Well obviously about a week after saying that I would write about politics, I am going to not write about politics. If you've ever heard me discuss the history of my career plans, made a date with me for any time not five minutes in the future or been with me in a kitchen while I bake, this will not surprise you. It's not that I'm flaky or flippant about any of my endeavors. I'm just really, really interested in a lot of things and I get distracted. I had to swear of Wikipedia for any kind of preliminary paper research , not because of admonitions from professors that it isn't accurate or scholarly (professors of the world, it is time to stop having principles about Wikipedia...all your students use it. Get over it.) but because it would zap hours upon hours of my life. I learned lots of things about lots of subjects - for example, did you know that your Hebrew name does not actually need to be Hebrew? Since ancient times the Jews have borrowed names from lots of other languages. I learned this while writing a paper on Invisible Man.
Anyway, I will not be writing about politics; I will be writing about my neighbourhood and a news story that's been haunting me since one of my TFA friends posted it on their facebook last night.
So let's start with a look at the bright side of life, before I move to one of the most depressing things you will read all day.
I love my neighbourhood. I live in the SW quadrant of DC and it is a dynamic, diverse section of the city. We recently opened The Arena Stage, which is doing a fantastic play right now called "Ruined" about a brothel in Rwanda during the genocide. We have a pretty new Safeway with its own sushi bar. By the way, when choosing an apartment, sight unseen, from California, this was a major draw. Not the sushi bar. Just the Safeway. We have fun events like the 7th Street Landing, which features a farmer's market and live bands and beer and wine tasting. At the most recent one, I was struck by how many different kinds of people were present - not just racially, but also students and elderly couples and young families. All different socio-economic classes were represented. In a city like DC, with its stark SES/racial/everything divides, this is a true feat. But I think the thing I love most about our quadrant is its underdog status. I still get this look of sympathy whenever I tell people where I live. "Below the mall, you say? They have houses there? Oh..." The thing is, I never correct them. I am happy for everyone to keep thinking there is nothing here - I will maintain my low rent and the distinct lack of tourists and ability to get a table at a bar on the waterfront at the height of happy hour, thank you very much. Judge away.
Side note: part of my enthusiasm for this underdoggery comes from watching a neighbourhood that I moved into in Brooklyn go from livable-on-a-teacher's-wage and diverse and relatively quiet and safe to a haven for hipsters, complete with outrageous prices and lines for every single restaurant and unicycles tied to trees, in the space of about six months. Goodbye, Prospect Heights. It was fun while it lasted.
Ok, and now for a nice little dose of depression. In case anyone reading this doesn't know me, I taught in Newark with Teach for America, and thanks to the wonders of Facebook, I still get to keep in touch with many of my colleagues. One of them now works at a charter school up there, and posted this story. I can't imagine how those poor little children will ever recover. I can't imagine ever being able to trust another human being again. But of course, children are amazingly resilient and I hope that the city gives them the needed resources to get back to a normal life.
But that's not the point of posting that story. The point is this: the Bible says some crazy things. It says to take daughters who disobey out to the city gates and stone them. Doesn't like braids or make-up, etc. Tells lots of people they will die in fiery pits. It is strongly anti-fig. And yet anyone who has spent time in a halfway decent church or knows my dad knows that this is not what Christianity is all about. It is about loving your neighbour, taking care of one another, keeping the peace, talking to God about things as much as possible. This crazy man who is using Christianity and Christ as some kind of a shield for his inexcusable actions is insane. He can probably quote verses at you to justify what he did, but that doesn't change the fact that he in no way representative of the religion as a whole. I think most people get that.
The Qu'ran says some crazy things. It says to get rid of infidels. Wants us to stone daughters who disobey (hey look, a place for compromise!). Doesn't like the Jews too much. And yet anyone who has spent time around Muslims knows this is not what Islam is all about. It is about loving your neighbour, taking care of one another, keeping the peace, talking to God about things as much as possible. Those crazy people who use Islam as some kind of shield for their inexcusable actions are insane. They can probably quote verses at you to justify what they did, but that doesn't change the fact they are in no way representative of the religion as a whole. I think most people...sigh.
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