Living Ubuntu in Los Angeles
I have previously written about the African concept of Ubuntu – I am because you are. Yesterday, while enjoying another day in Los Angeles with my son, I was thinking of what it means to live this concept in a city where some estimate the homeless population to be as much as 44,000 or even more (Article in NY Times, February 9, 2016 by Jan Lovett, “Los Angeles Approves Plan to Fight Homeless.”)
My son and I had taken the subway to the new Broad Museum which I wanted to visit. As it happened the line just to get a ticket was at least an hour wait. This museum is free but only allows so many visitors in at one time. I was delighted that the newest museum in Los Angeles was drawing so much attention, but disappointed at not seeing the facility or the art currently exhibited there. Prior, however, to reaching the museum, while waiting for the subway, I noticed what appeared to be a homeless young man sleeping on one of the benches in the area where we and others waited for the train. Soon I noticed a security person waking the man and telling him to get his belongings. The homeless person asked, “Where are you taking me?” The security person replied that “You have to leave here.” It did not appear as if the homeless person was being arrested, but I do not know for sure. I wanted to intervene, but knew that there was nothing I could do. It was not as if I could offer this man a home. Even if I lived in Los Angeles I could not offer a place to sleep for 44,000 plus people. Of course, there is no reason that even if I could that a homeless person would want to come stay at my home or trust me to be helpful and not take advantage of them in some way. I thought about Ubuntu. What does it mean when looking at this homeless man that “I am because you are?” What would this concept mean from the standpoint of the homeless man? “I am because you are.” From his standpoint, does it mean that he has to be homeless so I can have a place to live?” Does it mean, I exist because you exist?
Later my son and I were having lunch at the cafeteria of a music school which is open to the public. For a mere $11.00 a person we had a very elegant lunch. Jamie, my son, had heard of the fact that lunch was such an amazing bargain there. We ate our oriental rice bowls with pork and chicken, freshly cooked vegetables over a large bed of perfectly cooked rice while discussing such issues pf whether capitalism can ever be moral, fair or just. The conversation connected with some discomfort for me – the discomfort of always knowing that I have more than my share even though by the standards of some I am relatively poor – certainly too poor to live comfortably in any apartment in Los Angeles. Still, I appreciated the luxury of having a relationship with my son which allows for such important discussions.
Later, after a visit to the Museum of Contemporary Art where we were soothed, stimulated and sometimes nurtured by a host of works by such artists as Jackson Pollock, Hilo Steyerl (Factory of the Sun), and Catherine Opie (700 Nimes Road) we wandered the gardens of the Disney music hall where I was particularly enamored by the color, texture and “design” of the naked coral trees. It was a lovely peaceful setting from which we could look out to see elegant urban housing, new construction, and a tree covered by rich blue flowers. Here it was not hard to embrace the concept of Ubuntu. A few people sat under umbrellas enjoying lunch. No homeless individuals had found their way to these sacred grounds.
We left there and began to walk to a section of the city which houses interesting shops and homes protected by refined, ornamental seemingly hand crafted fences and gates which could have been designed and constructed by friends such as the iron artist Jeff Forester. On the way we also passed mini parks which were filled with blue tents surrounded by shopping carts of the households on wheels of some of the city homeless. My son and I discussed the fact that sometimes folks are allowed to camp for a bit and then the area will be sanitized so that we more fortunate souls do not have to look at them. Again, I think of Ubuntu.
I took a break from writing and went to the gym. On the walk to the gym I again saw a couple of shopping carts piled high with what appeared to be worldly belonging of one or more people. The people who belonged to these carts were not in sight. I have no idea what this means unless they just leave them there while they find a place to spend the night. There was a light rain falling and I wondered what it would be like to have all one’s possessions in the rain with or without a plastic covering, the ability of which to project the belonging was doubtful. I found myself also wondering about the treasure being transported and stored in the carts. This led me to thinking about all the “treasures” I have in my condo in Florida. Although I have been gradually giving away many of them I still have a lot – clothes, silverware, pot and pans, dishes, vases, gifts from friends a lot of artwork, tools, office equipment, files cabinets stuffed with what I must have decided were important documents. All these treasures would not fit into one or two shopping carts.
“I am because you are.” “You are because I am.” What is the “I” and who is the “you”? What constitutes our essence? What is the essence of the “I” and what is the essence of the “we”?
What does it mean to be my brother’s keeper? More importantly, what does it mean to be my brother/sister and what does it mean for them to be me?
I know that city officials and those who exists to be their brothers/sister’s keeper struggle in Los Angeles and many other cities to respond to the needs of the homeless. Tourists and business people do not like to step over the sleeping bodies of the homeless. I seem to recall when Seattle officials, who had been known to be especially concerned for and attentive to the needs of the homeless, began to face the economic reality that business people were complaining that the presence of sleeping bodies and folks asking for assistance were hurting their businesses and something had to be done. Thus began a move to rid the sidewalks and entrance ways of those who the customers and residents did not want to have to daily confront.
