Last Wednesday and/or Thursday, between the hours of 17:00 and 8:30, my bicycle was stolen off of the rack outside of the entrance to Atchison Hall
Raleigh Avenir
Aka David’s Baby
December 25th, 2010 – July 18th, 2013
Boloved Mode of Transit, Recreation, Horror of Pedestrians and Savior of the Environment.
She/He/It saw many leagues [not miles, LEAGUES!! So many Leagues!] And Lived a free, motile life.
I can only wish I had your remains to honor you properly.
Rest in Peace
Anyway, now that my mourning’s over, the perplexities.
This incident at first shook my trust and confidence in Detroit as a city. This may not be a fair judgement, but it was a real emotion I felt. How could I allow myself to succumb to this emotion, though, when the impending renaissance of Detroit depends first on an intellectual, thought, and reputational renaissance within the people committed to Detroit?
The second perplexity concerning this theft was the role of surveillance. From a civil liberties perspective, I support the adamant restriction of surveillance networking in public. Surveillance cannot stop all crime, and is thus a paranoid, reactive safety measure that mostly serves to violate our freedoms, privacy, and due process. However, now that a crime had been perpetrated against me, in the moments when it first happened and whilst I was filing the police report with Officer Lewis of WSPD, a twinging desire for the perp to be caught on CCTV footage struggling to reach my pedals because of my high seat or something. In other words, the scary part of this desire was that for a brief moment, my principles stood until it was convenient for me. This cannot be an acceptable way of thinking, especially when I want to change the world, and that change hinges upon the consistency of that which I stand for. I’m still glad there wasn’t a surveillance cam present.
Lastly, this deliberate trespass upon my personal assets, mobility, and recreational enjoyment has, to my perspective, further justified my career choice of Education Reform. Quality education has countless side effects that are way underestimated and overlooked by policymakers and the mainstream alike; side effects that include: increased community participation and volunteerism, poverty alleviation, economic stimulation, reduction in teen pregnancy, improved public and individual health, natural (nonviolent) stabilization and reduction of overpopulation, increased plurality of voices in democracy, and reduction of crime, just to name a few. That reduction in crime effect mainly stems from 3 lessons that a wholesome education imparts (and defining ‘a wholesome education’ is tricky and a subject of hot debate):
1] Pride in community
2] Empathy and reciprocal trust in other human beings, in many ways simply due to the fact that a good education forces one to interact, cooperate with, and learn alongside other humans.
3] Risk aversion: Weighing consequences before acting.
And aside from those personal lessons imparted, the effects of a bad or absent education upon future socioeconomic status and wage earning creates a more dependent state of existence for the unmatriculated individual, which motivates crime as an option for economic survival. I’m not simply labeling my perp as uneducated, but more than likely, the motivations result from failed economic and social policy which includes educational quality and attainment. The system more than likely failed him or her.
One last perplexity: in saying that ‘The system more than likely failed him or her’, that may very well be aimed at Detroit Public Schools, if he or she went there, which means I may be criticizing the very institution I’m working for.It stands to reason that Public institutions must be open to the criticisms of the public. Not just me, an outsider, but especially parents and community members. And not just vague criticisms, but specific, constructive ones. Such is how Public Institutions become aware of their failures. It is also ironic that DPS, a district with so many flaws, would become greatly improved if students and panerts came back into the district, thus entitling them more count-day funds. This for them, though, may be seen as a leap of faith. Hopefully DPS impending marketing campaign can help parents realize that DPS still outperforms charters.
I don’t know much else to say about it but that I’m taking my bike inside at night from now on; it’s a real world out there.
