“Camden Chatter” is a series of blog posts by Rutgers-Camden PhD Candidate Christopher Wheeler on the “chatter” on social media about Camden. Here are his thoughts on the past week’s top stories:
Share it!
Camden Chatter: Buildings and Perceptions
Comments
Leave a Comment
This discussion is now closed.
There is no doubt that the vast majority of the people living in Camden are good, descent and hardworking people. But it is undeniable that parts of the city look like a ghetto (“a slum area, occupied by a minority group.”). It cannot be covered over by a layer of paint. Ghetto is a word from the 60s and 70s of my youth. Today’s newspaper photos and TV videos are no different than the old images in my mind’s eye.
When discussing this topic you don’t have to wait long before someone suggests that part of the answer is to knock down the abandoned buildings. But no knows from where to secure the approximately $10,000 or so needed to tear down each of the approximately 5,000 abandoned structures. The generational poverty that is tearing this City down, wounding it’s people, is not the fault of the citizens nor of the ineffective municipal leadership.
The deplorable outward appearance of these 9-square miles is like the scab covering a painful wound. Beneath that layer of dead tissue is the real pain and suffering endured by the residents, especially the children. Every day is a reminder of the hopelessness and helplessness of the situation.
Unfortunately, there is little that the City, on its own, can do to reverse this ongoing trend. Sure, we can band together to initiate a variety of programs and projects. We can deliver grand impassionate speeches. We can tweet, blog and text until we are blue in the face. All of these will undoubtedly make us feel good and some of the pain will be eased. But the underlining issues remain.
At some point in the 60’s and 70’s it became clear that we had to reduce the agonizing and increase the organizing. We can expect change only when the City finds its voice and demands a real response to the tragedies festering in it entrails. We won’t find the solutions in front of our computers, in the pew, or in the internet. The streets are empty and they call for men and women tired of being disrespected to walk until their feet hurt.
Remember that our enemies know that “A barking dog can’t bite.”