View of us from the other side…..

I received a letter from a longtime friend, neighbor, and work associate recently that really disturbed me. This individual is someone I have had a close relationship with for most of my 39 years as an employee of local telephone co. Unfortunately she refused to bail out of the community when many other homeowners did. I suspect her rationale was “if I can get along on the job I can do same in my community”. Well it doesn’t seem to be working out very well.

As you may have guessed, my friend is White. After reading her letter I sum the situation up as one where she has had the misfortune to find herself surrounded by people even I would not wish to be around. More simply said, bad neighbors come in all colors, shapes, sizes, and etc. But I believe it is important for all residents in this area to understand a little history and what a good neighborhood should be all about.

Back when I built my home, Fall 1972, there were very few Blacks in Randallstown. Even though there werea few small Black communities in the area (Woodstock, Winands Road, and Church Lane), I suspect we were fewer than 5% of the population. Most of the Whites were well educated middle income people who would simply pick up and move instead of acting like fools when their racist instincts kicked in. However, many stayed and are still living in the area. Aside from drawing the attention of a Carroll County KKK group, a face off with the local elementary school vice principal about a remark he made about Baltimore City schools and it students and a run in with an official of The old Randallstown Football program we never had to deal with the issues my friend is dealing with.  Yes, we had neighbor who sold their homes as soon as they realized our development was experiencing a size able influx of Blacks. We also had folks who were subordinate to many of us professionally refuse to speak or interact on a social level. But who cares, they eventually left and crossing paths with them didn’t leave me any worst off.  

Let me point out what some of my friends issues are. How many of you remember the old “don’t park in my space” concept that exist in most urban areas. Well there are folk who still believe they own the public space in front of their homes. I don’t have a problem with that, but when the end result is damaged personal property we have a problem. When people us abusive and racist language in their effort to resolve simple neighborly problems, we have a problem. The most disturbing is when uninvolved neighbors passively observe anti-social and racist acts directed toward their neighbor because they are now the minority, we have a problem.

May be it is time for some of us to look at ourselves in a mirror. Our kids are being shaped by what they see and observe. Are our actions what we would like our kids to emulate? Are we demonstrating the personal attributes that will assist our kids to become successful citizens? Do we yell when we are mistreated and remain on the sideline when we observe others being mistreated? Brothers and Sisters we can’t burn the candle at both ends!

Whats the fix? Well a community that is alive and well makes every effort to maintain its diversity. It also set the stage for neighborly discourse even if it is often loud and unsettling. We do this by being sociable. As little as a smile as we pass each other or a little chit chat would do wonders. This stuff is contagious and before you know it people will began to respect and appreciate the differences in all of us. Life is just too short to waste any of it and that is exactly what happens when we make life miserable for others.

What do you think?