NonDoc presents a brief roundup of excerpts and quotes from some of our recent stories that have either come from or been about places outside our home base in Oklahoma. (Yes, it’s Red River Rivalry weekend, so we’ll even count Texas.)
If you missed ’em the first time around, here’s your chance to catch up.
Munich Oktoberfest: migrants out of sight, not mind
Bavaria is known for its conservative beliefs, and overwhelmingly the people I spoke to did not believe it was Germany’s problem — or even Europe’s problem — to absorb hundreds of thousands of migrants when so many countries much closer to the problems in, say, Syria have the resources and space to help.
Armless boy draws courage for Uganda and the world
He’d drawn my fingernails and the wrinkles in my shirt, the cargo pocket on my shorts, the chair I was sitting in. He drew a frame around me like a classical oil painting. He gave me a full head of hair. And I had to choke back tears again as I realized I’d been busying myself in Africa the same way I had in America: making art and working with kids. Rosemary was right. My purpose came and found me.
Love in the time of Google
In Saudi Arabia, where men and women are still unequivocally segregated, the potential for interaction must become so overt that men drive around with their mobile phone numbers emblazoned on their cars in hopes of attracting potential female suitors to text or phone them. On trips to Riyadh, I’ve witnessed grown men dropping sweet nothings scrawled on napkins onto the tables of women in hotel lobbies and cafes. Just another form of the calling cards of the 1950s.
Anti-intellectualism rises on the left
David Ulin’s Los Angeles Time article nails this on the head. “How stupid do we want to be?” he asks. “Do we want to be constrained by our preconceptions, or do we want to learn to engage with, even be compelled by, opposing points of view?” Those of us in and outside of the classroom would do well to consider this question and answer with integrity.
Racial divide widens under Austin’s whitening
Why the exodus? While the recent whitening of East Austin may eventually bring with it more investment in education and infrastructure to match the initial commercial growth, in the meantime, it means higher rents and more limited housing availability. Not even an armada of new H-E-B grocery stores or yoga studios or cocktail lounges can make up the difference.
(Editor’s Note: To contribute your worldly perspective to NonDoc, send a letter to the editors or a topic for potential submission to letters@nondoc.com.)
