is the paradox that I believe plagues the State of Connecticut. After living for in many different parts of the world, including nearly a year in Tegucigalpa, Honduras where the caravan of immigrants that we hear of on the current news originated, I do not consider myself well informed on politics in CT. I know it is traditionally Democrat, I know I am traditionally Democrat, I know my family is traditionally Democrat, and I could've predicted that the election for governor will likely be won by a Democrat, but what does this really mean for the everyday lives of parents, families and especially children.
I think back to the the time around Halloween, 2018. I was informed by my hairdresser that there were neighborhoods in West Hartford, CT that rallied together to celebrate Halloween earlier than October 31 for trick-or-treaters, and on the actual night of Halloween, they would turn off their lights to discourage the “carloads of children and youth” coming from Hartford to trick or treat. To put this into perspective, Hartford (while being the capital of the state) is plagued with many socio-economic tribulations that its white collar suburban neighbors to the west are rarely exposed to.
It was odd though, because we don’t seem to have a problem when people come from Hartford to deliver our Peapod, our “Dine in CT”, or our Hartford Courant. We also don’t seem to have a problem crossing boundaries from Monday to Friday as the work traffic on I-84E backs up as far as the eye can see to get into downtown Hartford for our enterprising jobs, but it is those boundaries that we have to cross constantly, that are the cause of the stereotypes and the misbeliefs about others. They allow us to believe that they are different from us but the truth is...
we are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike Maya Angelou
We all care for our families and our children, and we have fears, which is why we all want our kids to be able to walk around a safe neighborhood. With a divisive attitude to those who want nothing different than you yourself would want for the people you love, ultimately it is the children who suffer.
I began to wonder: why aren’t we rallying together and planning for real activities in Hartford so that children can trick-or-treat in their own neighborhood? That is the real issue, the fact that children are being raised every single day in a dangerous setting, one that they must escape to find a sense of adolescent normalcy. Never mind trick-or-treating, when it is dangerous to just walk around, to go to school, or visit loved ones or friends, the fabric of a community is disrupted, and in such a case, that community needs unity and support more than anything else, certainly more than isolation. Those who are truly hurt in such a scenario are those who can no longer be visited, left to suffer the isolation that can divide so dramatically.
We often think that the children are the only ones who reap the benefits of Halloween, but overlook the joy of giving a treat and being visited. Consider this: how many older adults or people with disabilities lack that privilege; how many of them are actually being visited in Hartford, especially on such a unifying holiday like Halloween? Just as importantly, how will the knowledge of their social depravity in relation to their western neighbors affect their upbringing? Perhaps it is time we began to constantly consider the world as more than just and them, and not only when it is convenient.
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