Facebook is exploding with posts about a lockdown drill at PLU. I haven't heard what happened to cause the lockdown, but naturally it was the cue for everyone to start stereotyping Parkland. Nothing offends me more, nothing makes my blood boil quicker, than these bigoted and closed-minded attacks on my beloved hometown.
I have lived in Parkland for nearly 20 years. Two decades, growing up in an area that is supposedly "the ghetto", and I have never been in a dangerous situation. I have never feared for my safety. I have never been a victim of any form of crime. I don't do anything special. I'm not lucky. I use common sense and intelligence. And ultimately, Parkland is just your standard urban community. There's crime, there's danger - but usually for people who cause it, who are in the wrong place. There aren't very many innocent bystanders involved.
So many students come to PLU from gated white communities or from small towns. A girl in my communication class freshman year explained that her hometown had one streetlight - and that was fairly new. That's not uncommon among the student body. In short, these students aren't used to reading about drug busts or shootings or bank robberies in their local news. Well kids, welcome to Pugetropolis, where the population is much greater, and much more diverse. You wouldn't let crime deter you from visiting New York or LA would you? There's far more crime in either of those places than in Tacoma, and certainly far more than Parkland.
Security at PLU is minimal compared to other universities; the reason is because it's not needed. The campus is so safe, the students have no clue what a protected little bubble it is that they live in.
When an incident happens near the campus, any school will take the precautionary measure of calling for a lockdown drill. This isn't because the students or the school are in imminent danger; it's because any school campus is a prominent destination and an obvious place to go hide. In the two (count them...only two) lockdowns I have experienced in my two decades in Parkland, there was no threat to the school. Both times, the incident was happening several blocks away and the school authorities simply decided to be cautious. Students were never in any danger.
I have lived in Parkland for nearly 20 years. Two decades, growing up in an area that is supposedly "the ghetto", and I have never been in a dangerous situation. I have never feared for my safety. I have never been a victim of any form of crime. I don't do anything special. I'm not lucky. I use common sense and intelligence. And ultimately, Parkland is just your standard urban community. There's crime, there's danger - but usually for people who cause it, who are in the wrong place. There aren't very many innocent bystanders involved.
So many students come to PLU from gated white communities or from small towns. A girl in my communication class freshman year explained that her hometown had one streetlight - and that was fairly new. That's not uncommon among the student body. In short, these students aren't used to reading about drug busts or shootings or bank robberies in their local news. Well kids, welcome to Pugetropolis, where the population is much greater, and much more diverse. You wouldn't let crime deter you from visiting New York or LA would you? There's far more crime in either of those places than in Tacoma, and certainly far more than Parkland.
Security at PLU is minimal compared to other universities; the reason is because it's not needed. The campus is so safe, the students have no clue what a protected little bubble it is that they live in.
When an incident happens near the campus, any school will take the precautionary measure of calling for a lockdown drill. This isn't because the students or the school are in imminent danger; it's because any school campus is a prominent destination and an obvious place to go hide. In the two (count them...only two) lockdowns I have experienced in my two decades in Parkland, there was no threat to the school. Both times, the incident was happening several blocks away and the school authorities simply decided to be cautious. Students were never in any danger.
The response that students have toward the local community is one born out of ignorance, misconceptions, and flat-out privileged bigotry. The entire world isn't the protective bubble or gated community that you grew up in. Just because an area is more urban and therefore is home to some of the lower ranks in society doesn't make that area - or it's entire population - "ghetto", "dangerous", or any of the other contemptuous stereotypes you wish to affix.
What appalls me is the fact that PLU as a whole perpetuates this stereotype, shutting itself off from Parkland, instead of embracing Parkland and working to improve the community. Sadly, it's not limited to only students. During my time as a student at PLU, I heard members of the faculty and staff make derogatory comments on the local area on numerous occasions. Any time I counter argued, or pointed out that I'm from there, the reply was always "well, you have to admit it's pretty bad."
No. I do not. Because the fact is, it isn't. I will admit Parkland isn't perfect. Of course it isn't. But is that any reason to condemn an area that I love? Of course not.
Parkland is a place where I could walk to school as a child; there's a neighborly aspect in play, where locals allow the children to cut through their yards as shortcuts to school, to friends' houses, to playfields. Parkland is a place that offers numerous activities to its youth, from the Spanaway-Parkland Youth Association sports leagues to the Sprinker Recreation Building.
Parkland is a place full of churches, full of families that have grown up together for generations. Parkland is a place full of daycares run out of homes, where the kids running around may be charges of the daycare, children of the owner, or friends. I had a safe, happy, and healthy childhood in the heart of Parkland.
It makes me sick to see the unofficial reaction PLU has anytime something occurs in Parkland (or Lakewood or Tacoma, for the matter. For some reason, Puyallup gets ignored). PLU was built in Parkland because it's a beautiful location. Parkland grew up around PLU. For decades, there was a sense of community, love, and support between the two. The growing rift takes several steps backward. PLU isn't any better than Parkland; Parkland helped make PLU. And any student who has the nerve to look down upon Parkland and her inhabitants is a much lower person than any member of the community.
No comments:
Post a Comment