| My friend Deanna Zandt, Binghamton native and current Brooklynite, shares her thoughts on her hometown and today's tragedy:
Reflections on the Binghamton shooting
We all have our grownup sensibilities about the towns we come from, especially those of us that moved to Big Cities- all our bravado about how glad we are that we "got out," our vows to never look back (maybe), or quietly and smugly looking back at those quaint li'l places. But there is something special about Binghamton. It was never a thriving metropolis, but it got by alright, and that's what most of the folks that live there seem to live by.
I once wrote that the people from my hometown were never the stars of the production. We were always happy to be in the background, providing the scenery. Maybe once in a while, we were the people that got a line, fingering the suspect. "That's the guy," we'd say. It would be straightforward, without fanfare. That's how people from Binghamton operate.
Being brought to a national stage like this, under such horrible circumstances, is devastating. Not only do "things like this" not happen in Binghamton, but additional layers - economic duress, the immigrant aid center where it happened - make it all the more sharp.
The whole thing is well worth a read. |
