Da Streetz

What is it about the streets that is such a “something”? Here is my hypothesis:

Obviously, in situations of poverty when you go homeless it is said you are “on the streets”.

There, over many many years, has a culture formed around the streets. It is like the “bare bones” of society. This is after the protective layers of outer clothing has worn away. This is after the skin and organs have dried out. This is when only remains the bones, bare and with no cover or protection. This is where conflicts, at higher levels of society, get sort of “worked out”. This is the culture that many hip hop and rap artists have so gracefully documented in their artistic works.

Of relevance are laws of the actual streets. In America, our Title VI Anti-Discrimination laws are very relevant because the streets are in the public domain. The Department of Transportation has to follow such prerogatives in all their policy, from the top to the bottom, not to mention their (the DOT’s) actual laws of the street.

I believe that these actual laws of the streets are filtered down to almost a lifestyle or way of life for the people living on the streets. It is so bare-bones, once you live that culture, you must adhere to the laws of the streets to survive. It may seem strange, but in some ways, those people, in my experience and hypothesis, are nearest to the living manifestation of what the “law” is.

I pray for the people living on the streets, those homeless, those in marginalized communities, those experiencing poverty. May we all help them to find ways to escape out of the streets and live healthy and happy lives outside of poverty and dire situations.