Yet another Memorial Day weekend; avenues closed to traffic; parking not allowed, some businesses even shutting down their operations all together; restaurants and hotel owners bracing for the longest three days of the year. Hopefully the city managed to stay one step ahead this time; Miami Beach looks like one of those Latin American capitals after a coup d'etat. At the end of the Julia Turtle causeway, east bound, a scanner registers all license plates; the result: less "visitors", I mean that kind of visitors we all fear, and the possibility of this catharsis of booze, weed, littering, dining and dashing -not to mention the destruction of private property- moving to a friendlier venue within the next few years.
But even if they choose another place for their partying/rioting, a larger problem remains: how come the most powerful nation on earth allows such a large segment of its populace to stray from its values?; why so many Americans no longer celebrate they way Americans are supposed to celebrate?; why more and more people feel they are not part of the American dream, that very dream in search of which I came here and started from scratch for the fourth time in my life?. The demographics: blacks ( the overwhelming majority), some whites (those we disdainfully call white trash), and a few Hispanics; some come to have a good time without necessarily causing trouble, unfortunately a small minority. The more people feel disfranchised the weaker this great nation becomes and no amount of policing and plate scanning can change things.
An allarming symptom is the amount of violence shown; we all understand a brawl as a result of one too many drink, a furtively puffed joint in a dark alley, and the "freedom" of being in someone else's town. The tearing of curtains, the physical removal of AC vents, the smashing of furniture; however, denotes deeply rooted self hatred and eventually a distinct proneness to self destruction.
We can no longer look the other way and label them as trash or underclass. Something needs to be done in our communities, our cities and counties all over the country so that this threatening gap is bridged, otherwise our nation may implode
But even if they choose another place for their partying/rioting, a larger problem remains: how come the most powerful nation on earth allows such a large segment of its populace to stray from its values?; why so many Americans no longer celebrate they way Americans are supposed to celebrate?; why more and more people feel they are not part of the American dream, that very dream in search of which I came here and started from scratch for the fourth time in my life?. The demographics: blacks ( the overwhelming majority), some whites (those we disdainfully call white trash), and a few Hispanics; some come to have a good time without necessarily causing trouble, unfortunately a small minority. The more people feel disfranchised the weaker this great nation becomes and no amount of policing and plate scanning can change things.
An allarming symptom is the amount of violence shown; we all understand a brawl as a result of one too many drink, a furtively puffed joint in a dark alley, and the "freedom" of being in someone else's town. The tearing of curtains, the physical removal of AC vents, the smashing of furniture; however, denotes deeply rooted self hatred and eventually a distinct proneness to self destruction.
We can no longer look the other way and label them as trash or underclass. Something needs to be done in our communities, our cities and counties all over the country so that this threatening gap is bridged, otherwise our nation may implode
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