In Defense of Mallrats Everywhere....

This past weekend the largest mall in Delaware (i.e. your average shopping mall) began to enforce a curfew on Friday & Saturday evenings. "Teenagers under 18 without adult supervision are being turned away at Delaware's largest mall as of this weekend, as officials attempt to reclaim the center for shoppers, not slackers."

What a load of nonsense. What a steaming, smelly pile of...um...nonsense.

One thing that will consistently annoy me is the scapegoating of youth. Even in this age that is often described as detached, youth remain very good at finding enjoyment in being together. As our society turns more toward isolating ourselves in cubicles and suburbs without sidewalks, there are less and less places that such group socilization occurs organically. It's a sobering thought to think that a shopping mall can become the best option for (according to the mall's GM) more than 2,000 youth on any Friday or Saturday.

If there is a positive side to this, I would suggest that it shines a harsh light on the reality that shopping malls exist for one purpose: to profit from consumerism. The fact that teens aren't welcome to socialize at the mall stems from the same reason that I have to wander down endless hallways into the bowels of any mall whenever I need to go to the bathroom. The mall places a higher priority on our ability to spend than on my physical need to use the bathroom or the need of 2,000 youth to build relationships with their peers. In an earlier article, a spokesperson for the International Council of Shopping Centers had this to say: "What has to be remembered is the mall is there for commerce; it's not a hangout. It's a private property, and it's there for shopping."

If "the church" is alive in Delaware, they will join with other decent and caring people in realizing that young people hanging out with friends is not a problem to be dealt with, but a good thing. They will find ways to foster that desire to build relationships and community. They will give them places to congregate safely, but also on their own terms. They will show youth the respect that they often demand for themselves. They will also wise up to the fact that the Christiana Mall has no additional regard for them beyond their ability to spend and consume. If they must consume, they'll find somewhere else to take their money.

"Truth is Stranger..." - Gas Station Graffiti

I typically don't take photographs in a gas station bathroom (I basically try to keep my name unconnected with the words "conduct unbecoming a member of the clergy"). However, this past weekend was the exception.

The bathroom was as unremarkable and unpleasant as one would expect at a gas station. The walls were covered with your typical bigotry-driven graffiti: anti-semitic, anti-black, anti-gay, anti-immigrant, etc. etc.

I found this one in the middle of it all and snapped a picture with the phone. I'm convinced that it was written by someone who shares my satirical sense of humor. Either that, or someone has run out of people to hate.

Just For Fun: Real Preachers of Genius

This video made me laugh. Enjoy!

Beyond Capernaum Makes the News Without Being Shot

The post below (How To Make The News in Philadelphia) was printed today (June 20, 2008) as a letter to the editor in The Philadelphia Inquirer. Find it on page A14 of the print edition or online here.

How to Make the News in Philadelphia

Two 23-year old men were shot and killed yesterday in Philadelphia. One of them made the top headline of the front page of The Philadelphia Inquirer (June 16, 2008). He was described as an "Aspiring Teacher" although his current employment was as a barista at Starbucks (no shame in that...I love those people!). By chance, I walked past that same Starbucks yesterday and wondered why there were multiple news trucks filming on location. The Inquirer also included two photgraphs with this story...one of the victim and one of the street where he died.

The other man's death was reported on page B10 in a tiny little article completey hidden on a page that had nothing else but advertisments for hearing aids, loans and something called "Zeppy".

Anybody want to guess which of these tragedies happened to a white person?

I pray that God's peace be with both families.

I Can Ride My Bike With No Handlebars

I've listened to the radio more this past year than I have in a long time thanks to the addition of Philly's Radio 104.5. Among getting to hear new music from Social Distortion or Weezer along with pre-Nickleback alt-rock, they also play exciting new music from bands like Vampire Weekend. It's surprisingly refreshing (although it comes from the evil of Clear Channels). OK, end of commercial.

They've started playing this hypnotic song that begins with plucked violin strings and the words "I can ride my bike with no handlebars...no handlebars...no handlebars". If you've heard this song, I know you're with me. Turns out the song is performed by Denver natives FLOBOTS.

I found their new CD at Borders for a low price tonight and I was in the mood to hear something new. I was interested by the fact that this band--a multiracial hip-hop group with a viola, trumpet and generally live instruments throughout--had started a non-profit organization committed to organizing people around social change through the arts. But honestly speaking: I was itching for some new music, the CD was cheap, the band was interesting, and there was at least one song I knew I would enjoy.

At the cash register, there was a young guy who told me that he had just bought the CD himself and informed me that it was full of "sick beats". As I walked to the car, I was a little bit worried. I'm just old and white enough to know what "sick beats" are, but generally steer clear of any rhythms that might be ill. I'm a guitar guy.

What an interesting CD. I wanted to drive around all night and see how it sounded different after the sun went down. Early in the CD, they describe themselves as "somewhere between prayer and revolution, between Jesus and Huey P. Newton". Sometimes there's a little bit of sloganeering going on...but just a little bit.

The first tune that really got me was "Stand Up", a lament and call to action written in the shadows of Katrina, 9/11, and current wars:

Under God...but we kill like the son of Sam
but if you fell like I feel about the son of Man
we will overcome...we shall not be moved
except by a child with no socks and shoes
except by a woman dying from a loss of food
except by a freedom fighter bleeding on a cross for you

A few tracks later, there's "Anne Braden", a tribute to the white Episcopalian woman who raised holy hell in the segregated south. It begins by describing how she came to realize the evil around her as a child:

She knew there was something wrong
because the song said "yellow, red, black, white"
everyone precious in the path of Christ
but what about the daughter of the woman cleaning their house?
Wasn't she a child they were singing about?
And if Jesus loves us black or white skin
Why didn't her white mother invite them in?
When did it become a room for no blacks to step in?
How did she already know not to ask the question?

As she grew older and became an activist for equality (even mentioned by name in MLK's letter from Birmingham Jail), she struggled with not meeting hatred with hatred:

she faced it every day
people she saw on a regular basis
people she loved in several cases
people she knew were incredibly racist
It was painful but she never stopped loving them
Never stopped calling their name
And she never stopped being a southern woman
And she never stopped calling for change

The CD ends with the song "Rise". The final words of the song (and therefore the whole disc) are:

The answer's obvious
we switch the consanants
Change the Sword to wordS
and lift continents

And then the refrain repeats off into the sunset "We rise together...we rise together...we rise together" In the end, they add the words "If you believe in redemption coming to you from another dimension".

I believe in redemption coming from another dimension. Let's rise together! God is at work in this world trying to move us to action: to love and serve. It falls somewhere between prayer and revolution...or maybe it's both?

In the end, I'm still hypnotized by "No Handlebars".

Some of these songs can be heard at the FLOBOTS myspace page.

And for the record...the kid was right: the beats are sick!

Turn Things Upside-Down (Amazing Video!)

So I'm wading through YouTube to find some videos to use in sermons or discussion groups etc., and I found this one posted by North Glynn UMC that really amazed me with it's use of poetry to portray what I find to be an incredible Law & Gospel message. It's definitely worth 3 minutes and 9 seconds of your time(HINT...you'll find the move from Law to Gospel hard to miss!).