:
1. Homeless person refuses sandwich and claims to be vegan.
2. Therefore homeless person must want a drink.
Here’s the logic of someone who considers homeless people to be individuals:
1. Homeless person refuses sandwich and claims to be vegan.
2. Maybe homeless person is vegan.
The fact that you think that your conclusion is obvious simply proves the point that other people are making here. Your attitude is truly disgusting and part of the problem.
I’m glad the guy told you where to shove your sandwich. He could have responded far more colourfully to your condescension, so 10 points for subtlety.
Maybe you should listen to Martin and ‘look upon’ homeless people.
X’porkerija ta’ ragunar. And I will end this discussion here as I note that elegant rhetoric is rather lost on you AE – you barely seem self-aware and there’s no gain in that case.
So Catherine, not only are you rude but aggressively so. As we say in Maltese ‘qbadta minn sorma’. You made an issue were there was none. My little story was only meant to emphasise Daphne’s point that Martin is particularly polite.
And what elegant rhetoric are you referring to? Your own? Self-praise – tut tut.
And J I was there. You weren’t. There were legions of homeless people in the place where I lived so I don’t need any lessons from you there.
I can tell a drunk when I see one and when you live in a place where you see the same individuals every day you tend to get to know a bit about them.
Giving him a sandwich was I thought then an act of kindness which most people don’t bother to do as they hurry on with their daily chores.
God only knows how often I myself have not stopped. But that time I did. No, I am not congratulating myself for doing so. It is just a fact.
I am sure we all could do more than we do to help those who slip through the grids of life. Giving him money would not have been kind and the council where I lived used to advise against that.
There is nothing bigoted about what I wrote. What is bigoted is jumping to conclusions about what one says.
And finally, yes I used the word ‘tramp’ as did Daphne but I do not see you doing any berating there.
It was certainly was not meant in any derogatory fashion. So please do not make my little tiny intervention something it was not. Again my little story was only intended to show how right Daphne is that Martin is particularly polite.
That’s all there is to it. Now please go jump down someone else’s throat.
[Daphne – I happen to think that tramp is, in fact, the proper word to use here. Not all homeless persons are tramps and – this may come as a surprise to some – not all tramps are homeless persons. A tramp is exactly what we are talking about here. He is obviously not in the same category as a 15-year-old runaway or somebody who has just had his home repossessed. You can take political correctness too far. http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20131126/local/irish-tramp-vague-on-possible-malta-connection.496382#.UpUWKCcueV4 ]
Actually I was referring to the elegance of writing of the people who pitched in to agree with me. Certainly not yours, complete with poor spelling and recourse to vulgar language to express yourself. Funny too, that you should accuse me of getting the wrong end of the stick (there’s a nice phrase for you, so you don’t have to be rude), when you have jumped straight in and done so yourself.
[Daphne – Editor’s note: This correspondence is now closed.]
Insomma, AE, ma fhimt xejn. Pacenzja.
[Daphne – Editor’s note: This correspondence is now closed.]
Referring to the previous article about this poor man, I am amazed at how you managed to make an article about a good gesture and kind hearted interest read like an article on social strata or eugenics. Perhaps this poor man, if he really comes from that background as you claim, has found better company in a few pigeons then a bunch of (fill in with appropriate pejorative).
[Daphne – You see, this is exactly what I mean. The chippiness is just unbelievable. Please accept that this man has a clear and distinctive accent that indicates origins among a tiny percentage of the Maltese population. It was inevitable that somebody from the same tiny percentage would recognise the accent immediately and identify him as Maltese. How this can be a problem for people of your mindset is bewildering, but then I was raised in 1970s Malta when mocking that 2% was statutory and mandatory, so quite frankly…
Are you surprised that I am interested, that I find this sad story compelling in a way that, perhaps, you don’t? I have been besieged by private emails from people I know who feel the same way about it. They feel the same way about it because they, too, relate to his identity with a shock of recognition.
Perhaps you will look upon my interest more kindly if you were to consider the reaction of a Maltese village – I don’t know, Hal Ghaxaq, given that it’s currently in the news? – to the sudden knowledge that a man from Hal Ghaxaq is freezing on the Dublin streets, but they don’t know who he is. Sliema, too, was a village before it became a target zone for the savagely aspirational. We all knew each other, and each other’s cousins, extended family, and friends. It was nothing like ‘Sliema Wives’, I can assure you – just village life with a bit more sophistication.]
They’ll set up a Facebook page requesting Martin be refused his voting document next.
The fragility of their axioms is something to behold.
Papillon : Are you sure that you are using “eugenics” (: a science that deals with the improvement – as by control of human mating- of hereditary qualities of a race or breed ) in the proper context ?
