transitionality
in class we are currently talking and reading about immigration and how immigration brings with it economic revival as well as diversity in terms of people and cultures. the article that talks about buffalo (the place) mentions how important it is to try and get people to stay in a city as oppose to it being transitional. people need to want to stay to make thing better for themselves, which makes things better for everyone, like getting better access to education and transportation.
i guess if you’re just passing by you can always say that these things don’t concern you because you’re only there for a bit. but the thing is, we need to fight for the here and now as well as the future stuff. the mindset that some things are not our concern can lead to a type of complacency where we don’t join in solidarity with other people, making it harder for them to fight and harder for ourselves when something we are concerned about comes up.
i think it is important to fight to better our access to a variety of different things where we are currently living, making it possible for all of us to grow as a community.
in the article about buffalo the author talks about how there is a section of town where many people seeking refuge or residency of some type, they are immigrants and many don’t have the proper u.s. required documentation. they don’t have access to jobs and housing, or any money or assets they might have had because of the situations they are coming from. If jobs were available i do think they would take them, part of what they are looking for is a place to stay. unfortunately u.s. laws are not favorable to people who break them, even if these laws do more harm than good.
laws play a big part of what happens and what people can do. to make people stay there have to be jobs, housing, education, etc. But these things are closed off to certain populations and so end up harming the country instead. i don’t understand the logic behind not letting people work, specially if it’s people looking to settle and grow, like the article argues is the key to keeping a city alive.
conclusion, need to fight in our communities to get resources we want, and not compete with other communities for resources but instead fight in solidarity with them. if we find that we live in a system where we have to compete for access to education and jobs, things that are central to our lives, then maybe we have to start thinking about changing it. how is the bigger question, and there is more than one answer.
