It was oh, so hot in early July and now later in the month it is very cool. The weather patterns here have been strange as they are all over the world. Although the ice at the poles is rapidly melting and Lake Michigan, despite good rains this year, is still low, many people say all is well with the weather. The garden is adapting well but some of the flowers and vegetables are growing late, too soon, staying for a long time or just a short time. The weather, like our bowling team, seems to be Next to Normal.
The violence and homicides in North Central Milwaukee are escalating just as the Catholic Archdiocese and other institutions are withdrawing from the area. With the recent project M.A.P.S. I am trying to show how North Central Milwaukee based on race, African American, poverty, lowest in city, criminalization, highest rate of imprisonment and release in Wisconsin, lack of employment and transportation, withdrawal of food stamps and health care to the poorest and general fear in and of the area.
Good people seem ready to donate money, food, help in shelters and other so called ‘volunteer’ work if they feel safe. But living in the area or being good friends with people is another story. Those of us who call for institutional change, like using the million plus dollars the Catholic Church profited from closing of three Churches to establish a Sustainable Works of Mercy funds to make some long lasting change are ignored or ridiculed.
Like the weather people considered some of us ‘crazy’ for doing the works of mercy as a way for long lasting change. The local Catholic Church worries about losing its money while spending over 9 million dollars to protect its money.
What to do? Research like three essays on Catholic Church in North Central America?; Petitions like the Cry of the Poor?: Graphic presentations like with the M.A.P.S.?. All this does not seem to move the hearts and minds of the people on all sides and of those who “just do not want to hear about it”. Perhaps we are crazy like the weather of late and need to take some dramatic nonviolent action to expose this new ghettoizing of North Central Milwaukee. How do we do this effectively, I do not know. I might be able to get a clue from the crazy mix up weather
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