Two Edged Pen
Someone the other day asked if I thought by writing sketches about the South End I wasn’t contributing to the polarization of the island, Us vs. Them. I will admit, it gave me pause. Had I set in motion the wheels of discontent? Had I created the mechanism for separatism, otherness and the seeds for civil war? Should we make South English the lingua franca or should we encourage bilingualism? Are we a mixing pot or a melting pot?
So … you can well imagine the sleepless nights I’ve had to endure, the moral dilemma of all who slam face to nose with the reality of their mightier-than-the-sword pen and can no longer avoid taking responsibility for the effects our words have on a population fed starvation diets of Tweets and Twitters. Admittedly it’s an explosive concoction, thee short little expositories, and when what might have been seen as scarcely more than travelogues of a twisted imagination become kindling for fevered prejudices, the burden, my friends, is heavy indeed.
The warnings were there, I admit. I sent some of these audio recordings to our local public radio station KSER only to be told they might Offend. Offend who? I asked. People on the South End, the station manager replied.
Satire, you see, is a two edged sword. You’re never really sure who will take umbrage, but rest assured, someone will. Or everyone! I decided finally that in a world where Fox News is considered actual news or where we still debate (outside coal mining towns) if Global Warming exists or when one political party nominates a rich playboy philandering loudmouth know-nothing, I can’t really shoulder the burden of fomenting polarization. If you decide I’m poking fun at you and yours, I might just be. If you think I’m on your side, don’t bet on it. If you think I know what I’m doing, think again. I’m a South Ender. You think we live down here so we could spread the news, I got a job for you as copy editor. Call after midnight most any holiday, my secretary Raoul will set you up with an interview.
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