Today, on the birthday of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., I reflect on his call for us all to stand in the other person's shoes, to see the world in their eyes, to feel their pain.
This reminds me of a nasty screed against the Atlanta BeltLine project (and other transit projects to be funded by the proposed Transportation Investment Act sales tax) predicated on the unsubstantiated grounds that the developers are oppressing black people with it. I recently entered into a short online exchange with a defender of the article but found no desire on his part to enter into a dialog with me, even to temporarily dispense with the use of emotionally-charged hyperbole such as "Jim Crow" and "white supremacist."
I was to uncritically accept his, and the article's, viewpoint, else we had nothing else useful to say to each other. It frustrates and saddens me, to be unable to bridge our differences on this, a most important development for the City of Atlanta and for the region.
King's advice helps me to understand this. I have no doubts that the BeltLine should be built. Still, I am open to the possibility of inequities in the way that the project expenditures are being distributed, and to seek remedies for those inequities.
Many underprivileged people have depended on MARTA as their sole form of transportation and have a hard time accepting the long-term promises of the BeltLine and the expenditures it now requires.
They have suffered disproportionately from MARTA's recent fare increases and cuts in bus services. It's hard to explain how an expanded transit system serving a broader constituency of patrons benefits everyone, while they are currently struggling to find affordable transportation to their jobs, schools, and so on.
It may not be Jim Crow or the work of white supremacists, but it hurts nonetheless.
- As always, thank you for reading and stay in touch!
