I'm sure everyone has heard about the "homeless hotspots" at South by Southwest this week. It's gotten play on innumerable blogs, on Twitter, and even on the Daily Show. At first I sort of shrugged it off: if people want to dehumanize themselves for some money, is it my business? I'm not offended by porn or prostitution (legalize it!), why should I be offended by this?
And I'm not. While I think it would have been better for BBH Labs (the creator of this idea) to generate positive publicity, I also don't think they've committed some terrible crime against humanity. SXSW has become a ridiculous event filled to the brim with tech-obsessed yuppies. I haven't seen any news of the event bringing attention to the issue of homelessness in any other way. While I in no way believe we should see the homeless as hotspots rather than, oh I don't know, humans?, I also don't think attendees of SXSW don't know a human being when they see one. Hopefully they are being courteous and chatty, maybe tipping their hotspot a couple extra dollars for his or her troubles.
After all, these men and women are not being paid a lot. They're making $20/day to stand in the sun so that men and women (presumably with homes) can access their twitter feeds. Maybe BBH should have added a little something to the t-shirts aside from "I'm so-and-so, a 4G hotspot" - maybe something about an organization that works with homeless communities dealing with mental health or addiction issues. They didn't, and that sucks, but I still don't think the whole thing was an affront to our collective humanity.
Friday, March 16, 2012
Monday, March 12, 2012
Tanya McDowell and the price of public schooling
I realize this title is nearly identical to a previous title. Bear with me, I clearly possess no creativity of any kind.
In April of last year, Tanya McDowell of Connecticut made headlines because she lied about her address in order to get her son into a better public school district. She lied because she is homeless. Last week, she was sentenced to five years in prison and will pay no more than $6,200 to the Norwalk, CT school system for her son's "stolen" education.
This is a difficult issue, and it has been from the time it first made headlines to the present, now that McDowell's verdict is in. While I don't necessarily approve of people lying in order to get ahead, I do approve of parents who ferociously advocate for their children. Ms. McDowell wanted her son to go to a better school than the one in her town, and she found a way (by telling a lie) to do it. Can we all do this? No. If we did this in the Boston area, Brookline and Newton would be overrun. But should we all have to go to jail if we did? I don't think so.
Of course, the press has not been able to separate the issue of the lie from the fact that she is/has been a drug dealer. She was caught selling narcotics to undercover officers, for which she will also serve time. I don't see the connection between these two: why she was dealing drugs is irrelevant to her decisions regarding her son.
What it comes down to for me is this: public school is public. It is free for all through our taxes, and we need to work harder in our communities to make our schools decent. While I understand that what Ms. McDowell did was wrong, I can't say that I blame her. We all want better for our children, and I can't condemn anyone who will work so hard and risk so much for hers.
In April of last year, Tanya McDowell of Connecticut made headlines because she lied about her address in order to get her son into a better public school district. She lied because she is homeless. Last week, she was sentenced to five years in prison and will pay no more than $6,200 to the Norwalk, CT school system for her son's "stolen" education.
This is a difficult issue, and it has been from the time it first made headlines to the present, now that McDowell's verdict is in. While I don't necessarily approve of people lying in order to get ahead, I do approve of parents who ferociously advocate for their children. Ms. McDowell wanted her son to go to a better school than the one in her town, and she found a way (by telling a lie) to do it. Can we all do this? No. If we did this in the Boston area, Brookline and Newton would be overrun. But should we all have to go to jail if we did? I don't think so.
Of course, the press has not been able to separate the issue of the lie from the fact that she is/has been a drug dealer. She was caught selling narcotics to undercover officers, for which she will also serve time. I don't see the connection between these two: why she was dealing drugs is irrelevant to her decisions regarding her son.
What it comes down to for me is this: public school is public. It is free for all through our taxes, and we need to work harder in our communities to make our schools decent. While I understand that what Ms. McDowell did was wrong, I can't say that I blame her. We all want better for our children, and I can't condemn anyone who will work so hard and risk so much for hers.
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