Text – Page 65 – Citizen Reporter

Homeless America

On my way down the street in one of Washington DC’s hippest neighborhoods, I look at all the houses and the people, in search of what I can say about this place at this point in history. I ride the metro here and there, out to the lovely suburbs, and I wonder if this region represents the United States in a small scale. Some friends and I walk into a local liquor store to buy a bottle of wine, and we have a brief exchange with various homeless people out front, and step over the passed out man on the floor of the shop before paying the cashier through a bullet proof glass window. Yet we walk down the street and see beautiful homes, people walk their dogs and say hi to you sometimes. Behind the cast-iron bars on the windows and doors, there are families, college kids, artists, and people of all walks of life.

Does DC teach us something about what the United States is all about? Or is it an anomaly of a city that doesn’t even have a state?

One thing deserving of more attention, in this city and beyond, is the amount of people living on the streets. The Los Angeles Homeless Coalition says that 3.5 million Americans will be homeless in a given year. 3.5 million. On the streets. In a shelter only in the rarest of cases. They also say 1 in every 5 suffer from a severe mental illness, no where is that more apparent then in our nations capital. Much like the shelters that are nonexistent or inadequate, so too are the public mental health institutions, places where people can go to get treatment and off the streets. People in DC tell me about them. They have names for them “stabby dancer” for the guy who would dance around and occasionally stab people with a pen knife. “Blanket guy” for the man wrapped in a blanket who you see on your way down the street each morning. They notice them, yet in many ways, these people are not at all noticed. Ignored and deemed invisible by their community and by their government… both of which seem to hope they’ll simply disappear.

Older and As Critical As Ever

Today I am 28 years old. Before I get into the topic on my mind, big thanks to all those who took the time on facebook or here or in email.. to wish me well. Made me feel very special, I appreciate that. But nevermind me and age.

In discussions, both online and off, people often want to place one another in a little box – to summarize the person’s beliefs in one or two words. You’ve heard them all, they sometimes appear in blog comments “you leftists…. you neoconservatives… you christians.. you scientologists.. you commies” etc. These types of labels are an effort not to see someone as complex as they probably are or to simply write off whatever they have to say due to some predetermined belief system. Obviously I seek to advocate the idea that people are more complex, even if the tagline at the top of this blog uses some adjectives, I am both some of that and none of that.

This comes to mind as I listen to more and more analyses of the referendum in Venezuela a few weeks ago. For those not keeping score, president Chavez and his supporters in government put forward a proposal that would give him some greater powers and supposedly allow him to stay president long past the normal term limit. The proposal included several other measures, which the president has called necessary in order to carry out a socialist revolution. Actually I don’t even know if that is completely true as all I read lately are analyses and I’ve never seen with my own eyes, these documents.. but Ill accept that this is what they are essentially about as I have listened to a few Chavez speeches on the topic. The proposal was put to referendum, where citizens could vote if they were for or against it.

The verdict was NO. Citizens voted down this measure, and various media and leaders throughout the world have pointed to this as a great defeat or Chavez (who many of them hate with a passion) or as a victory for democracy in Venezuela.

Much like one of the correspondents on a recent edition of Uprising (the podcast), despite my frequent admiration or support of Chavez’s words and actions, in this case I’m with all those people who were against the measure. I’m a firm believer, with plenty of history in every part of the world to support the idea, that power corrupts. And while I do believe its necessary to stand up to bullies, whether they are in Moscow or in Washington DC (where Im headed in the morning), I also believe that no human should be given divine and unlimited powers. This proposal sounded like too much power and an invitation for corruption and injustice on a mass scale.

I listened attentively to Chavez’s reaction following the vote. I wondered if he would call the No voters terrorists, using that now cliché strategy. But he didn’t. He sucked it up and conceded defeat. Which is encouraging to me. He is certainly no Gandhi, and this may not be the last troubling measure he puts forward, but I’m glad to see he can admit when he has lost something, and I hope that everyone understands that whether you’re considered a “leftist” or a “conservative”, ideas and values are not that simple and cannot be summarized so easily.

Mislead Over and Over

Greetings from Philadelphia, where I’m spending a few days with good friends.

Upon my arrival in the US this month, I did notice a reasonable amount of buzz in the media and the occasional conversation about toys that had been discovered to have dangerously high levels of lead. Manufactured in China, these toys made the news and toy companies carried out what is called a re-call; requesting that people who have purchased them please return them as they could be dangerous.

My favorite shop on earth for buying food is Trader Joe’s, it is the first place I go when I arrive in the US. The thing I most like is that I can look at the ingredients of anything, and read the short list. Normally the ingredients are words that I know and never is there artificial colors or preservatives of any kind. The thing that is strange, is that Trader Joe’s is considered “Alternative” in many ways. Normal supermarkets have the big commercial products that have a long list of ingedients many of which start with the prefix poly or mono. That is considered standard, and many people use those products all their lives.

Whether it is toys, food, or other products that we use regularly in our lives, it seems to me one of the mostparadoxical realities of this society we’ve created in much of the world; we sell each other goods made from materials that can ultimately poison someone, often times while tasting good or smelling good or bringing some short term joy.

