Monday, March 27, 2017

just donated around...

25.00 to E4Flatbush dinner on Thursday, But I will probably not attend. Why? Too many other choices. I still think the best choice is Bronx Doc Center, where the writers of the articles about the 40th precinct that the Times wrote last winter. and the changes that they brought about, will be discussed. Still there is a Shakespeare trivia game at the Clemente Center (where I worked two summers at the Fringe) and the dinner. Options, options, options, pretty good, cityboy. But what of the weekend/
Saturday evening, saw The Terrifying at Abrons Arts, a major disappointment. I found it totally without any meaningful content, far away from the tremendous visceral excitement that I experienced the night before at Frontiers Sans Frontiers, Nothing much else to say--yes, tremendous technical dexterity, but so what? Luckily, Abrons is close to La Flaca, so went in afterwards, watched much of the Oregon-Kansas game and had a good chat with bartender Tom, about theater and what it is.Left feeling very fulfilled.
Yesterday, followed the plan, and ended up at 2 at Morris Avenue, near Fordham Road in the Bronx, for my journey into the Bronx Anti-gentrification movement. Morris Avenue, itself, fascinated me---across the street from Fierce---the venue where the meeting was held, all those art deco apartment houses---yes, they still bring back memories and a kind of hunger for my childhood past. Maybe at some point this spring, will actually take a long walk down Morris, from Fordham, as far south as I can go---maybe as far as 161 street. The group itself was mixed, they are just starting out---I came with no real idea of how I wanted to participate, really more to share information. About a quarter of the way through, one of the participants, a latina, made very strong anti-white sentiments, picking on a young man (white) who was living in Spanish Harlem now and accusing him of being a gentrifyer. This was stopped by the gentleman at whose venue we were having the meeting, but the content changed---it was now what was the role of white people going to be in the group. Very different from BAN, where all are welcome, if they contribute. For the first time, I felt assaulted by the rhetoric, have never experienced that before, and although I did contribute, held back a little, feeling under siege. This is a group that is just starting out and they are trying to craft their own identity---certainly the Bronx is mostly latino and black, and it is that group that would be brutalized the most by what they feel is the coming encroachment of their land. So it is understandable that they would want people of color to lead. Still, my feeling is that I won't contribute further---I don't know if I really have the time to do so anyway---and let the group take the shape that it wants. Certainly this is different from BAN which encourages participation from all, and by doing this, also encourages its members to donate to the causes (bail for wrongly accused arrestees, lawyers for displaced people)  that it sponsors. It took me a long time to process what happened, not unhappy that I went, my friend from FUREE  Michael was there, so it was good to have his support. Will see how this develops.
   Amazingly enough, that was not the end of my day---did want to make a trip to South Fourth, I had missed several Sundays--and so, after coming back to the apartment from the Bronx, putting on a much warmer coat, I embarked for Williamsburg.  Sadly, Olivia, the bartender whom I like very much, was not there---still I stayed for a while and spoke to her replacement---sat around and listened to the comics (Sunday there is comic night) and left feeling rather good.
  Rest of the day, not sure---second week of my break---beginning to establish a pace that is different from when I am working---this will continue for the next week, I guess, and I will report on it soon.


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