#1 Mar 15
Do I really like living in Memphis, a city which is nationally ranked #2 as the most dangerous? I definitely do not mind it (the city, I do mind the crime) but I even more so would not be opposed to leaving it. I am however so weary of hearing the grumblings about the crime and about the politics and about all the hellish (truly) activity that goes on in Memphis. I am beginning to formulate my opinion of why Memphis is the way that it is and I do not think it is ultimately because of its corrupt leaders...I will share more on what I think it is in another post. Because I live in the city of Memphis and I have no desire to live farther east, I do feel like I can say that the people of Memphis, including myself, need to stop grumbling and start doing something.
All that to say, as I was driving down Walnut Grove through Shelby Farms this past week, I saw something that triggered the thought of: "See, Memphis is not all that bad..." There was a dog laying in the middle of the road, obviously very hurt. One man was bending over the dog patting it and about 2-3 other cars stopped, people getting out of their cars in effort to either 1-see what was going on or 2-help. Either scenario is fine with me because at least they were showing interest. My point in writing this is to remind myself that no, Memphis is not all that bad. People really do care and look out for each other here, even if it was a dog that brought people out of their cars and willing to help. Now, I do hope and pray that more than a dog (and I love dogs) will inspire people to care, but this entire situation inspired me to start looking for the good things about this city in order that I may strive to cease complaining and just be thankful.
Hence, Walnut Grove and Dog incident is my #1...over the next few weeks I am going to try to find 9 more things about the city that give me hope that Memphis has hope.
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I might be starting something here, but I have a hard suspicion what is "wrong" with Memphis and the South. It never occurred to me until a few years into college (in Jackson, MS). It was radically confirmed after moving to Colorado. Pure and simple, in my pretty backed up opinion, the reason is racism. Case in point, I can't tell you how many people have told us "how bad the neighborhood has gotten since you guys left Memphis." What they mean to say, if they would speak what they are really thinking, is, "We need to sell our house and move to the country because there are so many black people moving around us." Or even as blatantly as, "It's the blacks."
Our friends who grew up in Colorado had no clue that this sentiment even still existed. I really believe that the South (and it's Christianity) will always be oppressed until something changes. I would be interested in knowing how many people in "white" churches in the South have ever eaten a meal or gone to a football game or ridden in a car with a black person. That sounds silly, but until the last few years I had never really evaluated how segregated we really are.
I could go on and on, but that makes Memphis gross to me. I look forward to hearing why you think Memphis "is the way it is."
laurin, i think this is a great idea. of course, we could thing of tons of things we don't like about where we live and why we would want to move, but i do think it is more beneficial and important to point out the positive things about Memphis. i think that would be something that could spark a fire in people wanting to cause a change to our city! i agree with tyler about racism being one of the main areas of concern in our city. i want to be one of the people to help stop it!
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