Not that I’m against the joy of a nice cookie or a children’s toy. But it seems perposterous that in regular mainstream thought, you buy the cookies or the toys made by the big manufacturer that has uses some really questionable, incomprehensible ingredients to produce them.

How did the world get this way? Why didn’t the masses cry foul and take these producers to court or simply demand they clean up their act? Why is it that even in 2007, with all the experience and time that has passed that humans exist on this earth, that asking for a product made from healthy and simple ingredients is considered somehow alternative or “different”.

Just to add one more thought to all my semi-rhetorical questions today, many people will point to the new kinds of supermarkets and alternative companies that are emerging like the body shop that do things in a sustainable and healthy way. I would agree this is a positive development and a sign of some sort. But what still baffles me is that these companies are so small in terms of the big picture.. so once again.. too little and for many people suffering from the health problems this type of consuming has brought, too late.

Stateless People

I awoke this morning in Brooklyn and immediately saw my friend Shafiur the documentary film maker online. You might remember Shafiur from his appearance on my podcast where we discussed the garment workers and the industry in Bangladesh.

This morning informed me that he has been working on a documentary that he will send me. The topic: the stateless people of Bangladesh. “The who?” I asked… surprised that although I like to think I know alot about things going on in south Asia, I had no idea what he was referring to.

He went on to explain that following the battle that would eventually make former East Pakistan into Bangladesh also left many people who wanted to stay East Pakistan isolated. Never included as citizens of Bangladesh, I was further shocked to know that they’ve lived in refugee camps since the 40’s. “100 toilets for 2000 refugees”, Shafiur described one camp. As many as 240,000 people live in these camps, they have lived in Bangladesh all their lives, even before there was a Bangladesh, but because of whos side they chose in a conflict back in the 40’s, today they live as refugees, without the rights and privledges of a Bangladeshi citizen.

I’m only starting to scratch the surface when it comes to learning about these people are how they have lived and yet gone unnoticed in their plight. Shafiur said that he would gladly join me for a podcast on the topic, but first I should watch the documentary. So my research continues, but already it is clear that hundreds of thousands of people in Bangladesh are shut out of their country, left stateless and no options for the future. An unacceptable situation for any human, anywhere.

Being Inspired

Let me start by sending a big thank you to my friends at Brooklyn College. Earlier today I spoke as a guest lecturer in a mass media course. The topic: citizenjournalism, blogs, and this expanding world that I’m a part of.

As true as it is that I like to talk and if given the chance I’ll go on and on. Even better to speak with a crowd that nods like they understand me. Like they’ve had related thoughts that my words remind them of. Or they have a more in depth opinion and idea that they’d like to throw at me to hear my response. The kind of crowd that is not out to try and insult you or prove you wrong somehow, but rather, a group that shares the same goal of wanting a better world, and finding ways for more voices to be heard and less misunderstanding between countries and cultures.

When it was all over, seeing some faces looking back at me with a look of “thanks for that”, and everyone that came over to shake my hand and talk further, it was the kind of interaction that washes away any trace of doubt or worry about pursuing my work as a citizen reporter. A good friend said to me “Yes remember this feeling tonight and the things people said to you after the talk, remember that whenever you feel down or lost as a dedicated podcaster.”

– I will. Thank you Brooklyn College.

Culturally Inept

Whenever I come back to NJ, I expect to see changes. Not so much people, as of course there are always changes there, but I’m speaking more about changes to this place; suburban NJ, the suburbs of New York City and Newark. I expect to see some new buildings, new construction projects, and generally speaking.. signs of a new era… new ideas… the future. Among those changes for the new era, I keep a close eye out for developments related to energy conservation, pollution, and sustainable living.

As is typical for much of the US, this region is especially a hub for car culture. You can hardly do anything without an automobile, so while in Amsterdam it seems that everyone rides a bike, in New Jersey it seems that everyone drives a car.

Every year I return and end up, naturally, in a car on a highway. This year it is no different, but considering the fact that global warming has finally reached the mass audience and seemingly has been accepted as a problem, I expected to see some changes. Smaller cars perhaps. More of those hybrids people talk about. Less people driving or at the very least, less cars with only 1 person in them. In each of these cases, besides the occasional hybrid, I’ve seen almost none of these things. Just like 7 years ago, back when I still lived here and global warming was a myth, there is nothing but cars and traffic jams. If anything they’ve gotten worse, more cars leading to traffic jams all over this state at any given time of day.

As I visit people’s houses and walk the streets, I look for signs of energy conservation. Solar panels? I guess that was wishful thinking; there are none. More people turning off lights and turning down the heat? No one seems to mention it or think about it. Plenty of those little flourenscent bulbs, that is about the extent of the energy saving practices I see adopted.

At any shop you find lots of green labels and references to all-natural, clearly people want to feel better about their choices and actions. But seeing the amount people here consume; whether its goods or energy, despite everything they know about their impact on the planet… none of it has slowed down. If anything, this state, like much of the world, seems to be marching even more quickly towards environmental holocaust.