Learning, Doing, Teaching, Being

Some time ago, Snap Judgment, one of my favorite NPR programs, had a show about Daryl Davis who befriended a few KKK Grand Wizards.  Through simply trying to understand how they could hate him before they knew him as an individual, he managed to convince at least three to give up their robes.

I admire this.

Recently, I saw a TEDx talk by Ash Beckham whose message was that your hard isn't any harder than anyone else's hard. Your hard may be disclosing that you are gay, or being an undocumented immigrant, or fearing hordes undocumented gay immigrants moving into your neighborhood.  But, as she says, there is no harder.  There is just hard.

I admire this.

And even today, I happened upon an RSA video of Brene Brown brilliantly explaining the difference between sympathy and empathy.  Sympathy acknowledges, but also disconnects one from others. Empathy requires connecting with the feelings of the other.

I admire this as well.

I also read an article about Mandela written upon the event of his death.  The author recounted the story of Mandela looking after and keeping clean a fellow prisoner suffering from a stomach illness. The message in the article is that it is insufficient to remember. What is demanded of all of us is to act to facilitate social justice and honor the dignity of other human beings.  And, of course, to forgive.

This I admire and want to emulate.

And as someone who teaches and works at the intersection of social relations, community development, law and policy, and public health, I encourage engaging in respectful discourse that allows empathy to develop.   I read about it, especially in relation to race/ ethnicity, gender, and class. I write about it.  I participate in lots of activities that demand facilitating this exact thing.  I do research that requires that I put myself in a non-judgmental position (and I am pretty good at this). And, as a college professor, I teach it at every level and every opportunity.

And yet, openness, empathy, and forgiveness are difficult to practice outside of my "work."  I can listen to a participant in one of my studies talk about how a specific group that I belong to are "the problem" in society. I can analyze this and relate it to a variety of theories that situate such reactions in ethnocentrism, political manipulation, mass media hysteria or some combination therein. And I can even encourage everyone I work with to remember that "those people" are human beings and not caricatures of false consciousness.  But I cannot handle intolerance outside of this.

So, there is this woman in my neighborhood.  And she just says the most gawd-awful things, mostly about Latino immigrants.  It doesn't take a whole lot of training in the subtle code language of xenophobia or regular reading in social theories of othering to see her behavior, especially online, as too closely aligned with folks who have landed in the Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence files. 

And I know from my own training, ongoing engagement with development in social theory, and field research that her behavior is likely the result of fear and loss.  Fear of people who she doesn't know or understand. Loss of standing in a community that has changed before her eyes.  Fear of change, generally.  Loss of a community that she once knew and that is not so slowly fading into the past.

But, to be frank, I can not let her behavior go unchallenged.  She may very well be a nice person otherwise, but her statements and behavior in certain spaces are simply unacceptable  While I can understand why she may act the way she does, I do not empathize with it.

I think this is the case because I associate these fears and this sense of loss with an undeserved sense of entitlement.  I cannot give quarter to someone who wants to tell me, or people like me, whether I am entitled to be actively involved in this place that I have chosen to call my home.  This is my community and you cannot tell me otherwise.

And so, I continue to work on  promoting discourse, understanding, empathy, and forgiveness.  But I do not confuse understanding with acceptance.  I cannot tolerate intolerance, even when I understand where it is coming from.  I believe that people should held accountable for their actions, especially with the words they use in social media. But I do hope that someone in this neighborhood is able to continue to engage in meaningful dialogue with this woman, at least for her sake. At this stage in my life, I cannot.

Dear Gaming Commission

I am a homeowning resident in East Boston and professor of law and policy at Northeastern University. 

I am writing to urge you to reject any consideration of a proposal for a "Revere-only" casino at the Suffolk Downs site without having gone through the proper process as outlined in MGL c.23K§15(13).  The current plan is so different than the original proposal that has been described by Suffolk Downs for the past two years that it can only reasonably be considered a new proposal.  The current plan has a different applicant, a different location, a different partner, and a different business model.  As such, MGL c.23K§15(13) clearly states that this new proposal requires a new host community agreement and a new vote at least 180 days after November 5, 2013.  The plain reading of the law is quite clear on this point.  As your legal counsel undoubtedly has made you aware, Massachusetts courts pay very close attention to the plain language in state statutes.

To entertain a so-called Revere-only casino proposal at Suffolk Downs without having gone through the process as outlined in Expanded Game Act and your regulations is to render the concept of the rule of law meaningless.  It is not the place of the Commission to divine the intent of the voters in Revere.  This is not an academic exercise in epistemology or logic; it is a practical a legal matter with material implications.  MGL c.23K§15(13) explicitly describes the process by which voters are to make their choices clear.  The Commission needs to ensure that the proponents of this new proposal follow the letter of law and the process described therein.

