I really do love my home. I love my home, and I love Oakland. Eric and I often find ourselves acting as Oakland Boosters when we're out in the world. Some folks think that Oakland is still the murder capital of the United States, as is was in the seventies. Some folks think of Oakland as a vast ghetto.
One woman on the cruise, upon hearing that we are from Oakland, said, "This must be so nice for you then, to not be in Oakland."
These sorts of comments make me launch into a brow beating speech -- half pro-Oakland, half anti-whoever made the comment. The first thing I say is that I love Oakland, and that if I had to name one thing I love most, it would be the ethnic and cultural diversity. This skewers them, typically. Because what they really mean is: Oh. You must be surrounded by blacks and mexicans.
Maybe happy people think that there's something wonderful about where they live, and that's why I love Oakland, and dislike Long Beach. Maybe some of the magic comes from the life I've had here, rather than Oakland's intrinsic wonderfulness.
Still, I can't sit and listen to some woman from Utah (for God's sake) diss my hometown.
Off to work now... wish I had another day off!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment