[lit-ideas] Re: for Andy and Paul
- From: Paul Stone <pas@xxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 03 Sep 2005 11:26:33 -0400
I've been to the US. It's a dirty, smelly, disgusting cesspool, and at the
same time, it's a rich, opulent, devastatingly beautiful place.
Before y'all get mad at me for dissing 'merica. Let me be clear that I was
talking of extremes. Yes of course there's the "heartland" and a whole lot
of real nice middle class folk. Those people resemble me, apart from the
funny accent (by me, I'm told by a couple of guys in Red Bud, IL I was
talking to -- I tell you what!) I'm just aghast at the spectrum from
squalor to magnificence that I drive by every time I visit.
Just for one example, in Detroit, there is a University [Wayne State] which
is reasonably reputable with a beautiful [if somewhat sterile concrete]
campus located DIRECTLY across from an, I don't know what the word is for
it now, but I'd call it a slum or ghetto. If you drive down Jefferson
(probably THE main North/South artery of downtown Detroit) you can go from
driving by beautiful stadia, nightclubs, art institutes, to suddenly being
in the middle of boarded up, bolted up, barred over, sex shops, constant
liquor stores, abandoned buildings, then after three or four more miles,
again, churches, beautiful buildings, the university, hospitals, then, it
devolves into suburbia, past a zoo, there's a huge fairgrounds, you're in
the middle of a town (Royal Oak). All in the span of about 10 miles. It's
quite bizarre. From my experience of driving around almost every major city
in the US, I see a street like this pretty much everywhere I go.
I've visited Charleston a few times and was struck by how the downtown
street, "Meeting", if my memory serves me, at one point, there are
literally No more black folks. They were sitting on one side of the street
and then, as you approached downtown, they just stopped being apparent. As
if there was some invisible fence. The irony of the name strikes me. Maybe
they should rename it exclusive meeting.
What is wrong that creates situations like that? In Chicago, as you enter
Cicero, there is actually a HUGE GATE over the road and, let's just say
that the complexion of the town changes somewhat. A few miles East of that
is an absolutely PLUSH green area with mansions, a great park, a lovely
zoo. Go a few miles East of that and there is a squalid industrial area.
Diversity is one thing, but this isn't diversity. It's separation with
tacitly acknowledged borders. Perhaps the sick and feeble from the poor
part of N.O. were just cowed into thinking "I don't cross this road, under
no conditions." I read one story about an 82 year old woman who had rarely
ventured more than 30 yards from her house. But, thankfully, she was wise
enough to cross that threshold and ask for help. I'm blown away by stories
like that when they are represented by quaint reporters. If only another
20,000 folks might have stuck their preconditions away for a couple of days.
Boringly run of the mill,
like a good Canadian,
Paul
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