I also urge Chairman Steve Crosby to recuse himself from all decisions related to Region A casino license applications.  The recent revelations of personal and professional relationships between Chairman Crosby and casino proponents in both Everett and Suffolk Downs reinforce the concern that casinos will corrupt our public officials and public processes.  It is simply implausible that Chairman Crosby could be considered impartial if he were to recuse himself from evaluating one applicant but not the other.  Indeed, the insistence on finding some way, even if contrary to the unambiguous language in state law, to allow Suffolk Downs to submit a proposal suggests that the Commission is trying to create the appearance of competition in order to create a distorted semblance of impartiality. 

The decisions and actions taken by this Commission to date have already reduced the public trust in the ability of the Gaming Commission to provide meaningful oversight of any casino licensed to operate in Massachusetts.  As I stated in my comments to you dated 2 October 2013, the rule of law is first and foremost rooted in the commitment to following procedure.  Procedure in and of itself does not automatically result in fair outcomes.  But without fair procedure, even desirable outcomes are tainted with the appearance of corruption, further reducing trust in our government.  If the Commission allows the proposed "Revere-only" proposal to go forward, and if Chairman Crosby refuses to recuses himself from evaluating any Region A applicants, the Commission's decisions can only be interpreted as stating that laws do not apply to some people and that the government cannot be trusted to look after the public's interest.

Thank you for your time.


Neenah Estrella-Luna, MPH, PhD

The role of advisory committees in sustaining East Boston's awesomeness

Excel Academy is looking to build a high school a few blocks from my house in East Boston.  I heard a few days ago that the political leadership get to appoint the impact advisory committee members.  Two have already been named.  One has already begun to solicit early comments.  However, I'm worried about how it would operate and am frankly wondering what the value of any comments would have.

My concern is rooted in the fact that one of the other people who has already been appointed to the committee is someone who has publicly stated that immigrants, which comprise a significant part of the student population at Excel Academy, are not worthy public support. 

I know this because this individual signed (#615) a petition in 2009 expressing opposition to Governor Deval Patrick's New Americans Agenda. The petition specifically objected to:

• expanding programs to support English as a second language learning in public schools,
• increasing funding for translation and interpreter service in public schools,
• providing access to in-state college tuition for all immigrant residents in public universities, and 
• other services and programs that support the successful integration of our immigrant neighbors. 

The student body at Excel Academy in East Boston is 72% Latino and represents 23 different nationalities. And yet, this individual is publicly opposed to the very conditions that support the academic success of many of those students.

Why would anyone who wants to meaningfully contribute to the conversation and planning of this school make the time to participate when someone who has already been appointed to the committee itself believes that parents who are still learning to speak English should be denied translation when talking with teachers and school officials? Think about the message that sends to the rest of us who care about exactly the kinds of families that Excel Academy aims to serve.
 

The problem is not necessarily this individual.  She has every right to hold whatever opinion she wants and to express her political viewpoint in any legal manner available to her.  However, it strikes me as inappropriate that an individual whose public statements are in opposition to how a publicly funded charter school operates is appointed to advise on the siting of such school.

The problem, as I see it, is that it seems that our elected officials, who are responsible for appointing people to these advisory committees, seem to only know a handful of people who live in the neighborhood.

All eight advisory committee members for this committee will be appointed by four elected officials.  How many of those people will be Latinos (who comprise 54% of the neighborhood's population) or immigrants (50% of our neighbors are immigrants)?  How many of them will be parents of students who currently attend public schools?  How many of them will be educators who currently teach?  How many of them will be one of the growing number of urban planners and architects who live in our neighborhood?  How many of them will be people who physically live in the area where the new school will be sited?

Every time the same people keep getting appointed to these committees, we lose the opportunity to capitalize on the diversity of people and talent who live here.  We have immigrant neighbors who were professors of environmental sustainability in their native homelands.  We have young planners who know how to read transportation studies.  We have contractors who specialize in environmentally sustainable and healthy buildings who live in this neighborhood. We have bilingual parents who could more effectively bring those supposedly hard to reach parents to public meetings than either of the two appointed committee members.

If the city and BRA were really interested in a meaningful advisory process (and maybe they aren't), they could more effectively tap the organic talent that already exists in this neighborhood by actually opening up the process of applying to participate.

Instead of going to their friends and political contributors, how about asking for a list of people from all of the neighborhood groups.  And how about actually talking with those individuals to determine whether they have whatever skills are useful, but more importantly, the attitudes to work in a public process to support a public school that serves a population and neighborhood that deserves exactly the kind of support that the petition above opposes?

Think about what it would mean to East Boston's future if we could engage all of our residents, both long time residents and newcomers (domestic and foreign), in the decision-making processes in our neighborhood.  I think it would be awesome.

