The sisters who responded to my original post called ‘Torn’, which I am now responding to, were very gentle with me. Neither of them told me to stop whining and take a realistic look around. Every community has problems, even the pretty ones with no litter, two car garages, and well-spoken parents. If I see a problem in my community, in my home, it is my responsibility to address it, not mourn or run.
Three separate conversations on a social website brought me face to face with my own elitism. I read the opinions of my peers and was disturbed to hear the whole, ‘Pull your-self up by the boot straps’ argument, as though it was new.I was saddened to hear my neighborhood referred to as an empty husk, my neighbors (and myself) written off for lost. I also saw a video written and produced by North Philadelphia teens addressing violence. There were no solutions expressed, just thin hope and the repetitive blame placed on parents and lack of social programs. These are all the same issues that existed when I was teen. These are all the same reasons, the same disgust. Something has to give. I am considering a radically different approach to healing these ills, beginning with the illusion that I am not part of the problem.
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