Broken Spirited in Baltimore

About four years ago after the first Freddie Gray trial, I wrote about being brokenhearted in Baltimore. My home since I came here for college except for a two-year stint with the UN in Bangladesh has been in the news multiple times over the last few months.And not in a good way.

The latest swarm of news locust comes in the form of an verbal attack by 45 on Congressman Elijah Cummings who happens to be my representative. I have voted for him several times.

Not surprisingly, the reaction of this latest incident has the deja vu feel of the scene in Dr. Strange with the infinite time loop -- though in our case there's little hope at the moment of resolution -- with "conservatives" cheering and "liberals" protesting. I often wonder if those labels even have meaning anymore.

When I first arrived in Baltimore, I was struck by its residents' earnestness and sincerity. During my first Orioles game, one of the food vendors kept calling me "hon" -- a term of endearment nearly impossible to explain to anyone outside Baltimore. When I asked her why, she simply replied: "I call everyone 'hon'...do you prefer sweetie?" It's an earnestness and sincerity that may have faded over time, reflected in the lost neighborhood ballpark feel of Memorial Stadium as compared to the corporate feel of Camden Yards.

At the time I wrote my previous blog post, I was not aware that what I described as two Baltimores has been characterized and analyzed as the "White L and the Black Butterfly" by Professor Lawrence Brown at Morgan State University.

I think a lot of about earnestness and sincerity when it comes to Baltimore.

I've heard several conversations about whether what happened after the first Freddie Gray related trial were riots or demonstrations or uprisings. I wonder if the people in West and East Baltimore who were most affected really care about what label is used?

While our precious news cycles are being consumed by "debates" about whether this latest attack is racist, I also note the surge of social media traffic, some of which comes from my friends and colleagues.

I feel...anxious about this blog post. Because I worry those friends and colleagues will be offended. Yet I'm encouraged by two recent conversations, one with my longtime friend since being roommates at Hopkins and another more recent friend who also went to Hopkins. Both of them said that if we want change, we have to agitate people.

So I hope that my words do indeed agitate, in the sense of moving people into action. I am trying to generate light, not heat, with this simple message: Your social media outrage or commentary is not enough.In my previous post about being brokenhearted in Baltimore, I mentioned Ursula K. Leguin's "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" as a haunting, revealing story about inaction. If you want a more recent narrative, consider reading the "The 9.9 Percent is the New American Aristocracy" which ends with the following paragraph: "It's going to take something from each of us, too, and perhaps especially from those who happen to be momentary winners of this cycle in the game. We need to peel our eyes away from the mirror of our own success and think about what we can do in our everyday lives for the people who aren't our neighbors. We should be fighting for opportunities for other people's children as if the future of our own children depended on it. It probably does."At the risk of adding more to the academic debate about how to label the post-Freddie Gray actions, I will add another label: a warning. I distinctly remember that evening when I left a work event downtown and raced back to Charles Village, driving at 50mph most of the way and running every red light. I saw several police cars that were driving much, much faster. I can still hear the anxiety in my girlfriend's voice (who was away from home) as I told her that I will make sure the people, dogs, cats, and homes we care about would remain safe. When she said: "But I want you to be safe too..." all I could muster in response was: "I will be ok." But I kept wondering if I would be ok. I haven't felt that anxious since I worked for the UN in Bangladesh when the government was overthrown.

I thought I saw fires at several times with a sense of disbelief, only to realize later that multiple businesses that I had visited were indeed set ablaze or destroyed. The next morning, I could see smoke rising from various points throughout the city.

The ashes from those fires have not yet been cleared away and the embers are still smoldering.

We can debate which politician is a paragon or a pariah, realizing that most are somewhere in between. Perhaps what we can agree with is almost every politician at the local, state, and federal level has failed Baltimore in some way or another. Of course we should expect more of our politicians, even the ones we admire and defend against such attacks. And it is actually a reasonable question to ask why they have not done more for Baltimore.

But an even more reasonable question to ask: What are we doing for Baltimore. What am I doing for Baltimore?

Many of the social media posts come from residents of Baltimore. Choosing to live in the city, paying city taxes and sales taxes, supporting local businesses and other financial expenditures are important actions.

But if you are moved by the suffering in Baltimore, then please move into action in other ways too.

On the financial front, consider taking loans from local banks for your homes and cars. Please consider making donations to local organizations and charities. Some of my favorite choices include the Maryland Food Bank, Manna House, House of Ruth Maryland, Baltimore Child Abuse Center, Great Kids Farm, Health Care for the Homeless,  Meals on Wheels, Village Learning Place, and the Charles Village Civic Association. If you donate furniture to Habitat for Humanity, consider driving through Sandtown to deliver it. It will give you some perspective.There are many other worthy causes and organizations. Investigating them is a useful task unto itself. Charity Navigator is a helpful resource.

If you use Amazon, start by using the smile.amazon.com site and choose a charity. Every purchase will generate donations for your chosen charity. I chose Manna House.

Volunteer.

Time is more than just money. It's an affirmation that you believe in a cause or mission or service. Some of the most meaningful experiences of my life came from volunteering for the People's Homesteading Group, Meals on Wheels, Manna House or during days of service. When I was an undergraduate student, after a group of us finished working on a house through the People's Homesteading Group, the owner of the house ran out to give us cookies. He said his wife baked them for us. He then added: "We never knew there were good kids at John Hopkins."

That statement -- that connection -- is simultaneously sobering and inspiring.

If you are involved in libraries or information technology or city government, please consider attending or presenting at the Baltimore Washington Open Source. The InnerSource Commons Event portion of this meeting is of particular relevance. Led by another alumnus from Johns Hopkins, this event represent a concerted movement to introduce open-source software and organizations to Baltimore. The Innersource Commons has already agreed to base its headquarters in Baltimore. There are discussions to use an open-source municipal platform developed in Paris for the city of Baltimore. I'm also working on a proposal to bring another information technology related conference to Baltimore in 2021.There are no doubt other ways to move into action. Do something. Anything. Don't just talk about it. One of my favorite quotes about moving into action comes from a Hopi Elder who said the following at 1999 summer solstice event: "There is a river flowing now, very fast. It is so great and swift that there are those who will be afraid. They will try to hold on to the shore. They will feel they are being torn apart and suffer greatly. Know that the river has its destination. The elders say we must push off into the middle of the river, keep our eyes open and our heads above the water. See who is there with you and celebrate. At this time in history, we take nothing personally, least of ourselves, for the moment we do that, our spiritual growth comes to a halt. The time of the lone wolf is over. Gather yourselves; banish the word 'struggle' from your attitude and vocabulary. All that we do now must be done in a sacred way and in celebration. We are the ones we've been waiting for. Now, go to your mat and push off from the shore."We are the ones we've been waiting for. We need to move into action. Now.