Dear Marty Walsh - I would like to vote for you

Dear Marty Walsh,

I admit that I did not expect you to be one of the top candidates in the preliminary.  This says more about me than about you.  I was clearly not paying as much attention as I thought.

You should know that, in the past, I have worked with John Connolly.  He provided urban sustainability projects that my urban studies students could work on.  He even came and spoke with my students about development issues.  I also found his office helpful in assisting some parent start to address longstanding issues at the local high school.  Going into the preliminary, I thought, regardless of who I supported on September 24, I would end up voting for him on November 5.

But shortly after the preliminary, I became increasingly skeptical about the friends Connolly keeps.  While he criticized you for the support you received from organized labor, he was receiving money from those who support a number of causes that I oppose and, in one case find offensive (e.g. Pioneer Institute, American Crossroads).

As I tried to make an informed decision about which candidate to support, I began to lean in your direction.  I was able to meet with you when you made time to speak to some of the Latinas of East Boston.  I was impressed when you appeared to be visibly upset by the stories told by one of our youth of high school counselors actively discouraging Latino students from pursuing a college education.  I was also impressed by the level of detailed knowledge around development issues, and the BRA in particular, that you showed. And people who I have a lot of respect for made compelling arguments in your favor.

However, I go into this election as an East Boston resident, more so than in any other election.  We are faced with potentially the most important change this neighborhood has seen since the airport dispossessed us of Wood Island Park in the 1960s.  I've never been a single issue voter, but this time, there is one issue that can make or break the quality of life in the neighborhood I have come to call home.

Just as decades of expansion of Logan Airport continues to negatively impact the quality of life in this neighborhood, the proposed casino at Suffolk Downs will no doubt have large repercussions for me and my neighbors.

You voted in favor of the casino bill when you were in the statehouse.  And you have publicly stated your support for a casino at Suffolk Downs. After much thought and research, I do not believe a casino in this (or any) dense, urban neighborhood is a good idea.

Some of my neighbors believe that the only thing that could save Suffolk Downs-the racetrack, after the failure of more than two decades of public subsidies and at least one bailout, is a casino.  You give every indication that you believe this as well.

But more importantly, if the residents of East Boston vote against the casino mitigation agreement, you have not publicly stated whether you would reopen host community agreement negotiations with Suffolk Downs if presented the opportunity.

Without that assurance, I cannot bring myself to vote for you. Given the available evidence, I've come to believe that a vote for you is a vote for a casino.  Without a public statement to the contrary, I will unfortunately not be able to support you at this time.

Thoughts on the political spectrum

Earlier this week, I was called by a political polling company to ask about my opinion about the candidates in the upcoming special election for the US Senate.  It's been years since I've been polled and my first thought is that it was interesting that they called my on my business cell phone rather than my personal cell phone.

Image source: https://www.arlingtonva.us/home/web/survey/page63192.aspx

I'm pretty sure that it was from Markey's people since the guy was a little too enthusiastic about my answers to the question about what I don't like about Gomez.  Nevertheless, as a social science researcher, it's always an interesting experience to be the subject rather than the investigator.

There was one question that really did get me to thinking, though.  It's a question that I've seen a million times in both real research surveys and political polls:  Would you describe yourself as liberal or conservative?  The scale is: very conservative, moderately conservative, neither conservative nor liberal, moderately liberal, and very liberal.

Let's leave aside the legitimate question about whether political preferences range on a single dimensional continuum.  I do not have any problem recognizing that I am liberal.  The question for me was whether I considered myself moderately liberal or very liberal.  My instinct was to say moderately liberal because I consider myself a reasonable person.  I see very liberal people as inflexible and dogmatic as those who are very conservative.

Image source: http://www.mix-pics.net/img/13848/i-think-i-am-right-and-you-are-wrong

In the 20 seconds it took for me to answer the question, a number of thoughts came into my head.  Prominent among them is that I'm pretty sure that someone who does not share my positions on a many social or economic issues would consider me very liberal.  I am sure that someone who I would label as very conservative sees themselves as reasonable as I see myself.

From a survey design perspective, this is a real issue with the validity of both the question and the scale.  How we would recognize "moderate" when we see it.  And would we recognize ourselves if/when we deviate from it?  This is a question for all of us, regardless of the labels we apply to ourselves.

Image source: http://frabz.com/2nza

Of course I had to answer the question and I reminded myself that he is asking about how I see myself, not how others view my positions.  Which gets to the most important lesson of the day: it's not worth overthinking a political polling question.

Challenge for the next mayor

Early this afternoon, I had an unpleasant interaction with a City of Boston Parking Enforcement officer.  To be honest, it was pretty horrible.  It started out almost funny when I was threatened with a ticket while I was still parked on the correct side of the street and then told that there would be "no one I could complain to." 