This is what you are like, Papillon:
http://www.memecenter.com/fun/2138721/chip-on-the-shoulder
papillon, that is your read of the article. Others read it as being very factual and straightforward. If this ‘poor man’, as you call him, ‘has found better company in a few pigeons’, then he is not a ‘poor man’ but a happy one.
However, there might be a family somewhere who would be happy to renew their ties with him in which case appealing to that segment from where he might have originated makes sense and not sensation.
Should the interview have shown him to have an accent from Xewkija, it would have made sense to initially start off enquiries in that area and not elsewhere.
That is what is being done here.
Dear Daphne,
I got a chill down my back when I heard his voice. He sounded just like my father. I’m going out on limb here as I’m not quite sure if I’ve got the right to do it, but I asked my father about any boys called Martin who were at school with him back in the day and he claims to remember only two.
One was a couple of years younger (name supplied) and the other born in ’46/’47 (name supplied).
All Old Edwardians from that generation remember who was at college and more pertinently know where they are now. Curiously he has no further knowledge of X’s whereabouts. I hope this helps, it’s terribly sad to end up homeless no matter ones station or origins.
[Daphne – No, it’s neither of them. I know both and am in touch regularly with the latter, who was here last summer. Martin may not be his real name, so I wouldn’t allow myself to be misled by it. Nor did he necessarily go to that school.]
Since hearing his voice last night I can’t stop thinking about this poor man on the streets of Dublin.
I agree 100% he is from Sliema and probably an old Edwardian; even his face is haunting me, very familiar.
Picture him without that beard and cleaned up.
I read the Community Chest Fund is sitting on a pile of our cash instead of distributing it among the sick and needy.
Maybe we can put 650,000 euros to good use and get Martin a passport.
I am reading both the articles and comments with some interest but will refrain from speculating on Martin’s identity, particularly when he may have initially chosen this alternative life style together with an alternative name.
An older relative of mine, whose father had served the Crown with some distinction and whose mother was very lovely, who at the time had a bright future ahead of him, one day simply packed up and left Malta. His travels took him around Europe, scarcely keeping in touch and often going for years without having a fixed address.
I met him once some thirty years or more after he left, when having somehow heard of his mother’s demise, he briefly visited to sell his modest inheritance, only to disappear again.
Several years down the line, we learned that he was found dead of natural causes in a caravan of sorts. He passed away as he lived – alone.
It is all very sad indeed. However sometimes, a person knowingly, willingly and sometimes rebelliously, opts for a particular lifestyle notwithstanding the better wishes of his near and dear.
Having lost all ties and with no social support or benefits to fall back on, it is often the case that these individuals find themselves in the direst of straits, often living and dying alone.
Let’s hope that this story will have a better ending for Martin.
Maybe after passing through past personal tragedies, he chose to live the life of a tramp as different as possible from the one he was brought up in. I know of similar cases.
Shouldn’t his privacy be respected?
PS I did not mean to use the word ”tramp” out of any disrespect. I honestly did not realise that nowadays it is considered a politically incorrect term..
Although his claim to have known Mother Teresa sounds a bit weird to some, there is something he said that made me think that he may well have gone to India.
He says that he helps people by “looking upon them”. This idea, that one helps or blesses people by simply looking upon them is a Hindu practice. It is called “giving darshan”. Only a deity can give darshan, and they do so by simply looking upon people.
I only know about this since I was involved in a project that involved telling the story of the creation of Auroville, Sri Aurobindo and The Mother, who used to spend a lot of time giving darshan.
Just a thought.
Just to clarify, in Hinduism it is possible for a human to be considered a deity.
Much like in Catholicism, it is possible for Krishna, for example, to take on human form in order to do his work. There are many Hindu Gods, each with a consort, and I believe each with the ability to adopt an avatar, as it were, and become human.
Krishna may be aware of himself when in human form, like Jesus was, or partly aware of his God status and revealing himself to himself at a certain point in his mortal life, or not revealing himself to himself at all, depending on what suits the situation.
Therefore it is perfectly believable for a human to actually be a deity. It a bit like in Catholicism, where we have Saints, Prophets and the Son of God.
That’s an invitation to online execution, if ever I heard one.
We are not allowed to criticise The One True Religion or to even suggest that it’s on a par with other belief systems.
I don’t follow.
You speak of Hinduism as a belief system that is on a par with Catholicism. That is an open invitation to online lynching by the self-appointed guardians of The One True Religion.
Oh I see. They are both religions. Therefore they are both equal. Heigh ho.
I’ve just spoken to Donal Moloney and we both agreed that this guy needs space and time. Please rest assured that Martin is being taken care of, food, warm clothes etc.
The Maltese embassy are on the case and they are 24/7 available just in case any help is needed.
Today Donal was bombarded by phone calls.
He promised me that he is going to keep in touch just in case he needs my assistance.