Definitions of Terror

The yellow and blue monstrosity is what was used during apartheid to terrorize protesters into submission (which, as we know, didn’t happen).

This particular photograph was taken a few days ago in Durban. As the class worrier notes, it’s an old school struggle – land, services, rights. The response from the government, also old school – terrorize the marchers into submission (which, as we know, didn’t happen).

(Thanks to the class worrier for the photograph and updates)

(from 1998, M&G, the seemingly innocuous start, 2005 Daily News on the protest (just some headlines); Tracking with the class worrier: March 2005, April 2005).

Differing Realities

On another work-related project, I spent last Saturday interviewing amazing students for our Summer Math and Science Honors Academy for students of color. These students were inspiring. Not only are they smart, dying to get off the streets or couch and study over the summer – many live hard lives that they simply take for granted.

Not all will get in, and it breaks my heart.

Instead, I have to read articles such as the recent one in the Wall Street Journal. It straight-facedly describes “bought” community service sessions for rich kids -

‘work in a village in vietnam’ for 2 weeks, snorkel off the coast for four: 5000 dollars; college applications look good with ‘community service’ on those resumes: priceless.

And if that wasn’t wierd enough, the article slips out one-liners that lament the case of the student (whose parents can afford afore-mentioned application booster) who has to look for that little extra something since those ‘lucky’ students of color have affirmative action – or whatever remains of it.

So would the wall street journal students exchange their life with one of the students I interviewed? Here’s what Chris Rock has to say:

There ain’t no white man in this room that will change places with me – and I’m rich. That’s how good it is to be white. There’s a one-legged busboy in here right now that’s going: “I don’t want to change. I’m gonna ride this white thing out and see where it takes me.”

And the movie version: go watch Crazy/Beautiful. Carlos gets on a bus for 2 hours to get to the school from which Amy can’t wait to cut class. They fall in love. But that romance trajectory is full of moments that make you squirm. Amy just completely misses the reality and limited set of choices that make up Carlos’ life. The movie’s got its problems, but it sure makes the point of the yawning gap and completely different starting assumptions of the two worlds.

Garages in Silicon Valley; Inventors in Laos

Recently organized a talk by the founders of Inveneo at my real-life job. There were several stand-out moments.

First, met Bob Marsh and learned about the Homebrew Computer Club during the hey-day of “garage-days in silicon valley” (coming to a theater near you). He was a little prickly at first, and I’m imagining it was because he hadn’t as yet recognized the inner (and really ‘outer’ if you look hard enough) geek in me behind the carefully selected formal robes I had on for just this event. I’d like to think that the few moments crawling under tables, ferragamo sandels notwithstanding, to hook up laptops and projectors brought us onto the same wavelength.

Second, I learned about pedal-powered PCs (no kidding, its a bycycle hooked up to a computer) and their invention in Laos by Laotians (as Bob candidly described -and I must say, with the joy of a geek recognizing the talent of a fellow geek). Inveneo, btw, provides really cheap, durable, replicable infrastructure for basic communication and information needs of villagers in remote areas of developing countries. Currently they’re testing their stuff in Uganda. And any company that has a Chief Geek who’s Okay can’t be all that bad. (Scroll down on the linked page to get this very bad joke)

The folks from Inveneo felt like good people, enthusiastic and with a love for their work and its potential. I do hope they advertise that inventions and innovations are not the sole purview of those of us explicitly named in the West. After all, the politics of who’s named and who isn’t will by default relegate the inventors of the pedal-powered PCs to ‘the people in Laos’, or ‘people’, or ‘Laotians’, not Inveneo or Your Name Here.

I did come into the talk with real skepticism for anything that might sound like ‘the tech panacea for poverty’ (a la ‘the tech panacea for education in the U.S.’) but I left feeling at least like there was some humility around the problem – and the relative contribution of their solutions to peoples lives.

I remain conflicted about how these (tech/science) approaches, with great intentions, and indeed positive short-term impact, by their very preponderance compared with (the much harder) systemic approaches addressing core issues such as poverty and its real causes, can shift the discourse and therefore the possibility of truly sustainable and effective long-term change. In the meanwhile, 3 cheers for Inveneo.