Liberty, Justice and the Shmosaic Project
Let me just share a quickie with you before I launch into my latest diatribe. I'm dining with a friend last night in High Point, listening to Greensboro's own, talented Dorian Grey ( www.doriangrey.net ) , rocking out with favorite standard U2 medley when I see a somewhat familiar face. Interestingly enough this guy's name is Justice or Justus or something similarly spelled. Now what do you think the chances are that one should be in an establishment called Liberty and there is a patron named Justice? All I can say is Liberty and Justice for all... I wouldn't have been happier had I been in Fisher's and the Gordon's Fisherman had walked in, bedecked in his yellow slicker & hat, fresh from the Briney Deep! And Justus - however his name is spelled - is one of the nicest boys you could ever meet. Notice to all the lasses in The Furniture Capital: He's a catch.
In a departure from the ordinary, I'm going to tackle something a teensie bit serious. Yeah, you might want to sit down and/or fix yourself a drink - or leave now & don't complain when The Truth is finally revealed to you after the shit hits the fan somewhere on down the road...
Recent extensive research for a comparative study on the evolution on race relations in Greensboro (see I'm not just another smart-mouthed pretty face!) revealed yet another shocking misappropriation of time and money by the Leadership of Our Fair City. Yes, boys and girls, I am talking about the Mosaic Project ( www.ci.greensboro.nc.us/Mosaic/ ), intended to build trust between Greensboro's diverse population by pairing up members of different racial and ethnic groups. The program was apparently a great success in Rochester, NY where the Greater Rochester Diversity Council ( www.rochesterdiversitycouncil.com )instituted it in an effort to improve diversity in the workplace. Running the game in NY (and also GSO) is Idea Connections ( www.ideaconnections.com ) a promotional & marketing firm. Interestingly enough, when I called the Mayor's office and the GSO communications folks (which is where I was directed by the City) no one wanted to answer any of my seemingly inocuous & benign questions. So this is my story about Mosaic based on the info I was able to dig up without the help of city leaders:
Those participating in the pairing up are already leaders in the community - many of whom know each other in varying degrees. They are paired according to similar interests, including everything from sailing/yachting to volunteer activities (one of the participants was kind enough to give me a copy of the application stuff). Now I'm not going to enumerate the many questions I have regarding how pairing up people of different races but very similar socio-economic classes (how many folks in a lower economic group enjoy, or rather are able to enjoy, sailing, skiing and world travel?) is going to effectively impact race relations and the progressive mystique that seems to have gripped our city for a century, but I encourage you all to visit the websites above and draw your own conclusions. I suppose the effort is better than doing nothing but it seems to me that there are other ways to promote better race relations in the city. Could this money not be better spent on programs that would pair up folks who were from different racial AND socio-economic backgrounds? Or perhaps more could be done in our school system to promote acceptance of difference by educating about just how similar we all really are. And we seem to have forgotten that you gotta be color conscious to be color blind. It would be utter folly to argue that race and class do not converge and I just don't see this project doing much, short or long term, to address how this affects race relations in Our Fair City.
Now before anyone starts blacklisting me as a communist, socialist or other uber-reactive tree-hugging, Kumbaya singing, non-shaving lover of all things Phish and Birkenstock...know this, I'm a little right of center. I'm also a realist that embraces capitalism and responsible enterprise (I know, maybe a little contradictory...). It just pisses me off when our Intrepid Leaders market something such as this Mosaic deal as some sort of panacea to a problem that deserves a more realistic approach in working towards a solution. Seems like the people of Greensboro are being sold tickets to a big magic show...lots and lots of dramatic illusions. Okay, I'm shoving the soapbox back into the closet (dont' get so excited!!)
In Other News:
Props to TheShu for taking notice of my rants. Mosey on over and visit www.greensboroistalking.com for more Gate City Chatter. Shu I don't know who you are but perhaps I will run into you at the Courthouse sometime as I myself can often be found running for records - upstairs & down.
Speaking of legal matters...with the city's new focus on the crack problem (better late than never, I guess) I have a comment (shocking, right?) To all you automobile owning crack heads out there: Stop letting the dealers "borrow" your car in exchange for crack. Are you really surprised when they don't bring it back? Do you really think your little habit isn't going to be found out when you report said vehicle as being stolen? You are clogging up the court system with your crazy antics. Step away from the pipe and if you can't find employment, go volunteer somewhere and keep thyself out of trouble. No offense to the jailhouse cafeteria, but the food ain't good enough to merit checking in as a guest of the county and the friends you make on the inside aren't the kind that will encourage you to make wise choices. About the only productive thing you might do if incarcerated long enough is get your diploma...and you know what the Wizard told the Scarecrow, "I can't give you a brain, but I can give you a diploma." And as my friend Paul would say to The Mean Philippine: "Crack Kills!"
Well, I'm off to start my Christmas shopping...instead of a little self-flagellation with the cat-o-9 this week, I think I'm going to hit the Toys-R-Us...seems comparable, don't you think?
