I know, I know, it’s not a popular opinion. Facebook is far from perfect and may be killing us!
I want to acknowledge its value. First, in letting me share my work and shipping to a group that I know will respect and care for me. See my goofy sports video
Second for connecting some of the looser ties of life. The stray co-worker or high school friend you shared a hallway with.
Particularly my high school ties have been invaluable. I went to Brooklyn Technical High School in the now gentrified Fort Greene, Brooklyn. It is a magnet school drawing students from all around the city. Entry was based on an exam. Along with Stuyvesant and Bronx Science, it is considered one of the best public high schools in New York City.
It is WONDERFULLY diverse (or was). I don’t have the specific number but it felt to me like it was 33/33/33. A third Asian, a third Black and a third everyone else. If there were white kids in the school they were first or second generation immigrants… Russians, Greeks, Italians mostly. The Black community was very well represented by the Black community of Brooklyn that seemed to over index with Caribbean immigrants (Jamaican, Trinidadian, Barbadian, Dominica etc.)
Anyway, I’m grateful for having the opportunity to speak intelligently to smart and diverse people that are NOT white American. Over time my world narrowed. I self-selected down to people with ethnic white, Catholic working class backgrounds… My opportunities to meet new people of different background were never as great as they were in High School…
Facebook has allowed me to have genuine conversations about race, politics and differences in this country with a cohort of impressive people. My high school acquaintances & friends, who I got to see at my 25th high school reunion in April, are simply amazing. I’m impressed with each one of them. So in awe of all of them. They were lawyers, professionals, business owners and people who were successful in life. In the room with the 200+ alumni of mostly ethnic New Yorkers, I felt home. I felt lifted and I felt proud.
Thank you Brooklyn Tech Class of 1992. I love you, I love you all, equally but different.
3 replies on “Grateful for Facebook and Brooklyn Tech Class of 1992”
I tell my gf this all the time. I feel like my years at Tech taught me the most about other cultures I had no contact with in El Barrio, where we grew up. Although I did not take full advantage of the education, I will never forget the experiences I had and people I met while there. I count you among some of the most interesting people I met because of Tech. Wepa!
Did you go to Isaac Newton, we knew each other before no?!?
I did not go to Isaac Newton, but I think you’re right that I knew you before. Hmmm