Corgi Expert Article

Born on the Third Base

Part V: Wealth Come Home 

Chuck Collin's book, Born on the Third Base, proved to be far more exciting than I expected. Now, I only read part V of the book so I can't speak for its entirety; however, I genuinely appreciated his arguments and encouragements for what needs to happen in society. I think many writers and researchers dive very deep into society's problems without reflecting on what tools we have right now that can be used and applied to alleviate the issues we face. It was great that Collin's took the time to identify what is wrong but then highlight how we have the capacity right now to work together and fix some of life's issues. I also appreciated how he incorporated all personal examples because it made his writing much more sincere and meaningful to read. If time allows, I might even read the rest of his book. What a thought! 

Part V dives into wealth barriers in society and the need for people to come together to lift each other up. My favorite chapter in Part V was hands down Chapter 13. In chapter 13, Collins tells us a story about a time when he took his daughter to the local pool. It was a normal, sunny day great for some family swimming. He notes how he could have taken her to a private pool where most of the white, wealthy people in the community attend; however, he intentionally did not. After they got ready to jump in, the community pool unfortunately announced that there was no lifeguard and therefore the pool would be closed. Collin's was bummed and frustrated that the pool seemed to care less. But it was the other families that were really upset. Most of the families were of low income backgrounds and this was the only pool that could attend; whereas, Collins had other options of pools to go to. Some families shared with Collins that the majority of the family swim sessions had been cancelled because no lifeguard would show up. Infuriated, Collins wanted to speak with the manager; however, he also had a moment where he realized he was kind of the stereotypical "white savior" coming into a low-income community trying to fix the problems the people were facing. He described it as being uncomfortable and confusing because he genuinely wanted to help and had the sources to, but it also seemed unfair that he was the only one who could realistically do something about the problem. Reading Collins describe his uncomfortableness in Chapter 13 reminded me a lot of the problems I face while I volunteer. I too often feel like the "white savior" and have a sense of a guilt when I go in and try to help at risk youth. It's a jarring feeling and I don't really know what to ever do about it. But I guess it's good that both Collins and I are aware of our privilege? Idk. It's tough and I want to help others but also don't want to be ignorant nor overbearing. SOS! 

Collins also highlights elsewhere in Part V how unfair it is that white, wealthy people make laws that affect minorities of low income backgrounds, because obviously the white people's interests will not match the interests of minorities. This is a problem we discussed a lot in my History GE last semester and it has so many layers to it. Of course minorities or undocumented people should be creating laws that affects others like themselves, but how can they when they have no access nor education that can elevate them into a position where they could? Where do we even begin? How do we tap into their needs without interjecting our own voices onto theirs? Collins outlines a lot of what can happen just by collaborating in a community and I think those community efforts that happened in the Jamaica Plain as he discussed, need to be taken nationwide. When we come together and actually listen to others, there is potential for us all to use our talents and resources to help those in need without making it about ourselves.