« March 2006 | Main | May 2006 »
Tyler, one of my students, was quoted in an article in the Daily (the U of M newspaper) today. It's a larger article about the U's partnership with the northside that I thought did a good job at capturing the dynamics of that collaboration. Here's the link:
I found about 20 minutes today before dinner to do a little raking down by our street. (Fall was over 4 months ago, but who's counting?) It reminded me of one reason I like living in our neighborhood: there's no shortage of foot traffic. You get to see people this way.
I had been going for about five minutes when a couple of kids--maybe 12 or 13--rode up on bikes. "Hey, you want help? I can rake," they said. My first reaction is that these kids were looking for some income, offering to help in exchange for money to use at the corner store. A second, less honorable, thought was that they were starting an interaction to loosen me up before trying to take that money from me. It sounds extreme, but when a crime alert was sent out recently about kids (4-5 years older, but still kids) driving around the neighborhood and randomly mugging/assaulting people, you never can tell.
I shook them off. I didn't lie to them really. I told them that I had only one rake--"I can use that one," was the reply. "We're just looking for something to do," they said. I needed the exercise, I told them (again, not really untrue). At this they gave up trying. Before leaving, though, they asked, "Where's your son?" I told them Micah was at school and then asked how they knew I had a son. They had seen me driving through they alley--they live at a house just up the street from us. They then rode off before I could ask their names.
In the minutes just after this interaction, I had plenty of time to think. Why was it that I was so suspicious of these kids? Sure, there's plenty of reason in our neighborhood, but at the same time, their statement--that they just wanted something to do, rang true to me when they said it. And their question about Micah also signalled that they were good kids. One thing I want to welcome in being outside, for a number of reasons, is developing a relationship with the kids in our area. This was a perfect chance.
In a sense, our neighborhood is like the road to Jericho--a dangerous one prone to theft and violence. It's a path we have chosen to take, but not a comfortable one. My experience today was like a mirror image of Jesus' story--instead of the Samaritan showing true love for neighbor, I was like the wounded man refusing help. As in the gospel account, ethnic differences certainly played a part. Also suspicion of strangers in hostile territory. But it struck me that in this case, accepting help is the act of love--giving these kids a sense of acceptance and empowerment. By refusing their help, the message I may have sent is that I don't want their help, that I refuse their offer of assistance (even when two guys raking leaves while I finished dinner would have been welcome).
Sometimes receiving assistance can be just as difficult as offering it, I guess.
I submitted this letter to the Star-Trib. on 4/5/06:
Let me get this straight. When 30-40 people (mostly African-American) are killed in north Minneapolis each year, hardly anyone raises an eyebrow. But when two people (both white) die in richer parts of the city, suddenly it’s a public safety crisis? It’s a sad reflection on our city when the attention a crime receives is based on skin color and zip code.
More police throughout the city would be great. But that just treats the symptom. Let’s have the more important conversation about the disease itself: the economic and ethnic segregation that has created communities where such violence is seen as acceptable.
It's opening day, and hopes always run high. Will the Cubs' pitching recover from injury problems? Will an offense with two rookies be able to score runs? It's easy to be optimistic, but there's plenty of doubt to be had as the Cubs championship drought draws close to a century.