Yeah, I’m from New York City . . . but what I tend to leave out is that I am from the PART of New York City that is the brunt of all jokes, and that 92% of NYC residents haven’t even stepped foot on . . .
(sigh . . . )
Super-de-duper. If my lovely home town (but remember, I was BORN in Manhattan!) has to make the news, it’s great that it can be for something like this.
I don’t know which is worse . . . the copycat ugliness that will come out of the woodwork as a result of this incident, or the self-righteous “Isn’t that awful?” type of attitude that I like to refer to as the “not me” definition of racism–”Wow, I can’t believe that someone would do that. Who knew that hate still existed in this day and age?” and its unspoken companion, “Well, it’s a darn good thing that I’M not a racist!”
The water is muddied somewhat by the fact that this was a North Shore Staten Island high school–and although the article doesn’t talk much about the racial make-up of the SI team, except to say that “the team includes players of every race and ethnicity”, I am struggling with the (perhaps false) assumption that even the white kids in this Staten Island school are likely to be solidly in the “Wegro” camp, which brings up all types of questions about the use of ”that word” in this setting. Not that I think it is ever appropriate for a white kid to use the word, but in this case, I honestly wonder if it was more a case of slang usage than an intentional racial slur. (If you have an opinion on this, or if you think I’m wrong to even pose the question, I would love to hear from you!)
But then again–this IS Staten Island we’re talking about, so it’s also quite possible that this really was an act of blatant racism. Either way, this was just a super way to begin my morning . . .
Yes, this is my friend from back in the day, Lisa, spotted online. And yes, she appears to be kissing a giraffe. (read the caption; it’s not quite as scandalous as it seems!)
Lisa is now expecting her first child, which means there’s hope for me . . . oh wait. no, there really isn’t, since I am not a) married or b) model-level gorgeous.
oh well . . .
I was lucky, as well, in that the number of people I knew personally who lost their lives on this day in 2001 was relatively small. Of the three listed here, Jonathan Hohmann is probably the one I knew best, as I went to church with him for several years and taught Sunday School alongside of his wife Rose. I also had his son Matthew in my Sunday School class (and have the cute pictures to prove it!)
The next is a guy I went to school with . . . he was in my class through fifth grade, and I have a class picture somewhere. (which I will not be sharing here, to protect the guilty–myself in particular–from the fashion police!)
And finally, someone from my graduating class at Tottenville High School who I barely knew, except perhaps by name/face.
yes, I am one of the lucky ones.
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