Is “gentrification” a dirty word?

“Sure, it’s safe, it’s gentrified.” As DC residents, we hear phrases like these all the time. I have been guilty of them myself, as I live in a gentrifying area of the city. But aside from property values, this process is really about redefining place in terms of the inhabitants’ culture, age, etc.

The Area: U Street Corridor aka 14th & U Streets, NW, Washington, DC

This area in DC has been historically contested and redefined. As early as the 1900s it was full of Victorian homes for Victorian people. With longstanding musical importance, you can find classic Jazz clubs like the Lincoln Theatre, Howard Theatre, and Bohemian Caverns. Known as “black Broadway” the area was made famous with music and cultural attractions. However, becoming politically charged, 14th & U was the center of riots, fire, and violence following Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination in 1968. It also spiraled into the drug epicenter during the rampant days of the DC Crack Epidemic, as it’s lovingly been dubbed, in the 1980s. An original Shepard Fairey’s Obama Hope mural found a home at this intersection, and after election results were announced the area was blocked off for celebrators in the streets well into the wee morning hours. More recently, young people are taking over the scene with venues that offer much-sought-after concert fare like the Black Cat, the 9:30 Club, and DC9. This diverse location now shows off street art like these below, making you wonder if the hipsters are really taking over via socio-cultural gentrification. And what will be their/our (I admit it) lasting influence?

Creative Destabilization

“Cultural change in these circumstances is likely if people are encouraged to step out of their routine environment, into other everyday spaces that function as sites of unnoticeable cultural questioning or transgression.  Here too, interaction is of a prosaic nature, but these sites work as spaces of cultural displacement.  Their effectiveness lies in placing people from different backgrounds in new settings where engagement with strangers in a common activity disrupts easy labeling of the stranger as enemy and initiates new attachments.  They are moments of cultural destabilization, offering individuals the change to break out of fixed relations and fixed notions, and through this, to learn to become different through new patterns of social interaction.”

(Amin, Ethnicity and the Multicultural City: Living with Diversity, p. 969-970)

When walking around a new place, do you ever get the inherent sense of either belonging or discomfort? Have you ever thought about what factors enable or disable your connection to place? We feel most connected to areas that we perceive as aligning with our values. For instance, areas with people that share our ethnic background, religion, language, gender, education, socio-economic class status, dis/respect for authority, fashion sense, nationality, etc. This principle, when taken to the extreme, enables the formation of transnational communities, in which it can be possible to conduct every single task of daily life while only surround by those we self-identify with. There are benefits and disadvantages to this model, but there are also alternatives.

It’s kind of like evolution, driven by random genetic mutations — but let’s see how different in-groups can overcome their boundary maintenance and formulate a new shared identity via a chance encounter on the Toronto underground platform. Check out this video (thanks to JL and EO) where 2 musical genres blend: 

What Will Your Sign Say?

All this time living in Washington, DC and finally a demonstration that I can get on board with?!  Usually District natives avoid the Mall where all the madness takes place – you don’t want to get mixed up with emotional tourists that are on a mission for their cause…trust me.

But kudos John Stewart and Stephen Colbert! This is, quite possibly, the first time that moderates will be the ones flooding the grasses by the monuments instead of fringe members from either left or right.  Just about everyone I know is excited for October 30th. Attendees can choose from 2 camps: the Rally to Restore Sanity or the March to Keep Fear Alive. I bet you can guess which one is for Team Stewart and Team Colbert.

Check out Stewart’s announcement video. It’s brilliance: “Think of our event as Woodstock, but with the nudity and drugs replaced by respectful disagreement; the Million Man March, only a lot smaller, and a bit less of a sausage fest; or the Gathering of the Juggalos, but instead of throwing our feces at Tila Tequila, we’ll be actively *not* throwing our feces at Tila Tequila. Join us in the shadow of the Washington Monument. And bring your indoor voice.”

Colbert’s coming out video is just as entertaining. This sums it up: “America, the Greatest Country God ever gave Man, was built on three bedrock principles: Freedom. Liberty. And Fear — that someone might take our Freedom and Liberty. But now, there are dark, optimistic forces trying to take away our Fear — forces with salt and pepper hair and way more Emmys than they need. They want to replace our Fear with reason. But never forget — ‘Reason’ is just one letter away from ‘Treason.’”

