So as you might see on Scott's blog I vented a bit of my confusion at the intentional community, new monasticism, or whatever you want to call it movement. I've had some time to think about it, and I still don't know how to phrase it in an articulate way, but I'll try...
- Why is it that moving into the ghetto seems to be in vogue? Have we given up on reaching people anywhere else? I fully feel that God sides with the poor, however I think there's a bit of glory seeking involved as well. It's sexy to say you live in the ghetto and get shot at on your way to the grocery store. I catch myself doing it all the time, so I should know. But poverty is not necessarily a badge of honor to those who have always been poor.

- If you are moving into the ghetto, are you really just a Christian gentrifier? Are you bringing the gospel packed in the form of white suburban culture? It's pretty hard not to do that, since so many aspects of our worldviews are conditioned and deep below the surface.

-Counterpoint: A friend did mention to me that many of us have forgotten how to have community, so some intentionality is needed to get us back on track. I see the point here and will need to explore the idea more fully.

So maybe those are my issues, in ugly blunt form.

Portland's Homeless:What About Us?

First off, I think that the WW has done a good job here of recognizing the issue at hand. The paper definately hasn't scored points with their representation of the homeless community in the past.

Second, I think a real issue is brought to light here. In times of crisis we are moved to help others. Constant media saturation and images of suffering far away tug at our consciences. However, we manage to ignore the problems that are all around us, every day.

Many of us dug deep to help the victims of Katrina. Why are those harmed by a natural disaster more "deserving" of our sympathy? Is it right to try to evaluate someone's level of need and their right to receive help? I wonder if we only feel like we should help when we feel the overwhelming wave of public reaction. It's a crowd mentality.

Ok I had to put word verification to post comments because I keep getting comment spam. I can't think of anything more offensive, I mean do the companies that do this hold anything sacred? Is it just me or is advertising in general getting much more aggressive? I think that on average I get around 10-15 telemarketer calls per day, and I'm only home after 5pm...go figure that one.

When terrible things happen, we often feel powerless and search for any opportunity we can find to restore control to our own hands. Events like hurricanes happen so far away, and we watch and hear about pain and suffering and grow angry on our sofas and behind our keyboards. We want to find people to blame, people to oppress. We need objects for our anger at the fact that we have no control over the amount of suffering in the world. The bell does toll for us, and we feel the pain. However, we have become so fearful of pain that instead of weeping with those who weep, we look for others to wound.

What is the point of all of this? I don't want to echo more left-wing sentiment on Katrina. I don't want to blame the government for their slow reaction. I don't want to cry racism. Yet I know that these things are true. Racism created the conditions that the poor in New Orleans lived in. Racism created their prisons, and when the waters rose racism prevented their escape. Yet I do not recognize these things. I accept them and even promote them. I more than willingly support institutionalized racism by my action, by my inaction, by my attitudes. They are so ingrained into my consciousness that I must concentrate deeply to recongnize them.

When I walk through my neighborhood at night, I am wisely aware of my surroundings. The crime rates in my neighborhood necessitate at least some awareness on my part. However, picture the scenario: I am walking around a dimly lit corner and I spot a group of young men hanging out on the sidewalk in front of me. If they are young black men, my level of awareness will raise even higher. If they are young white men, I will probably maintain the same level of awareness. I would love for this not to be the case, but it is. I can think of many more examples and so can you.

So I cannot deny that racism is alive and well and I am one of the culprits. There is a stain on me that I choose to ignore, most of the time.

It has been an amazing couple of weeks...so much to write about and so little time. I took a trip up to Vancouver, BC over labor day weekend to attend the Pearl Jam concert and was able to bring a good friend along. This friend is a huge fan of the band and ha never before seen them live, so the trip was a very cool experience. Some observations:

- Pearl Jam has been around for a long time. They played songs off of their first album, Ten, that brought me back to the early years of high school in many ways. Then I stopped to think and realized that these songs came out about 14 years ago. So basically this was a "classic rock" show!
- Sharing in someone else's joy is an amazing thing.
- Vancouver BC is a beautiful city. It is also filled with more human suffering in the space of a few blocks than one could fathom or imagine. The Hastings Street area is unbelievable, like something you would see in a movie but would not believe could exist in the Western world. It is a visceral statement on just how "modern" we really are, and just how well our "systems" work. I regret that I could not spend more time there, and gotten to see some of the beauty among the wreckage.

I am going to resist the urge to post on the hot topics of the day (hurricane) for now, perhaps if I can think of something to say that has not been repeated many times I will do so. Needless to say the anger still boils, the extent of our brokenness gets exposed in the midday sun. All is not well and we can isolate ourselves no longer.