This morning began much like any other Saturday for me. I got up, ate a Clif bar for breakfast, took some vitamins, made some of my "workout juice" (a concoction of some more vitamins, etc.) and settled down on my living room floor to play on the laptop and watch a little TV. The TV is just for background noise; helps wake me up and put me in the right frame of mind for my little yoga routine.
Since I wasn't in the mood to watch CNN and piss myself off this morning, I decided to browse HBO ON Demand for a cool documentary. I love most HBO documentaries; they're generally well produced, entertaining and educational. Those adjectives don't come near to describing "Trouble the Water" and the impact it had on this white chick. This documentary was emotional "shock and awe".
When Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005 the devastation was incredible - I already understood that. F.E.M.A.'s mistakes have been enumerated in the media over the years and our government's response was shockingly insufficient and inept in so many ways. I already knew these things. I had seen the images of the helpless, hungry, homeless and scared citizens of New Orleans on TV before. But those images and the information that followed them were comfortably remote. I sympathized with their plight, prayed for them and even donated a little to help, but my emotional engagement was minimal. "Trouble the Water" brought the catastrophe much closer to home.
I empathized. I won't insult the citizens of New Orleans by saying I felt what they felt exactly, but I did experience shock, fear, despair, disbelief, frustration and outrage. I watched Kimberly River Roberts and her husband's footage of the storm and the aftermath...it's still hard for me to believe that all that took place here, in my home, the United States.
Why were U.S. citizens turned away from a Navy base at gunpoint, when all they sought was refuge?! Why did it take so long for help to arrive?! And those 911 calls made me cry. Imagine being so close and yet so far away from another human being that needs your help to SURVIVE.
But I have new heroes now. That Larry dude - I thought he was a police officer or fireman...some kind of civil watchman. But no, he was just a guy; just a man doing what he felt was right and necessary at the time. Or as he puts it in the documentary, "I guess God finally found a use for a guy like me!"
And Kimberly River Roberts, her husband and their crew...I'd be proud to call them friends of mine. At 24, Kimberly radiated calm, confidence, strength and perseverance rarely seen in people PERIOD, let alone at her relatively young age, and most especially under such conditions. Kimberly, you are definitely AMAZING and lyrical.
We have too many layers of abstraction in our society; too many "safe" zones. I live a relatively peaceful, comfortable life - something that I take for granted on a daily basis. Sometimes you gotta shake people to get their attention. That's what this documentary did to me.
For more information on this documentary, click here.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Monday, January 11, 2010
Stupid White Chick; Scary Black Man ???
I was driving down the freeway one Saturday morning when the car in front of me suddenly made this incredible "POP!" noise and burst into flames underneath. The driver quickly pulled off, of course, as did I - it's the right thing to do, right???
The driver of the flaming vehicle flings his door open and climbs out of the driver's seat, and he's a black guy. A rather large black man. And he stands next to his car, shaking his head in dismay; it's an older car, probably with very high mileage and I seriously doubt the poor machine survived. At first, I was alarmed because he was standing so close to the car. I parked a short distance away for safety and then ran up to him, "You gotta get away from your car! It was on fire!!" He hadn't noticed that part, and by the time I was standing next to him the flames were out. But I told him to grab his stuff quickly anyway (not bright; car could've blown up) and back away from the vehicle...which he did.
I asked him if he had someone he could call for a ride - No.
Triple A (AAA) coverage - No.
Anyone that can give you a lift??? - No.
And he obviously did not have money for a cab. So what does any decent person do? Offer him a ride, of course. Especially since he was on his way to some sort of sports thing not even 5 minutes from where we were on the freeway. No problem, right? Kinda wrong.
I did offer him the ride, and he accepted with a surprised look on his face, but my behavior in this scenario would be considered too risky by most people I associate with regularly. The more awkward thing was, there seemed to be a sort of silent understanding between the two of us that this was indeed a very strange thing - my offering him a ride. Especially considering that the stretch of freeway we were on runs right through South Central LA. Not the safest territory for anyone; even a spunky white chick who assumes that her luck and can-do attitude will carry her through the experience.
So he gets into my car and I try to make polite conversation to soothe his nerves. Heck, his car just blew up, right? This seemed to make him even more anxious, so I shut up and we drove in silence until we arrived at his destination. He didn't even wait for my car to fully stop before he throws open the passenger side door and jumps out. I was startled, but no big deal. As he walked away, he did turn around to thank me. And that concludes the whole interaction.
Now, I've been told before that I should NEVER do something like that in SoCal. So that's the context in my head as I'm helping this guy. And I'm wondering if he's thinking in the same context - like, "What is she doing?! Doesn't she know that I'm a big black guy that could bust a cap in her ass??"
However, he could've been nervous and/or upset for so many reasons:
1. His car blew up.
2. Doesn't look like he has a lot of money (based on the car, his attire, etc.), so he might be worried about his job? Perhaps because he can't afford to repair his car or purchase a replacement??
3. Or maybe he just had a really horrible morning and the car was the proverbial "icing on the cake".
4. Etc., etc., etc.
Whatever the case was, I'll never know. My point is, I KNEW what the context in my head was, and part of me regarded him as a risk.
What would you have done?
The driver of the flaming vehicle flings his door open and climbs out of the driver's seat, and he's a black guy. A rather large black man. And he stands next to his car, shaking his head in dismay; it's an older car, probably with very high mileage and I seriously doubt the poor machine survived. At first, I was alarmed because he was standing so close to the car. I parked a short distance away for safety and then ran up to him, "You gotta get away from your car! It was on fire!!" He hadn't noticed that part, and by the time I was standing next to him the flames were out. But I told him to grab his stuff quickly anyway (not bright; car could've blown up) and back away from the vehicle...which he did.
I asked him if he had someone he could call for a ride - No.
Triple A (AAA) coverage - No.
Anyone that can give you a lift??? - No.
And he obviously did not have money for a cab. So what does any decent person do? Offer him a ride, of course. Especially since he was on his way to some sort of sports thing not even 5 minutes from where we were on the freeway. No problem, right? Kinda wrong.
I did offer him the ride, and he accepted with a surprised look on his face, but my behavior in this scenario would be considered too risky by most people I associate with regularly. The more awkward thing was, there seemed to be a sort of silent understanding between the two of us that this was indeed a very strange thing - my offering him a ride. Especially considering that the stretch of freeway we were on runs right through South Central LA. Not the safest territory for anyone; even a spunky white chick who assumes that her luck and can-do attitude will carry her through the experience.
So he gets into my car and I try to make polite conversation to soothe his nerves. Heck, his car just blew up, right? This seemed to make him even more anxious, so I shut up and we drove in silence until we arrived at his destination. He didn't even wait for my car to fully stop before he throws open the passenger side door and jumps out. I was startled, but no big deal. As he walked away, he did turn around to thank me. And that concludes the whole interaction.
Now, I've been told before that I should NEVER do something like that in SoCal. So that's the context in my head as I'm helping this guy. And I'm wondering if he's thinking in the same context - like, "What is she doing?! Doesn't she know that I'm a big black guy that could bust a cap in her ass??"
However, he could've been nervous and/or upset for so many reasons:
1. His car blew up.
2. Doesn't look like he has a lot of money (based on the car, his attire, etc.), so he might be worried about his job? Perhaps because he can't afford to repair his car or purchase a replacement??
3. Or maybe he just had a really horrible morning and the car was the proverbial "icing on the cake".
4. Etc., etc., etc.
Whatever the case was, I'll never know. My point is, I KNEW what the context in my head was, and part of me regarded him as a risk.
What would you have done?
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