Popular culture loves these two, via their sheer genius for pointing out the absurdities and hypocrisies tangled in with politics and media. So do I. Which would you attend? What would your sign read?

Reflection, Not Reaction

Since the War for Independence against England, the belief that action is the answer has been sewn into the very fabric of American nationalism. This ideology supports the ‘American dream’ concept — that anyone can work hard, and create their own future. It provides motivation for U.S. foreign aid and involvement abroad. This action-oriented cultural value can yield many positive results. However, it can also act as a catalyst for rash and reactionary responses.

Just observing media content yesterday, marking the 9th year since September 11th, it became obvious that reactionary responses necessitate mediation. Two sides, diametrically opposed, were represented across the news. One side consisted of mourning family members at peaceful gatherings to reflect on and remember those who they lost in 9/11 and our subsequent wars. Most of these events were government sponsored, with prominent members from the Obama Administration. On the flip side, 9/11 remembrance was overshadowed by chaotic mobs obsessed with the Park51 controversy. This latter mentality is a reactionary fire fed by the Glenn Beck’s, Sarah Palin’s and Pastor Terry Jones’ of the world. [The Burn a Qur'an Day fiasco already has a Wikipedia page...check it out here.]

From more conservative media sources to liberal ones, one interesting thing has begun to happen. Newscasters and guests keep making the point that Pastor Terry Jones doesn’t represent mainstream Christianity – that he doesn’t represent “us” as Americans, that he is simply on the fringe and should be denied legitimacy. Is it that huge of a stretch to recognize that this theory can be applied to other cases? The theory is: if Person A is a member of Group 1, Person A doesn’t necessarily represent each Individual member of Group 1. It’s further application? If the terrorists that committed the attacks on 9/11 were Muslim, it doesn’t necessarily mean that all Muslims are terrorists. Since terrorists are part of a fundamentalist religious fringe, they should not be awarded the legitimacy to represent an entire religion.

It’s time for us to push Pause, try to temper our action-oriented response and reflect. Let’s do everything we can to avoid being hypocritical, especially in such critical times – even 9 years later.

“Runny Yellow” And We’re Not Talkin’ Eggs

With all of the hot hot heat we’ve been enduring in DC this summer, you can’t help but crave a cool, sweet treat. Sholeh-zard is just that! The name can be literally translated as “runny yellow.” It’s a Persian-Saffron-Rice Pudding variant with just a few key aromatic ingredients. The yellow color is achieved purely by using saffron, a spice from Iran and India that is, in fact, worth more by weight than gold. You use it so sparingly that prior to use you actually take the saffron threads, grind them with a mortar and pestle, and then dissolve some of the powder in hot water.

Cardamon seeds & ground powder.

Other ingredients include rose water (lovingly dubbed “perfume water”), sugar, butter, and cardamon. From a plant within the ginger family, cardamon comes in seed pods (green variety shown at the right). However, for baking you need ground cardamon. My friend RS valiantly conquered the cardamon seeds, cutting open the pod and then grinding down the tiny black seeds. [It was a grueling process!] Cardamon is so potent you could smell it in the next room during the grinding! Tiny package, powerful punch.

Uncooked long-grained basmanti rice.

The main ingredient is here to the left: basmanti rice. It’s a (honestly, it’s THEE) staple for Persian food. It’s usually cooked and steamed meticulously before being served with saffron butter. But, for sholeh-zard, you actually cook the rice to the point that it completely breaks down. It loses it’s glorious long-grained shape and becomes a bit mushy (which would be completely unacceptable in other Persian dishes). Anywho that’s where the use of “runny” originates. However, my family’s preference is to prevent total mush, leaving some of the rice texture intact – as well as adding slivered almonds for a crunch!

There really aren’t that many ingredients, and sholeh-zard can be cooked completely in one pot. However, before consumption you need a lot of cooking time, cooling at room temperature time, and chilling in the fridge time. Patience for sweets? That’s a form of torture. But, when it’s done it’s deeelicious.

Sholeh-zard: My first attempt! Decorated with cinnamon sugar and slivered almonds.

My Persian connection is via culture and family; however, this dish is traditionally associated with a day towards the end of Ashura, as well as celebrations for Imam Hassan (both connected with religion, Shi’a Islam).

