How Much is a Radio Worth?

You're not going to believe what I just did. So, instead of just outright telling you, I am going to draw out what happened to the point where you'll say in exhasperation, "Alright already.."

As some of you know, I work in a church basement (where my office is located). Periodically I take afternoon breaks, often to step out into the sunshine (there are no windows in my office) and go buy a candybar or some fresh fruit from the fruitstand guy. Right before leaving, I wondered if I should've locked my office but I figured I'd only be gone for a couple of minutes. Today, however, after getting some fresh strawberries, I remembered I needed some hand lotion. After I stopped off at the pharmacy, I remembered I needed to get some money out of the bank for tonight's ballet experience (it'll be my first). So, after getting some money, some strawberries and some hand lotion, I made it back to church.

I stopped off in the kitchen (which is in the basement too) to pour some sugar into a bowl (for me to dip my strawberries into). Suddenly, I hear someone running past the kitchen door. I look up and hear a person running up the stairs. I quickly stopped what I was doing and ran after the person. Looking up to the top of the stairs, I see a guy leaving through the outside door, turning left and walking out holding something. I run back to my office, remembering the door was left unlocked, and immediately saw that my portable cd player/radio was gone. Without missing a beat, I turned and ran down the hall, up the stairs and outside. Turning left, I bolted after the man. I see him up ahead and pour on the speed. When I got just 2 feet from him, my common sense finally caught up to the adrinaline pumping through my veins. That sense said, "What the HELL are you doing??!" But then, it was too late. The guy turned around.

You should've seen the look on his face. Standing about 6'2 and having a pretty solid frame, he was definately startled. He stopped where he was and held my radio to his chest. Looking him square in the eye, I said to him in a nice but very irritated way, "Would you please give me back MY radio?" He handed it over. I said, "Did you steal anything else?" He said he didn't. Then I said, like an old man complaining about the state of current affairs, "For God's sake, how on earth can you steal from a church?" Looking embarrassed, he said he was sorry, and then turned and walked away. We both knew I wasn't going to call the cops- it was almost as if a small transaction had just occurred although no money changed hands.

Walking back to the church and thinking about what happened, I wasn't as fazed as when that guy threatened to kill me a few months ago on the subway. This time, it was different. I guess I am also thinking about what Bill Cosby said this week at the 50th anniversary celebration of Brown v the Board of Education when he spoke out against families not caring for their children enough and allowing their kids to become hoodlums. The response to Cosby's critique has been explosive here in NYC. While there are some who are very supportive of his thoughts, there are others who complain that he is being hypocritical or too condescending to understand all that is involved with raising kids in impoverished neighborhoods.

Who were the people Cosby was talking about? I tell you, the young man who stole my radio seemed good natured enough- he didn't look strung out (although he might have been). He was obviously sorry for stealing my radio (when he got caught) and no physical altercation occurred when I got back my radio. Whether Cosby was talking about the hoods who kill for drugs or the good natured guys who steal for whatever reason, he was trying to address a problem he sees within the African American community. Sure, his solution might seem too broad and void of specific challenges facing uneducated and impoverished parents, still his words are a challenge to our thinking.

I know there are many challenges facing parents today, especially challenges from minority parents in impoverished areas- still, the guy did steal my radio from inside a church. What on earth was he thinking?

I told this whole story to a collegue of mine right after it happened. She works upstairs and said, "You should've locked your office. If you had, none of this would have happened." It was almost as if she was saying this was my fault from the beginning. While I do realize that I should have locked my office (we have stuff stolen all the time here), that doesn't take away from the responsibility of the guy who stole my radio. That guy wasn't someone who was incapable of NOT stealing. He wasn't some upward walking animal that performs what his instinct tells him to do. He is a human being capable of being accountable for his actions. My collegues response seems to mirror many of Cosby's critics who have grown so accustomed to the plight of the disenfranchized that we no longer hold them responsible for decency and expected right relations.

I will not lower my standards of expectations for someone who refuses to be a good, moral person. While next time I am sure to lock my office when I go out for my afternoon break, I will still think that we are all supposed to do and be better people- not just because God has equipped us for doing so, but because that is what is necessary if we are to live together as a human family.

Oh, and if you were thinking, "Why did you go after him, you could've been killed, for crying out loud!" Yeah, that thought did occur to me but only when I was too close to the guy to reason that line of thinking out. If he would've had a gun, then I prolly wouldn't be writing this now, I'd be in the emergency room saying to myself, "For God's sake, what the hell were you thinking?!"