Homeless people make us uncomfortable which is to say that homeless people reflect a part of ourselves which we are uncomfortable. We like to think of ourselves as individuals, communities, and nations as invincible. Obviously, since 9/11, we in the United States and many in other countries have had to come to terms with the fact that we are not nearly as invincible as we wanted to believe. We do not want to believe that an organization unaffiliated with any country has managed to remind us that no amount of bombs, security checks or intelligence agents can provide the protective shield we expect to be able to use. While there may be those in the United States who desperately want to believe that by keeping any additional Muslims from immigrating that we will be safe, the truth is that the danger is not Muslims or any group we can profile.
The “terrorist” as does the homeless person bring us back to a part of ourselves we can no longer deny. At a metaphysical level we are forced to accept that we need the homeless to bring us back to the fullness of the reality of ourselves as individuals and as communities. The homeless also need us to remind them of the part of themselves which they may have lost faith in.
“I am because you are” brings us back to the ancient Chinese teachings of the yin and the yang or perhaps the teaching of the wisdom of the yin and the yang brings is back to the wisdom of Ubuntu. It does not matter which came first. The point is that wise elders have been teaching this truth for a very long time. The reader will recall that the symbol for the yin and the yang is a circle containing both the yin and the yang. In the yin is a small circle of the yang and in the yang is a small circle of the yin. Neither the yin or the yang can exist without the other. They represent the primal opposing forces found in all things in the universe.
I wonder, then, if I am accurate in suggesting that the concept of Ubuntu is contained in the truth which is inherent in the ancient teaching of the yin and the yang, that perhaps the “problem of the homeless” is, in fact, not a problem at all. Perhaps we need the homeless to reclaim a part of ourselves just as the homeless need the non-homeless to reclaim a part of themselves.
If we continue to look at the homeless and the terrorist in the same way, we will continue to find that the solution eludes us.
Anyone who has studied problem solving in any area of life knows that very often a problem is not solved because the diagnosis is inaccurate. In order to approach an issue or a lesson we need to identify the problem more accurately. Perhaps as much as it may break my heart to face the homeless individuals, they are not the problem to be solved or eliminated. Perhaps I need this reflection of me just as they need the reflection of them in me. Perhaps until we face “I am because you are” we will need each other.
Written April 8, 2016
I have previously written about the African concept of Ubuntu – I am because you are. Yesterday, while enjoying another day in Los Angeles with my son, I was thinking of what it means to live this concept in a city where some estimate the homeless population to be as much as 44,000 or even more (Article in NY Times, February 9, 2016 by Jan Lovett, “Los Angeles Approves Plan to Fight Homeless.”)
My son and I had taken the subway to the new Broad Museum which I wanted to visit. As it happened the line just to get a ticket was at least an hour wait. This museum is free but only allows so many visitors in at one time. I was delighted that the newest museum in Los Angeles was drawing so much attention, but disappointed at not seeing the facility or the art currently exhibited there. Prior, however, to reaching the museum, while waiting for the subway, I noticed what appeared to be a homeless young man sleeping on one of the benches in the area where we and others waited for the train. Soon I noticed a security person waking the man and telling him to get his belongings. The homeless person asked, “Where are you taking me?” The security person replied that “You have to leave here.” It did not appear as if the homeless person was being arrested, but I do not know for sure. I wanted to intervene, but knew that there was nothing I could do. It was not as if I could offer this man a home. Even if I lived in Los Angeles I could not offer a place to sleep for 44,000 plus people. Of course, there is no reason that even if I could that a homeless person would want to come stay at my home or trust me to be helpful and not take advantage of them in some way. I thought about Ubuntu. What does it mean when looking at this homeless man that “I am because you are?” What would this concept mean from the standpoint of the homeless man? “I am because you are.” From his standpoint, does it mean that he has to be homeless so I can have a place to live?” Does it mean, I exist because you exist?
Later my son and I were having lunch at the cafeteria of a music school which is open to the public. For a mere $11.00 a person we had a very elegant lunch. Jamie, my son, had heard of the fact that lunch was such an amazing bargain there. We ate our oriental rice bowls with pork and chicken, freshly cooked vegetables over a large bed of perfectly cooked rice while discussing such issues pf whether capitalism can ever be moral, fair or just. The conversation connected with some discomfort for me – the discomfort of always knowing that I have more than my share even though by the standards of some I am relatively poor – certainly too poor to live comfortably in any apartment in Los Angeles. Still, I appreciated the luxury of having a relationship with my son which allows for such important discussions.
