The Way We Live Now

Three articles stood out in the San Francisco Chronicle of August 20, 2006. The first concerned the rapidly rising homicide rate in Oakland, especially among young people in poor neighborhoods. The second described the terrible neglect of the 9th Ward in New Orleans, where there are piles of garbage feeding thousands of rats, no electricity, no open banks or markets or hospitals, and little rebuilding—in contrast to more prosperous (and whiter) areas where houses have been rebuilt and residents are returning. The third discussed a new job category called “parenting coaches,”—people hired by the wealthy to teach their infants how to sleep through the night, to toilet train their toddlers, to deliver healthful and organic meals to their children at school, and even, when necessary, to pick the lice out of their hair.

(back to September 2006 Newsletter front page)