It’s a Matter of Community and Responsibility

“Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap”, went the knock at the door. My first reaction was to ignore the annoyance. Only “slightly” inconvenienced, I began to extricate myself from the pile of fish tanks, tubing, and shelving that I was knee deep in to attend to the request for attention, at the far end of the house.

“Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap”, repeated the request as I made my way towards the continuing demand for attention, finally free of my project and associated debris. Right then I decided that it had better be important to make use of such an imposing style of knocking.

“Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap”, went the further insistence as I rounded the corner from the hall to the kitchen. I then realized the person outside must have been emboldened by the open front door being open to have knocked repeatedly, knowing that his persistence would be satisfied.

As the right hand and preliminary edge of that person gradually waxed into sight through the glass door and beyond, I prepared myself to dismiss a door-to-door salesman, until I realized the uniform he was wearing was that of an Irving City Official.

Using my best business voice I asked, “Yes, sir. How can I help you?”

“Is that your pile of fencing materials stacked on the sidewalk”, he inquired of the remains of a weary weathered wooden fence that I had removed to that location while pointing with the pen in his right hand.

I freely admitted that indeed it was. That was when I noticed the metal clipboard in his left hand, as it came up into our conversation area.

As he tore off the top sheet to hand to me, we began to engage in conversation about his appearance at my front door. Turns out that, even though the city collects refuse curb-side, remodeling materials are expressly denied. Citizens of Irving have to remand those items to the City Dump personally. Retrospectively I would think it’s because of safety issues for the collectors. Who knows what nails, chemicals, or asbestos could be looming in the midst of those types of materials.

The official document he handed me was not a citation. It was an information page to note why he stopped. It also had some other useful information regarding why he would attend to a person’s property.

I thanked the man for the information, remarking that I wouldn’t have known unless he had stopped to inform me. He seemed to ease as our conversation progressed. I’m sure that he finds conflict in his job when he stops to inform citizenry of restrictions regarding refuse collection. It can’t be an easy thing to stop to tell someone that the trash collectors won’t take your trash.

Returning to my project, I began to think about the story my mother-in-law related to me on Sunday. She and a fellow member of her praise team were having an unrelated conversation when she pointed out that “sometimes you need to stop, calm down and think about what is going on around you”. Often times, there is a much bigger picture. She further related it to the current news headlines in a fashion that I hadn’t thought about.

To her, Cambridge Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. seems to have missed the fact that his neighbor did him a favor by calling the police. She, my wife, and, I would want our neighbors to do the same. The police officers that arrived also did him a favor by coming and making sure that all was well, especially since there was a history of break-ins in that neighborhood. His community was operating in a manner that is expected by all members of our society.

I don’t know all of the details of the arrest, but, I can tell you this: I know not to yell at a police officer. There is just no good reason to treat the members of law enforcement, or any city official in this manner. These people are here to protect you and are your absolute best friends. That is, unless you are doing something illegal.

If an officer shows up and asks for your identification, give it to them and be nice about it. They are doing a job that is both revered and reviled. Everyone loves the officer that saves the victim. Those same people hate the cops that write them speeding tickets.

Every law enforcement officer is a person. They are sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, brothers, and, sisters. They all choose to fill a position in the community that is required. Without them, we would all suffer. We are fortunate that they care enough to be there for us.

That sense of community that is so often lost in the big city is something that has protected and strengthened our homes and towns for ages. We each hold a certain amount of responsibility to watch out for each other. I can’t help but remember Hillary Clinton’s book, “It Takes a Village”. Politics aside, the concept is dead-on correct.

I’ve been there. Recently, I filmed and broke up a drug-deal gone bad out in the street in front of our house, and, posted it to Youtube. Apparently, my neighbors were having a get together and their daughter’s male friends were being juvenile delinquents. Those kid’s parents busted up the event and caused a huge scene in the streets, of which, I was able to capture a section of.

I have caught a group of kids vandalizing one of the other neighborhood youth’s car in the middle of the night. Her dad was appreciative that I was able to get a license plate number for him. Noticing a large group of juveniles out at midnight on a school night just didn’t make sense. I could have ignored it, but, questioning it and keeping my eyes open allowed me to help protect the members of my community.

I even chased down a meter reader that was wearing his oversized personal jacket, just to make sure who was walking around in the yards on our block. He gladly showed me his reader and uniform. It was a very cold day, and, I could understand why he would want to wear a more substantial jacket than the standard issue. Another alert neighbor expressed gratitude that I would take the initiative to help protect our community, because, they had stopped their car in question of who it was walking in and out of properties.

In know the topic of race relations is interwoven into the Gates story, and, I don’t pretend to think I understand what it means to be black in America. I only know what it means to be of olive skin, however, class discrimination causes people of all races to understand fear and animosity. Wealth, fame, position, and, prestige do not equate being a better person. I feel it is that type of communication barrier that causes so much of the discord.

Taking responsibility for your role within the community is the first step.

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~ by Danny on July 28, 2009.