Quick drop to weigh in on Charlottesville. Have received several notes voicing concern on the Boy heading there to go to school, and Betty said my mom, dedicated Fox News devotee that she is, called her freaking out about it.
While the deaths that happened today are alarming, have no fear for him. I don't recall everything I put in this space, and rarely go back cause I'd guess some of it is cringe worthy, but know that a detailing of the thought process that went into his going there was discussed. It came down to a coin flip between a school in Boston and UVA, and while UVA was a superior choice, Northeastern had some very appealing pros. Their work study year and that he had a few friends going to NE were big draws.
In my mind, and in much of the advice from the people he sought out in the process, the fact that UVA is located on the southern side of the Mason-Dixon line and Virginia is a swing state offers an opportunity to be part of the real discussion (and hopefully the real solution) as to what is dividing the country. That it would soon, like the next week, become ground zero in the fight for the soul of America was just happenstance.
I don't fear for his safety. Well maybe a little. But I truly hope he gets out there and lends his voice and presence to the right side of history. That he engages in discussions around the lunch table to share his experiences of living in a foreign culture, of knowing Muslims and people of color so as to lessen the demonization of the "other" and to encourage others by example to search out the good while looking for ways to narrow our divide.
My university years were spent living in Washington DC entirely under the Reagan administration, and while it was hardly as divisive a time as it is now, the lines were clear. We stood outside the South African embassy to protest apartheid and we debated long into the night/morning the merits of trickle down economics. We thought we were changing the world and maybe in some ways we did.
That Boy-o is walking into this space at this time in history is so fortuitous. Not to put too much pressure, but we're all counting on you.
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