Later, after a visit to the Museum of Contemporary Art where we were soothed, stimulated and sometimes nurtured by a host of works by such artists as Jackson Pollock, Hilo Steyerl (Factory of the Sun), and Catherine Opie (700 Nimes Road) we wandered the gardens of the Disney music hall where I was particularly enamored by the color, texture and “design” of the naked coral trees. It was a lovely peaceful setting from which we could look out to see elegant urban housing, new construction, and a tree covered by rich blue flowers. Here it was not hard to embrace the concept of Ubuntu. A few people sat under umbrellas enjoying lunch. No homeless individuals had found their way to these sacred grounds.
We left there and began to walk to a section of the city which houses interesting shops and homes protected by refined, ornamental seemingly hand crafted fences and gates which could have been designed and constructed by friends such as the iron artist Jeff Forester. On the way we also passed mini parks which were filled with blue tents surrounded by shopping carts of the households on wheels of some of the city homeless. My son and I discussed the fact that sometimes folks are allowed to camp for a bit and then the area will be sanitized so that we more fortunate souls do not have to look at them. Again, I think of Ubuntu.
I took a break from writing and went to the gym. On the walk to the gym I again saw a couple of shopping carts piled high with what appeared to be worldly belonging of one or more people. The people who belonged to these carts were not in sight. I have no idea what this means unless they just leave them there while they find a place to spend the night. There was a light rain falling and I wondered what it would be like to have all one’s possessions in the rain with or without a plastic covering, the ability of which to project the belonging was doubtful. I found myself also wondering about the treasure being transported and stored in the carts. This led me to thinking about all the “treasures” I have in my condo in Florida. Although I have been gradually giving away many of them I still have a lot – clothes, silverware, pot and pans, dishes, vases, gifts from friends a lot of artwork, tools, office equipment, files cabinets stuffed with what I must have decided were important documents. All these treasures would not fit into one or two shopping carts.
“I am because you are.” “You are because I am.” What is the “I” and who is the “you”? What constitutes our essence? What is the essence of the “I” and what is the essence of the “we”?
What does it mean to be my brother’s keeper? More importantly, what does it mean to be my brother/sister and what does it mean for them to be me?
I know that city officials and those who exists to be their brothers/sister’s keeper struggle in Los Angeles and many other cities to respond to the needs of the homeless. Tourists and business people do not like to step over the sleeping bodies of the homeless. I seem to recall when Seattle officials, who had been known to be especially concerned for and attentive to the needs of the homeless, began to face the economic reality that business people were complaining that the presence of sleeping bodies and folks asking for assistance were hurting their businesses and something had to be done. Thus began a move to rid the sidewalks and entrance ways of those who the customers and residents did not want to have to daily confront.
Homeless people make us uncomfortable which is to say that homeless people reflect a part of ourselves which we are uncomfortable. We like to think of ourselves as individuals, communities, and nations as invincible. Obviously, since 9/11, we in the United States and many in other countries have had to come to terms with the fact that we are not nearly as invincible as we wanted to believe. We do not want to believe that an organization unaffiliated with any country has managed to remind us that no amount of bombs, security checks or intelligence agents can provide the protective shield we expect to be able to use. While there may be those in the United States who desperately want to believe that by keeping any additional Muslims from immigrating that we will be safe, the truth is that the danger is not Muslims or any group we can profile.
The “terrorist” as does the homeless person bring us back to a part of ourselves we can no longer deny. At a metaphysical level we are forced to accept that we need the homeless to bring us back to the fullness of the reality of ourselves as individuals and as communities. The homeless also need us to remind them of the part of themselves which they may have lost faith in.
“I am because you are” brings us back to the ancient Chinese teachings of the yin and the yang or perhaps the teaching of the wisdom of the yin and the yang brings is back to the wisdom of Ubuntu. It does not matter which came first. The point is that wise elders have been teaching this truth for a very long time. The reader will recall that the symbol for the yin and the yang is a circle containing both the yin and the yang. In the yin is a small circle of the yang and in the yang is a small circle of the yin. Neither the yin or the yang can exist without the other. They represent the primal opposing forces found in all things in the universe.
I wonder, then, if I am accurate in suggesting that the concept of Ubuntu is contained in the truth which is inherent in the ancient teaching of the yin and the yang, that perhaps the “problem of the homeless” is, in fact, not a problem at all. Perhaps we need the homeless to reclaim a part of ourselves just as the homeless need the non-homeless to reclaim a part of themselves.
If we continue to look at the homeless and the terrorist in the same way, we will continue to find that the solution eludes us.
Anyone who has studied problem solving in any area of life knows that very often a problem is not solved because the diagnosis is inaccurate. In order to approach an issue or a lesson we need to identify the problem more accurately. Perhaps as much as it may break my heart to face the homeless individuals, they are not the problem to be solved or eliminated. Perhaps I need this reflection of me just as they need the reflection of them in me. Perhaps until we face “I am because you are” we will need each other.
Written April 8, 2016
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