Moser: Holy Family Festival Caters to Common Ground

Opinion 

This is the definition of  “hood”  from the Urban Dictionary, a great source for modern communication. 

1. The ghetto.

2. Someone who is from the ghetto.

3. Someone who acts like they are from the ghetto.

Other Slang: Hoodlum, gangsta, thug, pimp, street-rat, street urchin, etc.

There are actually a couple more definitions under the same entry, but since they are sexual in nature and have nothing to do with this text, I’m leaving them off. You can read them yourself if you’re interested.

A friend of mine started a Facebook conversation yesterday, asking if anyone else was offended by the term, “hoodbridge”. I immediately seized upon that query because I am offended when I hear that term. I was surprised to discover that no everyone feels the same. In fact, apparently there are at least 13,622 people not offended!

I had always assumed the word “hood” evolved from “hoodlums,” a term frequently used by my grandma to describe the boys I liked. Indeed, my grandma may have watched “The Hoodlum” in 1915 and carried that image with her.

The image must persist, because in 1997, Laurence Fishburne and Vanessa Williams made a movie by the same name. The description for their version of “Hoodlum” involves black gangsters in 1930 Harlem trying to horn in on Dutch Schultz numbers racket.

In fact, this morning, I looked up the term, “hoodlum” and find it has evolved from simply including motorcycle riders of the 60’s and guys my grandma didn’t like to this version, again from the Urban Dictionary. So, I’m still having a hard time understanding why people think it is all right to use the term, “hoodbridge”

I’m more willing than many to learn about new things. I love technology and I love people, so I find it troubling there is such a breach of understanding between me and at least 13,622 others.

Here’s the comment I added to the discussion: I guess it is a perception in the way we want to be known. Perhaps some people think it’s cool to denigrate our community. Maybe some people don’t see the harm. Surely, some people see it differently and yes, our community is changing.

The real problem is we are not communicating with each other. We have no opportunity to meet each other, whether young, old, white, black, Hispanic, rich, poor.

We need a community center that doesn’t cater to diversity, but allows us to meet on common ground. Holy Family has a festival  on Sept. 7, that embodies this, but we need a regular venue where older white people can listen to young black rap and then respectfully discuss what we like or don’t like or a place where the Hispanic community can tell us how they feel about life in Dale City and we can tell them the same.

Our values are different, our perceptions are different, but nearly every one of us has the same basic need. We want to live as well as we can afford. Our families are important and we want to be proud of where we live.

I’m working toward that as a goal. Everything I do, all the boards, committees and groups I work with are to help define a better future primarily for Dale City residents, but in general for anyone who is interested in the same thing.

Let me know what you think in the comments.