To be honest, after yesterday’s horrific mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton, I really didn’t feel like posting what I had put together because it wasn’t appropriate. But it will keep.
But I did feel I just put up something, so it was back to my notes on ideas that I keep for “Friday Fun” possibilities to see what I could find.
Maybe kids can point the way to showing us grown-ups how to get along, because lord knows we’re doing a piss-poor job of it. So I thought a fitting tribute to honor the people of El Paso is to celebrate a recent event watching kids and their parents playing together on hot pink Teeter Totters.
But this playground was like no other, because these custom-built sees-saws are between the border wall slats separating Ciudad Juárez, Mexico and El Paso. So the Border Wall becomes the literal fulcrum joining people from Mexico and the USA.
Digging into this project I was surprised to learn that the concept actually began a decade ago when two professors (Ronald Rael, a professor of architecture at the University of California, Berkeley, and Virginia San Fratello, an associate professor of design at San José State University) came up with the idea.
Rael published a book called “Borderwall As Architecture”. In fact his concept drawings are part of the permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York.
Rael said the event was about bringing “joy, excitement and togetherness at the border wall”. Adding it was also about finding “meaningful ways on both sides with the recognition that the actions that take place on one side have a direct consequence on the other side”.
Prof. San Fratello said that it is “also a place where people come together. We wanted to create scenarios that would celebrate togetherness. And also highlight the ridiculousness of the border wall.” She explained that the see-saws are made of light-weight steel and designed to be easily installed. “We could literally set [them] up in one minute.”
But unfortunately, they did not have permission. Surprisingly when the US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) arrived, they permitted the sharing of joy across the border, using the Wall as a literal fulcrum, to continue unimpeded for quite a while. Maybe laughter is truly infectious. We can hope!
But as is frequently the case, all good things must come to an end. Let’s close on an upbeat note enjoying the Instagrams Rael posted of the event – and hope it can be reprised on a much larger scale..
[Editor’s Note: Sorry, I don’t know how to resize Instagrams]
4 Responses to “Sunday Smile: The Teeter Totter Wall”
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I’ve certainly had planned posts been yanked out from under me by real-world events – been there, done that, bought the T-shirt. You certainly bounced back better than I usually do.
I do appreciate the tribute, and, with it, the poignant irony. I earnestly hope none of the children seen here was also at the other
Thank you so much for your post.
Listen to children, do not dismiss them because they are ignorant or naive. Their hearts and souls are purer because they are not so tainted by the nastiness of the world. Listen to your inner child, hankering for carefree days of play, unburdened by prejudice. What a wonderful way to defy the wall and the hate behind it! Meanwhile, this country needs to do a serious revamp of its immigration policies. I am not fool enough to claim that I have the answer, but I can at least get people talking and encourage those who know more to provide advice.
Good recovery, Nameless.
You show the human way in sharp contrast to the Republican way on display in El Paso.
What a wonderful upbeat article, Nameless! Thank you, I really needed that.