This was originally posted to the Adams Morgan Listserv on April 9, 2019, as message #50868, groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/AdamsMorgan/conversations/messages/50868
As many of you are aware, I’ve spent years matriculating at the Graham School of Poltricks & Tricknology in pursuit of a Masters Degree. So, I’d be to first to admit such a pursuit tends to over exercise the most cynical elements of your world view. However, when you’ve studied and battled a master, living through amateur hour can be a bit frustrating.
For example, I recently attended a development meeting which discussed to inclusion of affordable home ownership opportunities in the project. Leaders of the project agreed such opportunities will be included; however, when changes to the project were suggested which would bake these opportunities into the project the response was that doing so would harm or even kill the project. But to trust them and years from now home ownership opportunities will be included no need to design them in. And not to talk about this contradiction as doing so would confuse people.
Then yesterday and this morning, I read several articles/posts where many of the very architects and advocates of Ward 1’s community development system now rooted in racial and economic privilege now crying crocodile tears over the muting of Go-Go on U St.. When many these same people are the cheerleaders of the Zero-Tolerance/Broken Window theories and housing policies which ethnically cleansed Go-Go and its socio-economic infrastructure from U St. and the Ward 1. Now, they wring their hands in frustration at some poor person staying at the Shay, a nearby luxury development, for exercising the “privilege” and process we sold them. In fact this approach is fundamental MPD policing policy.
And then we have a person who built an entire career and business restructuring transportation policy and its implementation around catering to privilege, lecturing someone on exercising that privilege. But I guess we are learning from Trump, the “true privilege” is that fact that what you say and do don’t one minute does not have to be consistent with the next, nor at all. I guess this allows you to comfortable advocate for a system and process <ggwash.org/view/71645/urbanist-villain-of-the-week-the-shay-resident-who-killed-go-go-music-in-shaw?fbclid=IwAR2y6ZCM3pX_WZAN6lPXa2tuQH_QtO2vIiFfzup5HGf1SJtPQ5IJmsnxMrI>, but oppose the logical result of that system and process and still sleep at night. At least as long as the Go-Go is closed and muted.
I guess challenge of understanding this is why I chose to study Politricks & Tricknology. Even if it is amateur hour.
William
Politricks <en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/politricks> (noun) – Politics, regarded as characterized by dishonesty or self-interest; the use of underhand methods to achieve political ends regarded as self-serving or contemptible.
Tricknology <en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/tricknology> (noun) – US depreciative. The techniques of deception and manipulation employed by a dominant group (especially a white majority) to disempower a weaker one (especially a black minority).
Cynical – believing that people are motivated by self-interest; distrustful of human sincerity or integrity