People and Pleasant Don't Always Go Together

I want to be an optimist. I want the world to be a happy place - one big party. I want us all to "just get along". I'd like to say this desire is because I have some amazing sense of justice and want what is best for everyone

Sometimes I have a sense of justice.

Sometimes I want what's best for others.

The truth is that so often the crap in this world just wears me out. I get tired of hearing about it. I get tired of thinking about it. I get tired of feeling conviction and/or guilt for not doing something about it. I get tired of feeling conviction and/or guilt for not caring [enough]. I often don't want to stand for justice. I just want to be left alone to live my life and enjoy myself and not be bothered by the troubles of this world that don't have easy answers.

I started this blog on the advice of my Aunt Alice, "so my aunts and uncles will know what's going on, and I won't have to call them." (Don't worry, dear aunts and uncles, I will still call you.) It was a great suggestion. I have found that I really enjoy blogging about things I see and do. I really like promoting New York City. It's a fantastic place to live and most certainly has been a blessing to me. So I will continue sharing the joys of living in the City. I want this blog to a positive and optimistic creative outlet.

But tonight I thought I would also write about some of the unpleasant aspects of living in the City. There are, after all, bad things here. People are people, and when they get together, it isn't always pleasant business, is it?

The other night one of my friends was jumped by ten or fifteen guys. She is a college student who is here for a summer internship. The attackers weren't successful in robbing her, and from what I understand, the police said she did everything she should have done to protect herself. She did get some cuts and bruises. Let me tell you, that incident really frustrated me. I haven't found the correct words to vocalize exactly what it is I'm feeling about it. I guess anger and frustration are the closest words I've found. I just think, "Why would they do that? Who are these punks..." and then the language in my head goes downhill from there. This new friend is one of the nicest, most positive people I've met; just a great person. Why in the world...?

Things like that happen to people. Muggings happen. Other bad things occur here. And tragedies don't always manifest themselves in such blatant ways. For example, one of my first posts after moving to NYC was about an anti-human trafficking rally I attended in Union Square. This problem is present here in our city and nation, not just in other countries. When I think of human trafficking, I tend to imagine dark, seedy alleyways in slum neighborhoods. I'm certain that is the appearance it takes on in some cases. But it also happens in clean neighborhoods, with people who blend in nicely to their pretty surroundings.

I saw a situation once in our store that just didn't seem right to me. Something about the two people who were together seemed off, and I believe it very well could have been a case of one person taking advantage of the vulnerability and pain and neediness of another. But I certainly wouldn't have batted an eye in passing either one of those people on the street.

So why am I writing such a dark post on my blog that, overall, I intend to be light and fun? Because something unhappy and wrong happened and it is something that is real and serious and another aspect of life here in New York. It is not my intention to cause people to worry. I don't want someone wondering if they should even visit New York City. If you are able to, you should visit. It's a wonderful city! I highly regard and recommend it! But the City is also a case-study for the brokenness that exists in the world.

And to be fair, crime happens everywhere, whether you live out in the "sticks", in the "big city" or anywhere in between. (I recently heard about a fatal shooting that occurred near our family farm in Kansas. Crazy!) After moving to New York, I came to the conclusion that a city is a city is a city. You have the same basic elements and events and types of people in whatever city you are in. It's just that in New York, those things often seem bigger and more obvious.

This is all I have to say about these things tonight.

And aunts and uncles, please rest assured that I do take precautions and try to remain wise and vigilant when out and about. :-)