We're Not All That Different

I don’t know about you, but when I go to Boston I only go to the following places, Fenway Park, Faneuil Hall, the Frog Pond, North End, or any nice restaurant around that area. You might say “Why are you telling me this?” My point is this, that is a very small portion of Boston, and while Boston is not a big city there is a ton more to it. I generally make an effort to stay away from the rougher parts of Boston, the outskirts of the city, places like Southie or Roxbury; I would simply avoid those places. In Belize we worked on the worst street in Belize City, it was a three gang street, and we ate lunch in the shop of a former gang leader, added to that the policemen were packing, and were receiving help from the Belizean army. But you know what, that shop owner was the nicest guy, and the kids we met were some of the sweetest kids you’ll ever meet. I had a blast coloring with them, climbing trees, playing chess, and even boxing with them. There was one little boy that followed us around, and even wanted to paint with us despite the rain. To put it simply it was an amazing experience. One thing I learned is that I can’t judge people based on where they live, this was poor and dangerous neighborhood, but that doesn’t mean all the people are bad, just because there are gangs on the street doesn’t mean everyone is involved. I used to look at the rougher parts of town as “bad neighborhoods” as I said to my group I go over here, and they go over there, but after working in Belize City my question is this, what makes them bad? Is it because they are poor; is it because of violence, does that make everyone in the place “bad”? No. I’m not advocating walking alone in a unknown and rough part of town, that’s very unwise, we were safe because DCI was known in the city, but what I am saying is that next time I won’t be so quick to judge, that the next time I’m in Boston or Philly or New York I’ll remind myself that there are kids there just like me, that we’re not all that different.