Freedom Square
So while I was coming home the other night, I passed by Freedom Square. This bastion of history, this site of glory, where the first protest against Slavery in America was held by the Quakers, is now nothing but a trashy shopping center. A shopping center? What the fuck? What genius thought up that idea? Hay, let’s take an area with a lot of history, and the potential to be a tourist hub and an outright beautiful area, and let’s turn it into shit.
Why not put a park there, or a nice Garden, or a brick layered open walkway, or something nice looking and historical? But no, when history is in the working class Black areas, we have to have really trashy looking waste of space shopping centers with stores that take away from our community and will not be around that long.
Then, of course, around there, next to the beautiful houses built over 200 years ago, some with Historical markers themselves, there are those Delis. You know the Delis that I am talking about. The ones with no assortment of cold cuts but the best assortment of Liquid Crack, charitably described as Malt Liquor.
What is it about our society that likes the quick cheap unsustainable buck verses a long lasting tranquility and success in a community? Can’t we build up our neighborhoods instead of tearing them down? Is it because of lack of resources? I’d say not. I think that it is lack of focus, and some people just need to get a new pair of glasses.
posted by Charles @ 2:46 PM
2 Comments:
Hi Charles, I appreciate what you are saying, but I have a question. Exactly who are you upset with here? Who is the 'our society'? That seems kind of vague and nebulous... can you be a little more specific about who you think should get the blame?
Who is to blame? Well, my community for letting it happen, my elected officials, fortune 500 companies, etc.
It isn't about blame though. I think figuring out who to blame is worthless. It is about looking and seeing what these actions have done and saying, hey, that isn't working, and it isn't right.
It's about having a society that values community over the quick dollar, which, in this case, ironically, probably would have been more profitable in the long run. It's about having the Historical districts in working class minority neighborhoods treated the same as those in rich white neighborhoods.
It isn't about blame. It is about changing the pervasive feelings of the way we should do things.
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