Neighborly No-No...?

Reading an article by a friend recently that blew my mind. Won’t give away all the details, but you can check it out for your self (Walking While Black). Basically, a young man in Atlanta of African-American background was arrested for being in a known drug area. The young gentleman was walking from his house to a relative's house and stopped to give a light to someone sitting on the porch of an abandoned house that had been deemed a “known area where drug activity occurs.” Although he lives in the area, how in the hell was this young man supposed to know this? Additionally, was he supposed to know about this law?

Obviously, there are no signs out indicating what goes on here. And even if there were rumors or urban legend of what occurred in the house, is it a crime to give someone a light if they ask for it? What if instead of requesting a light, the guy on the porch passed out suddenly as the young man was walking by and needed medical attention? And, what about the mailman? Does he get a citation for delivering mail there? I know the house is abandoned, but work with me here...

I don’t smoke; but if I did, and someone asked me for a light, I would oblige. Moreover, I try to be neighborly in any way that I can. I try to speak when passing people on the street if we make eye contact, or greet those who may be standing in doorways, waiting at a bus stop, or such, as I stroll past. True, this is something that folks only did back in the day. But I go the extra mile when I can. It is not easy, either. Especially since there are no neighborhoods anymore; just subdivisions—this word truly makes my soul cringe because we have become a sub-divided nation, no longer trying to live as one.

No good deed goes unpunished. This young man honored the request of a fellow human and is now paying the price (the outcome is still pending). Still, it makes me think twice about being helpful, friendly or even the least bit human to my fellow man.

Axe.


Currently Listening To: Inner City Blues (Makes Me Wanna Holler) by Marvin Gaye, Wade In The Water by Ramsey Lewis