November 4, 2016
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Looking Tired
This is my last day in Charlotte. It has been educational and interesting. I have the following observations on this city:
1. There are lots of homeless people here. I can imagine it has something to do with the weather. Here it is the first week of November and it was 85 degrees today.
2. There is a tension in the air. On our second night there was a "Black Lives Matter" demonstration that seemed to turn violent. The police were in force and the protesters scattered. Three of us were walking back to the hotel and were yelled at and called some vulgar names - just because we were Caucasian.
3. This city is all about food. I have never seen a downtown with as many and varied restaurants. Then again I haven't been to New York City.
4. The conference had more security than even the Anaheim meeting where there were animal rights protesters. Granted they were very discreet. I must have counted 8 in the main hall and one at every door. The bathroom attendants were in twos - one of which was armed. Yeah. If you didn't look closely you wouldn't notice.
5. Not surprisingly I didn't see much of the people from work. I was basically on my own every day. I'm good with that.The hotel bed was comfortable and the pillows were delicious (I didn't eat one). Even so I will be very happy to be home.
Comments (8)
The name calling is sad. So many are willing to believe things that aren't true about other groups of people. In warmer climates there are more pan handlers because you can stay almost anywhere if it's warm.
Glad you had a good time and glad you are safely home.
I am glad to be home for certain and sure! If I had walked up to a group of strangers and started shouting the equivalent at them I would be labeled racist in a heart beat.... Strange and frightening times.
1) I think you're right about the homeless -- I can't imagine a place without lots of them!
2) The tension is of major concern -- I think it's all a part of the run-up (over the last year and a half) to the election, but it's not the country I know. Is it worse in the Southeast? Perhaps.
4) That's interesting about security -- perhaps related to #2. I don't like the idea or armed bathroom attendants!5) Since the point of sending several people to a conference is so they can attend different sessions and share later at home, it sounds good that you were on your own.
I'm glad you had a good bed -- but I'm sure it will be good to be home!
We saw something similar in AZ on some of our travels - I suppose the warm weather does make being homeless a little less difficult. We have very few homeless sleeping on the streets once the temperature begins to drop... I believe the bathroom attendants were unarmed but the undercover security were wearing the attendants' uniforms. The tension was there but not everywhere. I met some very friendly and helpful local folks. As for being on my own - it wasn't so much that we were in different areas learning things but that they would get together for lunch and not invite me to join them - which actually worked out in my favor.
@murisopsis: One of the fun parts of conferences is the ability to network with new people!
Absolutely! I met some great people and networked like a pro - I have lots of things lined up for my CE next year...
After reading Barack Obama's book, I have a better understanding of racism. I had never imagined what life as a black person was like because I just assumed that everyone was like I am and treated people of all color, culture, religion with respect. Sadly, it's not the case.
We have a lot of homeless people, many teens, in our area and I come into contact with them at work and on the streets. Some are a little off but most of them are on the street for a variety of reasons not actually related to mental illness. I haven't found many to be threatening but they are frequently opportunistic. Perhaps the homeless in bigger cities need to be more aggressive.
There are many assumptions that are made from all points of view. The diversity training was interesting as I never really thought about "micro-aggression". It is a very complicated topic. I think we all need to remember that we will never be able to truly understand completely another person's experience. We are all on separate journeys and see all of life's experiences through our individual lenses. There is a big kerfuffle concerning what to do about the tent city under the Main Street bridge. There are rooms available at the fairly posh homeless shelter but the people under the bridge don't want to go there because they couldn't drink or do the drugs... No easy solution.
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