One of the things I've been enjoying as the kids grow up is to discuss issues with them. It is a lot of fun to make them think through to figure out what is right and what is wrong and decide on which side of the political spectrum they want to be in.
It was gentrification of cities we talked about last week. We were driving through the city and were talking about the cost of rent versus the property prices in the city. The discussion started as we drove along the rubble of the encroached houses and shops around the MRTS station in Velachery. Most of the people who rented/built the structures were lower wage earners and I was explaining how the fish stalls there were initially moved from Vijaya nagar and are again being now moved out of Velachery itself.
I started explaining how the high rent and property prices in the area are being kept at their level to slowly push the lesser fortunate to move outside the city and how it impacts their livelihood by increasing transportation costs. Initially they were skeptical as to how to avoid such scenarios. I explained a little of the rent-control laws in NYC and other cities which help keep all strata society to be able to afford housing in the city. And how having no such protection here is favoring the greediness of the people and leaving the lower wagers and the poor to be excluded. We argued and the common misconceptions of equating cleanliness with hiding the poor was cited and we talked about how hiding the poor is not a solution but rather generating more wealth across the society is a possible solution.
The discussion ended as we reached home. I am sure they will form their own opinions and arguments etc on the issues and the most important thing for me is to make sure that they realize that these are issues that affect people around them and if not empathetic, it is important at least to be sympathetic to that.
While Vanathy reads a lot of fiction, Sibi reads the newspaper everyday - not just the sports section but every page of it. And I think that has helped him to form his opinions on everything - I don't necessarily discuss everything with him, but when we come across some issue, he always expresses what he thinks and why. I get that the opinions that I had when I was 17 were drastically different from what I've today and so it is interesting to see the way his thought process evolves.
Vanathy needs a constant reminder to read 'up' on books and not get bogged down by the YA alone. So I keep recommending her books to read - sometimes she does and mostly she just parks it for 'future' reading. One book which she found interesting and I thought added a lot of value is this one.
Not necessarily a political book but is a powerful reminder for her on what can be achieved if you focus on what you want to do and a lot of examples of that.
Me and Vanathy were watching the 'Family Reunion' in Netflix yesterday and it was the episode where the police officers hold the black kids as suspicious 'men' and I was telling her how the racial equations are skewed in US and it is not always the rose-tinted world that she imagines it to be. When the pictures of kids shot by the officers started rolling off, I asked her to look up on Malcolm X and read a bit about the civil rights movement. Talked a little about the challenges of being black or brown in US and some of the racial tensions that still exist.
And the most important thing that I am still teaching them is to be able to look at issues for what they are rather than with a prejudiced view of an ignoramus. The whatsapp story clubs and the faux nationalistic ideologies have skewed the views so much that the comprehension of issues or a discussion on that has become virtually impossible with people equating whatabouttery as discussion. I want them to understand that and identify when that happens.
To me, it is important that they start learning about some of these real issues in the real world and be able to form an opinion and do their part. I grew up in a poor household and so was naturally inclined to try to understand the inequalities around me - helping me to form my political opinions. It is not the same for them. Seeing the world through a car window makes one insulated from the reality outside and only results in seeing the lesser fortunate as expendable without having any understanding of the issues.
If my kids somehow manage to step out of that car and be able to sympathize with causes and people, I may be able to call myself a good parent.
It was gentrification of cities we talked about last week. We were driving through the city and were talking about the cost of rent versus the property prices in the city. The discussion started as we drove along the rubble of the encroached houses and shops around the MRTS station in Velachery. Most of the people who rented/built the structures were lower wage earners and I was explaining how the fish stalls there were initially moved from Vijaya nagar and are again being now moved out of Velachery itself.
I started explaining how the high rent and property prices in the area are being kept at their level to slowly push the lesser fortunate to move outside the city and how it impacts their livelihood by increasing transportation costs. Initially they were skeptical as to how to avoid such scenarios. I explained a little of the rent-control laws in NYC and other cities which help keep all strata society to be able to afford housing in the city. And how having no such protection here is favoring the greediness of the people and leaving the lower wagers and the poor to be excluded. We argued and the common misconceptions of equating cleanliness with hiding the poor was cited and we talked about how hiding the poor is not a solution but rather generating more wealth across the society is a possible solution.
The discussion ended as we reached home. I am sure they will form their own opinions and arguments etc on the issues and the most important thing for me is to make sure that they realize that these are issues that affect people around them and if not empathetic, it is important at least to be sympathetic to that.
While Vanathy reads a lot of fiction, Sibi reads the newspaper everyday - not just the sports section but every page of it. And I think that has helped him to form his opinions on everything - I don't necessarily discuss everything with him, but when we come across some issue, he always expresses what he thinks and why. I get that the opinions that I had when I was 17 were drastically different from what I've today and so it is interesting to see the way his thought process evolves.
Vanathy needs a constant reminder to read 'up' on books and not get bogged down by the YA alone. So I keep recommending her books to read - sometimes she does and mostly she just parks it for 'future' reading. One book which she found interesting and I thought added a lot of value is this one.
Me and Vanathy were watching the 'Family Reunion' in Netflix yesterday and it was the episode where the police officers hold the black kids as suspicious 'men' and I was telling her how the racial equations are skewed in US and it is not always the rose-tinted world that she imagines it to be. When the pictures of kids shot by the officers started rolling off, I asked her to look up on Malcolm X and read a bit about the civil rights movement. Talked a little about the challenges of being black or brown in US and some of the racial tensions that still exist.
And the most important thing that I am still teaching them is to be able to look at issues for what they are rather than with a prejudiced view of an ignoramus. The whatsapp story clubs and the faux nationalistic ideologies have skewed the views so much that the comprehension of issues or a discussion on that has become virtually impossible with people equating whatabouttery as discussion. I want them to understand that and identify when that happens.
To me, it is important that they start learning about some of these real issues in the real world and be able to form an opinion and do their part. I grew up in a poor household and so was naturally inclined to try to understand the inequalities around me - helping me to form my political opinions. It is not the same for them. Seeing the world through a car window makes one insulated from the reality outside and only results in seeing the lesser fortunate as expendable without having any understanding of the issues.
If my kids somehow manage to step out of that car and be able to sympathize with causes and people, I may be able to call myself a good parent.
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