[Durham INC] Ending the cycle of poverty transportation

[Carl Kenney]

I refuse to make this a conversation about race.  This is a series of stories written about the lives and experiences of those who ride the bus.  The emotions of the man in the story were, in part, based on his frustration of having to ride the bus.  In his mind, the bus defines poverty.  This is the point.  I challenge you to look past the matter of race to hear his frustration.  I conclude in the piece that this is a perception based on his experience. For him, that is real.
Now, back to my larger point.  If more middle class folks rode the bus, that would change the culture and negative view related to riding the bus.  Those who currently ride, because they have to, wouldn't use the bus as a way to further define their economic plight.  That is the reason for my writing, and this is why I take serious issue with how Darius placed this conversation within the context of race relations.  That is not the point.
What is important is that we get into the minds of the poor.  Yes, many are black.  Not all of the poor are black.  It so happens that most on the bus are black, and that the way they define life is rooted in race, not class.  None of us should attack them for how they conceptualize their own pain.  That's the problem with Darius' comments.  It was a criticism of this passengers definition of his own plight.  It may be wrong.  In my mind it is, but we should never deny a person the right to share truth as they perceive it in that moment.  Our place is to help them move past that perception of truth.
What is happening here is an attack on the integrity of the story of those who are on the bus.  I'm telling the story as I see it.  Hopefully that will shed light on life that we can't see due to being too far removed.  I suggest all of you get on the bus, see it for yourself, and respond based on what you see and feel.
I'm sending this to this listserve because public transportation needs to be placed on top of the list of what we, as a community, need to improve.  We need to get out of our cars and jump on the bus.  To do less will make many of us hypocrites when it comes to our comments about the environment.


Date: Thu, 16 Aug 2012 10:08:02 -0700
From: christinebbd at yahoo.com
Subject: Re: [Durham INC] Ending the cycle of poverty transportation
To: revcwkii at hotmail.com
CC: inc-list at durhaminc.org; inc-list at rtpnet.org

Carl, you stated "the reason this is important is related to the need to change the culture of the bus system to encourage people to ride the bus".    
When I read that a man angrily vents his frustration that he can't make it in this world, I have to say it encourages me to drive my daughter to Durham Tech instead of letting her ride the bus.  It is inappropriate to vent anger towards a "captive audience". The man's emotional instability is likely a reason he can't make it in this world.  
Darius wrote of his 
observations of the success of black men in Durham county, more 
eloquently than I could, and it's my sincere hope that you can focus on 
the truth of his words.  Thank you Darius.

I recall comments you made a month ago.  Your schedule was interrupted due to unforeseen problems with the bus system that day.  You made it home a few hours later than you planned.  You burst into tears over it, as you admitted in your writings about that day.  You went on and on and on, giving reasons for your tears.   My daughter rode the bus that same day.  She came home later than expected, but she didn't burst into tears over it.  Life happens. 

If you're trying to encourage people to ride the bus, you're going about it the wrong way.  I'll be driving my daughter to school for the next few months.

Christine Chamberlain
        From: Carl Kenney <revcwkii at hotmail.com>
 To: mmr121570 at yahoo.com; darius.m.little at alumni.unc.edu; Intern Neighborhood Council <inc-list at rtpnet.org> 
 Sent: Thursday, August 16, 2012 11:35 AM
 Subject: Re: [Durham INC] New from the Rev-elution: Ending the cycle of poverty transportation
   





My piece is not about race relations, it's about the feelings of some on the bus.  The reason this is important is related to the need to change the culture of the bus system to encourage people to ride the bus, not because they have to, but because they want to save the globe.  We can't minimize public transportation as a system for black, brown and poor people. So, why haven't I seen people who fight for the environment on the bus?  Why aren't they riding the bus?  It's a critical question that I want to address.  I'm not done riding and writing, and I won't until I see more of you on the bus.  Our globe deserves better than this!

     		 	   		  
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