Image source: http://www.guystuffcounseling.com/counseling-men-blog/bid/22929/Married-to-an-Angry-Man-A-Wife-s-View-of-Her-Husband-s-Anger

 As a law and policy scholar, the claim is laughably absurd.  When the individual's aggressiveness escalated, I was on the phone with the Mayor's hotline immediately.  When I was told that the individual also resorted to using gender based epithets and racist comments, I became angry. All of this was reported to the Mayor's hotline, Facebook, and Twitter.  Thanks to a neighbor whose connections are more direct than mine, I was soon after contacted by someone who can do something about this and was promised that there will be follow up.  For that I am grateful, as is my blood pressure.

This is the kind of incident that really diminishes our quality of life.  It is the kind of incident that makes people wonder whether they want to live here or not.  I've lived in Boston for more than a decade and this is one aspect of the city that hasn't changed much.  Which gets me to the race for mayor.

Image source: http://bostinno.streetwise.co/2013/06/14/meet-the-12-confirmed-candidates-for-bostons-2013-mayoral-election/

Most of the candidates have focused their platforms around issues like education or community and economic development.  This makes sense.  The city has more control over these than other important issues that affect Boston residents and workers (like immigration or public transportation).  And they are really important issues.

Quality schools and sustainable development are the big issues that shape our city.  But our daily interactions with city workers shape our quality of life. This issue is what is missing from our discussions about the next mayor.  We've all had interactions or run-ins with police officers, school staff, planning department personnel, or ISD inspectors that were made unpleasant because of the bad attitude of the city worker or because of rules that make no sense.

To be clear, I believe most of the workers in our city are good people.  Some of them are trying to do their job with too few resources (a shout out to Graffiti Busters).  Some of them simply need better guidance or leadership.

But there seems to be something about working for the City of Boston that allows poor service and/or bad attitudes to go unchecked.  I've heard some complain that the problem is the union rules.  Or that people have been there too long.  Or the history of patronage hiring. 

Image source: http://tripleespressoshots.blogspot.com/2010_04_01_archive.html

 To be honest, I don't care what the problem is. I just want it changed. 

I want a system put in place that ensures that residents, no matter who they are, where they live, or what language they speak in their dreams, are treated with dignity and respect.  City rules and regulations need to be enforced.  But you don't have to be a jerk about it.  And you certainly shouldn't be a prejudiced ass in a city that is majority non-white.

It was that parking enforcement guy's bad luck to pick a fight with an over-educated person who isn't afraid to use social media and has neighbors willing to help.  But my brown skinned neighbor shouldn't be belittled by school staff for not speaking English very well.  And my low-educated white neighbor who doesn't know how to tweet about a twat making his life miserable shouldn't have to suffer this either. 

Image: "Digital Divide" from http://www.flickr.com/photos/schnaars/2586457836/

City workers should treat everyone in my neighborhood the same as the folks who live in the mayor's neighborhood, where ever that may be.

So, my challenge to the mayoral candidates and the next mayor: what are you going to do to ensure that our interactions with city workers and officials is constructive and respectful?  What are you going to do to prevent the kind of interaction I had today?

I was not afraid nor was I alone

I haven't written in a while.  Sorry.  I've been busy.  Got a job and everything.

But I felt that I needed to say something about the request to Boston area residents to shelter in place while police looked for the second person responsible for the Marathon bombings.  I want to make one thing very clear: 

I was not afraid for my own safety at all during the day.  I was anxious about the safety of my friends who live in Watertown.  I was concerned about my neighbors who may have needed food for their children (we've all waited until the last minute to go grocery shopping - so don't judge).  But never once was I afraid that someone was going to hurt me. 

I understand that some folks really were afraid.  Forgive me if I sound unsympathetic when I say, I am really sorry for that but I felt surrounded by friends and neighbors the whole day. 

Like the majority of my neighbors, I stayed in my home.  Mainly because I was glued to the computer but also because I didn't want to be that jerk who accidentally needed emergency services when they were needed elsewhere.  Never once during the day did I feel like I was alone.  I can thank social media for that.

My friends who live in Watertown regularly posted something to Facebook or Twitter.  I thank them for relieving our anxiety about their safety, which admittedly grew as the day went on.  

My friends and neighbors on Facebook and Twitter made regular updates, posted their thoughts, concerns, fears, and some LOLcat pictures.  There were conversations.  We kept each other in check.  We calmly but forcefully addressed the occasional burst of hate speech on our feeds.  Several neighbors started organizing a community Peace Potluck to be held once this was all over (and it was held the very next day).

I really do live in a wonderful neighborhood and city.  Even when we couldn't get together, we came together as one community.  Let us continue to be one community in real life.