Sholeh-zard is typically served during times of remembrance for the dead; and, can also be used as an offering to the poor, or as an offering for a wish to come to fruition.

Perhaps my subconscious (responsible for my cravings) was at play. As it was during August, this month a few years ago, that my Iranian grandmother passed away. So here’s to sholeh-zard for remembrance and for a nice summer treat.

Off the Beaten Path Media

To relive all the viral videos and hilariously odd websites from high school to present, check out this link: http://youshouldhaveseenthis.com/

If you have something to procrastinate, you can thank me later.

:)

“an American”

I’m sure everyone has been following the controversy surrounding the “Ground Zero Mosque” (as it’s now been dubbed), whether you want to be informed or not it is reverberating across the media. I am not coming out in support or in criticism of the building plans for the Park51 Cultural Center. All I know is that Bloomberg and NYC council members have already approved the plans. So, as far as I can see – it’s a matter of time before the building will actually take place anyway. It’s looking like a strong call is being made for an Interfaith Center as well – see Akbar Ahmed’s CNN piece.

Honestly, at the core of it is one giant pink elephant (with polka dots) that no one wants to see.

Here it is: What does it mean to be “an American”?

Does it mean I have to be either Jewish or Christian, as Newt Gingrich would like me to believe?

I don’t know. The last I checked, the United States of America was founded on ideas of religious freedom and tolerance. America is a nation with a separation of Church and State since the time of our Founding Fathers. Am I right? Or, are these historical facts actual falsities?

In this country of ours, we have all religions: Catholics, Jewish people, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Protestants, Bah’ai, Unitarian, Christian, Shintos, Humanists, Mormons, Agnostics, Atheists, and the list can go on forever. Can we say that any of these groups are not allowed to establish religious space?

We cannot blur religion and nationality, they are two separate identities. American Muslims are not all out to get us – they are not all “homegrown terrorists”. They are a population that also lost loved ones who worked in the WTC, and were members of the firemen and paramedics that responded to the disaster. Because some Muslims committed terrorist acts doesn’t mean that all Muslims are terrorists. Aren’t we old enough to avoid scapegoat generalizations? It’s time to move beyond collective guilt.

If Gingrich, Palin, their cronies in Congress, and Rev. Terry Jones really believe in the case that they’re making. Truly, then, they are laughing in the face of the First Amendment – they are pleading with the public to allow the “We” in We the People, mean only a select few that believe they wield the right to deny the rights of others.

Leading down this path that members of X religion cannot be equal citizens in Y country is an example of where ethnocentric viewpoints can take us. The U.S. is supposed to be above this kind of dictatorial governance. Instead, let’s think about what it means to be a “loyal citizen” in the United States…regardless of religion, you pay your taxes; vote; believe in the fundamentals of the Constitution — one key Amendment, um, the First, which guarantees the Freedom of Religion. Geez, this Amendment has to be protected, because it’s the one that allows me to be Agnostic – and, in fact, free from religion. How’s that for a twist?

This debate isn’t just about a mosque near ground zero, it’s about analyzing what it means to be “an American”.

However, what I find particularly amusing about this whole “Ground Zero Mosque” debate is that there are already 2 mosques in the area! Check it out. Given the reality of the situation with 2 other mosques in such a close vicinity, I really cannot help but ask for more transparency from Park51′s representatives. I find it hard to imagine that the group would have been unable to fathom the kind of backlash that the media and politicians have been promulgating. Were they naive in thinking that it would actually be a welcomed gesture signifying a time to work towards peace? Mmm. Not sure. And not making any judgement either way – but, it would be nice to hear voices from both sides.
Can you pass the US Citizenship test?
What it means to be an American Citizen: Brief and  Very In-Depth
Gallup Poll Survey “What a Billion Muslims Really Think” for a resource and insight.

Hello world!

“You should have a blog!” Enough, friends and family. I’ve listened, finally. I’ve caved. I’m a 25 year old who has stopped writing for print media as my day job and is turning to blogging as an outlet for the gamut of random ideas and opinions that bounce off the walls in my wee head.

Now, you can’t complain if you don’t like it. Nah Nah Nah Nah Boo Boo.