Oh, this still exists

Hello

I haven't been able to write much here lately, partly out of busy-ness, but also because not much has been going on lately.

Really, nothing much has happened.

Well, we did go to Boston as a community, we had our Ignatian Retreat, Reed and Hillary ran a ten mile race, and March and April happened. Those things occurred. Shoot. I guess I haven't done a very good job of updating this thing. Also does anyone read this anymore? I think I may be typing to myself.

I'm going to make a more consistent effort to update this thing, especially since I don't have much time left here in Syracuse. Also, I should probably tell more people this blog exists.

I should also post more pictures...

Hm...

I liked this picture

I call it "looking outside"

Because that's what it is.

Pretty simple

A good thing,

Hello

I have been itching to be able to post something new here.

Not a whole lot has happened these last couple of weeks, and I haven't had table internet access for a while,so I haven't had much to write about or the means to update this little blog of mine.

I'm at my favorite coffee shop right now, hanging out with a couple of my housemates. It's also finally snowing. It hasn't snowed in over a week. Thursday was so sunny and warm that it seemed like we skipped ahead a few months to get to Maya little faster.

Also, I am sick right now with a cold, but Advil is working well right now. I really want to write something, but I don't know how well this will turn out.

So here are a few unfiltered thoughts I've had recently:

The Occupy Syracuse movement: I've visited the remnants of their camp a few times in the past three weeks. I attended a recent general assembly meeting. I've tried to engage individual occupiers in dialogue.

My housemate Reed summed up my feelings about the Occupy movement really well during a conversation we had after one of the times we visited their camp. Reed noticed that the occupiers “lacked a certain vocabulary when talking about social issues.” Whenever I've talked to anyone from the Occupy Syracuse movement, they say nothing about solidarity, standing with the oppressed, or taking meaningful action that address issues within Syracuse. Instead, I only hear about the perpetual occupation of a meaningless slab of concrete. Their recent actions don't address any of the real problems the poor in Syracuse face.

It's easy to criticize their lack of action, but I realize that I haven't shared any of these opinions with them yet, so I'm going to try to do that soon.

My work at Catholic Charities: I'm working more with men from the Oxford Street Inn. Right now I am completely speechless about the things I've witnessed working with these men. A lot of the naivete I had about homelessness, mental illnesses, and humanity in general has been chipped away through working with these guys and our other clients. However, I perceive that as a really good thing for me.

In the midst of the organized chaos of working with people who have serious personal problems, I find that I am very happy. I really love being with people who are struggling with addiction and mental illness. There is a realness to this kind of work that makes it full of meaningful purpose for me.

Other clients: I get to visit a couple of guys regularly. One guy regularly talks about pizza and birds. He also talks about Satan and witches a lot, but I try to steer us onto another topic when that happens. I'm going to try to take him out for pizza one day.

Another client really wants to play chess with me so I'm going to get a hold of a board.

I met a fellow 23 year-old the other day whose mother was murdered by his father when he was eighteen. His story has really stuck with me. I can't share all of the details for confidentiality reasons. Suffice it to say, it was heartbreaking. It's apparent that he has some deep-seated psychological issues because of that horrible event. So, in conclusion, I want to learn more about domestic violence issues.

Other thoughts: I have to make a confession. I promised one of the Jesuit novices I worked with at Practical Assistance that I would read “All the Pretty Horses” at the same time as him while he was on his 30 day retreat. I didn't do that. I have to try to read as much of that book by tonight or tell him that I didn't read it.

I'm going to try to make peanut butter coffee sometime this week. My housemates are skeptical about how well this experiment will turn out.

I've been thinking about opening a Catholic Worker house sometime in my lifetime. It seems like a rather snazzy thing.


That's it for now.

Thoughts Part 1

1. Vegetarianism.

I've been vegetarian since November. Well, mid-November. Actually, the end of November.

I've been a vegetarian since sometime in December.  It has actually been a very easy thing to do since we don't buy much meat as a community.

I sometimes get cravings though. 

I really wanted to have clam chowder. We have four cans of the stuff. I figured that clams would be okay to eat  because while they're technically animals, they're not sentient. But they're still living animals. But they're tasty.

But the whole point of my decision of being vegetarian is that I don't want my food to come from acts of violence. I think it's a step towards being a more peaceful and nonviolent person.

I eventually stopped worrying and made spaghetti.

Also, I have become addicted to garlic.

\

This is a puddle of vomit. I didn't get too close. We were going to have to carry furniture around it. Or step in it and wash our shoes off later. Thankfully, we found that going through the back entrance was an easier route for us to move furniture through.

I am fascinated by icicles.

 Dungeons and Dragons. I had to tone it down a little bit. I was a little too exuberant.

Heart patio.

Some mornings.

State St.

It's always about praxis

The most concrete and goal-orientated thing about the Occupy Syracuse movement occurred in the early hours of this morning-- when Syracuse police cleared the camp.

What could have been a positive force for giving voice to pressing social issues will now devolve into really sad squabbling over trying to be allowed to camp at Perseverance Park again. More time and effort will probably be expended on fighting over a 1st Amendment Right issue than was ever used for addressing  things like Syracuse's housing and food security issues.

If we are going to have a mass movement to protest economic injustice that involves camping in public places, at least invite homeless people to stay in the camp. Or instead of just talking about problems and only having rallies, actively address one of the myriad of problems here in Syracuse.

Now that the camp is gone, how about occupying one of the hundred abandoned buildings around here? That might highlight how silly it is that people have to worry about there not being any room for them in the local shelters.

Or how about putting together a fund to pay for security deposits and first month's rent for people who are about to be evicted?

How about doing sit-ins at liquor stores and bodegas in areas of town where there are no accessible/conveniently placed grocery stores?

What has Occupy Syracuse really done for the victims of economic injustice in Syracuse?

A man called moments ago asking for help finding some temporary shelter.

He recently moved from out of state and is unfamiliar with Syracuse. He is also disabled. I didn't get much else of his backstory, but the jist of it is that he will be homeless in a few days.

He was asking for an efficiency apartment for the rest of the month- enough time for him to get his resources together and move to his home state. If we had funding we could give him money for rent. If he was coming out of a shelter we could give him furniture. This a perfect example of the kind of scenario I mentioned in an earlier post; a person needs help but doesn't fit specific requirements for the kind of help that can be given.

He tried staying in a local shelter called the Rescue Mission, but apparently they're out of beds. He could go to Catholic Charities' men's shelter, the Oxford Street Inn. While the "Ox" would have beds, I was hesitant to refer him to that shelter. I know it has a severe bed bug infestation (measures are taken daily to combat it, but the sad fact is that clients bring them into the Ox from the outside), and he seemed intent upon being able to have some privacy. Sleeping within a few feet of other men in a room full of 80+ sleeping men would be the opposite of privacy. Also, if he owns anything large he will have to find a place to store it- the lockers at the Ox are small.

I also referred him to the Department of Social Services, because they might be able to put him up in a hotel room for a week, but I'm afraid that they'll turn him away because he will be receiving Social Security Disability insurance soon. I don't know why they do that to people.

So, a man will probably be out on the streets in a few days. I don't feel right about that. I hope DSS or a caseworker at the Ox or Rescue Mission can do something.