Faulty Perceptions (cont'd)

After having filmed Bowling for Columbine in the aftermath of the Columbine school shootings to point out our culture of fear and our infatuation with guns, Michael Moore would not be surprised to know that leading to the Trayvon Martin shooting was another trend, a more privatized criminal justice system. This love of private ownership is of course not beneficial if we are trying to encourage connection between different people in society and community values among all American citizens. Many U.S. states, such as Florida, have laws which allow Americans to protect private property, even if that means shooting and killing others in “self-defense.” Once these laws change and a modification occurs in the way we view safety, we will emancipate ourselves from this cycle of fear; living in gated communities, owning firearms, and avoiding contact with other diverse people. This way we will be able to cleanse ourselves of this bias toward “the other” and work on communicating and become activists.  Maybe we should even ask “the other” for help because sometimes “they”, the poor, the African-Americans, the Latinos, and young people are especially talented and experienced at establishing vibrant communities, like Overtown, Miami, which was once a well-connected neighborhood for talented black artists and musicians before it was dissected by a highway.

At the same time, while we live fearfully, thinking about shark attacks and contracting AIDS, people die at random, crossing our streets. We hear all sorts of stories from car crashes to bike crashes. According to the Miami Herald, a few weeks before I wrote this, four people had died suddenly as a result of our failures at good infrastructure and just one very dangerous way of commuting: driving (Roth). Among these fatalities was Digna Camacho, a seventy-year old, who was run over as she crossed the road for a short walk to drop off some letters. Last February (2012), Aaron Cohen, a young father of two, passed away after being critically injured by a hit-and-run drunk driver, while biking with his friend early in the morning on the bike lane on Rickenbacker Causeway. Before that, a flower vendor was killed by a car while waiting at the bus stop. We worry about small incidents, but even these frightening accident statistics should not be seen as random. However, we should be looking at public safety more critically. Reckless driving and high speeds combined in an automobile paradise without any pedestrian protection can be improved, but the media simply reports on these stories for one or two weeks and then moves on to the next. Along with this, the media’s way of brainwashing society to point out unimportant things which will always exist enables it to thrive off the viewer’s fear. 

A road close to the Florida Marlins Stadium. How much closer to the road could this sidewalk get? (Transit Miami)