In a departure from the ordinary, I'm going to tackle something a teensie bit serious. Yeah, you might want to sit down and/or fix yourself a drink - or leave now & don't complain when The Truth is finally revealed to you after the shit hits the fan somewhere on down the road...
Recent extensive research for a comparative study on the evolution on race relations in Greensboro (see I'm not just another smart-mouthed pretty face!) revealed yet another shocking misappropriation of time and money by the Leadership of Our Fair City. Yes, boys and girls, I am talking about the Mosaic Project ( www.ci.greensboro.nc.us/Mosaic/ ), intended to build trust between Greensboro's diverse population by pairing up members of different racial and ethnic groups. The program was apparently a great success in Rochester, NY where the Greater Rochester Diversity Council ( www.rochesterdiversitycouncil.com )instituted it in an effort to improve diversity in the workplace. Running the game in NY (and also GSO) is Idea Connections ( www.ideaconnections.com ) a promotional & marketing firm. Interestingly enough, when I called the Mayor's office and the GSO communications folks (which is where I was directed by the City) no one wanted to answer any of my seemingly inocuous & benign questions. So this is my story about Mosaic based on the info I was able to dig up without the help of city leaders:
Those participating in the pairing up are already leaders in the community - many of whom know each other in varying degrees. They are paired according to similar interests, including everything from sailing/yachting to volunteer activities (one of the participants was kind enough to give me a copy of the application stuff). Now I'm not going to enumerate the many questions I have regarding how pairing up people of different races but very similar socio-economic classes (how many folks in a lower economic group enjoy, or rather are able to enjoy, sailing, skiing and world travel?) is going to effectively impact race relations and the progressive mystique that seems to have gripped our city for a century, but I encourage you all to visit the websites above and draw your own conclusions. I suppose the effort is better than doing nothing but it seems to me that there are other ways to promote better race relations in the city. Could this money not be better spent on programs that would pair up folks who were from different racial AND socio-economic backgrounds? Or perhaps more could be done in our school system to promote acceptance of difference by educating about just how similar we all really are. And we seem to have forgotten that you gotta be color conscious to be color blind. It would be utter folly to argue that race and class do not converge and I just don't see this project doing much, short or long term, to address how this affects race relations in Our Fair City.
Now before anyone starts blacklisting me as a communist, socialist or other uber-reactive tree-hugging, Kumbaya singing, non-shaving lover of all things Phish and Birkenstock...know this, I'm a little right of center. I'm also a realist that embraces capitalism and responsible enterprise (I know, maybe a little contradictory...). It just pisses me off when our Intrepid Leaders market something such as this Mosaic deal as some sort of panacea to a problem that deserves a more realistic approach in working towards a solution. Seems like the people of Greensboro are being sold tickets to a big magic show...lots and lots of dramatic illusions. Okay, I'm shoving the soapbox back into the closet (dont' get so excited!!)
In Other News:
Props to TheShu for taking notice of my rants. Mosey on over and visit www.greensboroistalking.com for more Gate City Chatter. Shu I don't know who you are but perhaps I will run into you at the Courthouse sometime as I myself can often be found running for records - upstairs & down.
Speaking of legal matters...with the city's new focus on the crack problem (better late than never, I guess) I have a comment (shocking, right?) To all you automobile owning crack heads out there: Stop letting the dealers "borrow" your car in exchange for crack. Are you really surprised when they don't bring it back? Do you really think your little habit isn't going to be found out when you report said vehicle as being stolen? You are clogging up the court system with your crazy antics. Step away from the pipe and if you can't find employment, go volunteer somewhere and keep thyself out of trouble. No offense to the jailhouse cafeteria, but the food ain't good enough to merit checking in as a guest of the county and the friends you make on the inside aren't the kind that will encourage you to make wise choices. About the only productive thing you might do if incarcerated long enough is get your diploma...and you know what the Wizard told the Scarecrow, "I can't give you a brain, but I can give you a diploma." And as my friend Paul would say to The Mean Philippine: "Crack Kills!"
Well, I'm off to start my Christmas shopping...instead of a little self-flagellation with the cat-o-9 this week, I think I'm going to hit the Toys-R-Us...seems comparable, don't you think?
posted by Finzean @ 8:02 AM
2 Comments:
At December 19, 2004 8:16 AM,
Billy Jones said…
Great post! Lots of deep thoughts... A lot of us have been thinking the same things. Why not pair some rich white dude with a poor black dude who grew up in the projects or a rich black dude with some poor immigrant? Or a ...... you get the picture. Could it be that at the top the only color they see is green, or the lack thereof?
At December 19, 2004 9:38 AM,
Darkmoon said…
This will happen, just not this year. Read the MOSAIC site. And no, I don't work for the city, I have no clue where this program is going. Being that this is the "test phase" year, that's why there is more constraints on who is paired up and how it is done. I agree, if this doesn't do flip-side socio-economics, then it's a useless program. But you need to wait and see if it even can cross the race relations (whether or not it's the same socio-economic background) before you move further. Baby steps, baby steps.
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