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September 02, 2005

Comments

paul

This is a good question that I've been pondering from my own perspective as a liberal Catholic--and as a resident of a neighborhood not so different from the poorest parts of New Orleans (I live in North Minneapolis, MN, which--contrary to the visions many have of tow-headed Swedes, this neighborhood is 2/3 black and 1/3 below the poverty line; I'm solidly middle, class, single and white). I know that my neighborhood doesn't get the same resources--investment in infrastructure and business, police protection, funding for transport, etc. And I think everyone in the broader city knows it, but chooses not to face it. I wonder if there will be any change following Katrina, or will we as a country face the reality of our divided culture by sticking our heads deeper in the sand?

P.S. Can you explain the tannery reference for us Talmudically under-exposed?

kaspit

Institutionalized racial discrimination is hard to pin down, and hence hard for those both outside and within the institutions to ameliorate.

The tannery reference is from the Mishnah (Bava Batra 2:9), which requires that a tannery be distanced 50 cubits to the east (downwind) from city limits. I think my correspondent rightly points to this rule as an example of a health/safety precaution under Jewish law. A goal of this blog is to critically examine whether Jewish law actually could help guide us toward cleaner, safer public policies.

Thanks very much for your comment; your have a fine blog.

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