décembre 07, 2003
turf wars
the troika took a field trip today, braving the unbelievably frosty elements to make a pilgimage to the grey dog to satisfy some of our more sartorial cravings. en route, we passed through washington square park, deep in the heart of nyu territory. and as i do every time i pass through the area, i wondered what i would do if i ran into him.
whenever i imagine that first random encounter, my mind's eye always paints us on 7th ave, deep in the heart of tribe territory, my home turf where i am both queen and warrior. usually in front of the radio repair shop across from naidre's (still working on that one). in that situation i like to think that i would be able to play it off beautifully, i would not allow my baser emotions to get the better of me but instead greet him calmly and actually extend the hand of friendship that we spoke of, that i want so badly to present. clearly, my internal set painter is pretty certain that that particular outcome is more likely assured if i am where i feel safe, in my neighborhood.
which, incidentally, is now his neighborhood as well. seven blocks and counting. i often wonder if it ever strikes him that he has signed his soul to a tribe blast radius for the next year.
Posted by shivery at décembre 7, 2003 11:40 AM
whenever i imagine that first random encounter, my mind's eye always paints us on 7th ave, deep in the heart of tribe territory, my home turf where i am both queen and warrior. usually in front of the radio repair shop across from naidre's (still working on that one). in that situation i like to think that i would be able to play it off beautifully, i would not allow my baser emotions to get the better of me but instead greet him calmly and actually extend the hand of friendship that we spoke of, that i want so badly to present. clearly, my internal set painter is pretty certain that that particular outcome is more likely assured if i am where i feel safe, in my neighborhood.
which, incidentally, is now his neighborhood as well. seven blocks and counting. i often wonder if it ever strikes him that he has signed his soul to a tribe blast radius for the next year.
but, of course, i entertain the notion of what i would do if we made our reacquaintance in his territory, the surrounding blocks of the hallowed halls of our city's most venerated institution. would i feel exposed? would i feel guilty, as though i had violated some sacred trust by wending my way into the fabric of his day-to-day? would i even be able to speak to him, or would i have to just run away and pray he never saw me? would i feel as though i were trespassing? i thought about this a lot as we slipped and slid our way across the park.
and then my inner pragmatist piped up and reminded me: i had full access rights to this neighborhood before i met him. i had just as much right to be there as he, and i wield just as much power within that radius as i ever had; perhaps more, as each day the simple fact of my continued existence makes me more self possessed and aware. should i chance to meet him there, we will be on equal footing. if we're both lucky, we'll actually make our first awkward steps towards that friendship we promised one another as we made the distance between us official. i certainly hope so.
to paraphrase, my inner pragmatist tried to remind me that among civilized people, territorial disputes should be utterly unnecessary, no matter how jarring the break.
but, should that thought not take root, i take solace in the fact that i was here first. so really the whole damn city is my territory, if you want to play by the playground rules. and while that will never truly give me the upper hand in the inevitable encounter, while it gives me no more right to prowl the streets than he, i can always find strength in the knowledge that, no matter what the whims of another or our personal comfort zones, i belong here. everywhere i want to be. i should never feel like an alien in my own city. neither of us should.
and to be perfectly honest, i wouldn't want the upper hand in that situation, anyway; if we're really going to be friends, we have to be equals first.
and then my inner pragmatist piped up and reminded me: i had full access rights to this neighborhood before i met him. i had just as much right to be there as he, and i wield just as much power within that radius as i ever had; perhaps more, as each day the simple fact of my continued existence makes me more self possessed and aware. should i chance to meet him there, we will be on equal footing. if we're both lucky, we'll actually make our first awkward steps towards that friendship we promised one another as we made the distance between us official. i certainly hope so.
to paraphrase, my inner pragmatist tried to remind me that among civilized people, territorial disputes should be utterly unnecessary, no matter how jarring the break.
but, should that thought not take root, i take solace in the fact that i was here first. so really the whole damn city is my territory, if you want to play by the playground rules. and while that will never truly give me the upper hand in the inevitable encounter, while it gives me no more right to prowl the streets than he, i can always find strength in the knowledge that, no matter what the whims of another or our personal comfort zones, i belong here. everywhere i want to be. i should never feel like an alien in my own city. neither of us should.
and to be perfectly honest, i wouldn't want the upper hand in that situation, anyway; if we're really going to be friends, we have to be equals first.
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