Discounting Leads to Disasters

“’Very well.’ The old man chuckled dryly, entirely to himself. ‘I have considered the needs of my bees. And I believe that I can spare a few hours. Therefore I will assist you.’ He held up a long, admonishing finger. ‘To find the boy’s parrot…if we should encounter the actual murderer along the way, well, then it will be so much the better for you.’” (28). I think throughout this book, we observe the old man professing his wisdom among others who are perhaps more narrow-minded. The detectives seemed to focus on Shane’s murder and the suspects cared only for Bruno’s ramblings. The old man realized that this is about more than a murder. This is about a seemingly defenseless and very lonely boy losing his best friend and companion. Valuing the boy’s input is important because he wants his bird back more than anyone wants to find the murderer.

This kind of relates to a really cool project that is happening in Detroit called the “Empowerment Plan”. Veronika Scott needed to manufacture a piece of clothing that could help someone in need for a design class assignment. Often when people are trying to be helpful in their community, they do not ask the people they would be serving what they need. This leads to many overly optimistic ideas with lackluster results. For example, in the program “Teach for America”, the organization throws young and excited “teachers” into some of the most hostile, underprivileged, and impoverished school districts in America with the hope that these teachers will then gather the skills they need to be successful and change the education system when they leave the school in two years. However, this leads to many unforeseen problems because the organization did not ask the children or parents what they really need. One huge problem is that many of these children have had abandonment problems in the past, so a teacher that they get close to over the span of two years may cause more damage when they leave the children at the end of their commitment. Veronika Scott, on the other hand, went straight to the people she knew would be using her product, the homeless people of Detroit. She went to a soup kitchen and asked what they needed. Now, she owns a business creating a coat that transforms into a sleeping bag and empowers the low-income women in the area to manufacture them. Veronkia, like the Old Man, valued opinions that would conventionally not be considered.

On a side note the Christian Science Monitor reviewed Michael Chabon to be..."simply, the coolest writer in America" which I think is a hilarious appraisal. lol.