Our 'network of mutuality': Today So Far

• It is easy to quote a line from Martin Luther King Jr. But how often do we dig deeper into the context around these quotes? You'll find a common theme that we are all connected.
• Also, Sea-Tac Airport has become shelter to a number of unhoused people looking for a place to sleep.

This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for January 17, 2023.

“We are tied in a single garment of destiny."

Ed Taylor points to this Martin Luther King Jr. quote in a recent essay for KUOW. Taylor details a trip to India, where he met the Dalai Lama, and lived through a unique experience that reminds him of MLK's message.

This theme that we are all connected, our "network of mutuality," is part of MLK's famous "Letter from Birmingham Jail," but it is a point that he often emphasized. It's where we get the related quote: "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

I grew up learning about MLK in grade school, where he is often spoken of as a civil rights leader focused on race issues. There's a good reason for that; it's a big issue he worked on. He was honored with the Nobel Peace Prize for it. But this issue touched many others that he also dedicated his time to. The famous March on Washington where he delivered his "I have a dream" speech, was fully titled "March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom," tying economic struggles to civil rights causes. The last speech he gave ("I have been to the mountaintop") at Mason Temple in Memphis spoke to this theme, too, but MLK was there in support of sanitation workers on strike. Speaking about these workers, MLK urged listeners to "develop a kind of dangerous unselfishness." He further said, "Be concerned about your brother. You may not be on strike. But either we go up together, or we go down together."

It is very popular to quote MLK, especially by public figures, often in support of X issue or stance. There are a lot of good ones to choose from, such as "by the content of their character," or "Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that." But these lines are woven into larger arguments. They stand strong on their own, but they were stated with context and a purpose. MLK did not just say that "hate cannot drive out hate," he went on to preach that people should find a way to love those who hate them, to find what is good in such people, and to not return hate for hate. When he hoped for a day when people will be judged by the "content of their character," he also talked about voting access, police brutality, and poverty.

These are all among a handful of issues MLK spoke to as if they were interconnected. They are as such, because we, as people, are deeply interconnected. Not even social media, online ordering, or Zoom can change that. That doesn't mean we aren't different, but it does mean we have to live together. This message hasn't changed much from MLK's day, whether you live in Seattle, Walla Walla, the United States, or simply put, this planet.

In a way, Ed Taylor experienced this message of interconnectedness on a car ride in India, where he learned that the only way to get from A to B, was for people to acknowledge they all live together. Read Taylor's full story here.

It's easy to blend in at an airport. Folks are usually moving about, not sticking around for too long. That's why some have come to rely on Sea-Tac Airport as a shelter — they can blend in and get some sleep.

At least, some folks try to blend in. Miguel Mendoza told KUOW that he's among a group of unhoused people in the region who have come to rely on Sea-Tac Airport as shelter. It's warm and it's dry. For Mendoza and others, Sea-Tac is one option in a mix of methods to get through the night. Other options include all-night buses or trains, or just walking through the night altogether. At Sea-Tac, however, there is a risk of getting kicked out by police.

Ben Hall, another person who uses the airport to sleep, noted another downside to the airport — it's "boring and it's hard to lay down and close your eyes.” De Chung is another person using the airport as a place to sleep, nearly every night.

“I don’t know where to go," Chung said. "Outside is too cold and there’s rain."

Sea-Tac Airport has recently begun to take measures around the issue. It hired a mental health responder and has provided more training for officers. A lot of the time, it's Port of Seattle police officer Michelle Bregel who is contacting people sleeping at the airport. She says a lot of folks think the airport is public property and don't realize "that they’re trespassing on private property.” Bregel is the Port of Seattle's full-time crisis coordinator. As such, a lot of unhoused people know her around the airport. She's the one helping them find shelter, get to a hospital, or get in touch with family.

“Unfortunately, a lot of the services that are available in the area are struggling due to low staffing,” she told KUOW.

Read the full story here.

AS SEEN ON KUOW

For the last year, Seattleite David Tagliani has been working in Ukraine, along with his dog Libby, as a first responder. He’s an EMT who does search and rescue. For years, he’s spent most of his time away from home, helping where he’s needed, but this is the first time work has taken him to an active warzone. (Courtesy of David Tagliani)

DID YOU KNOW?

Happy birthday James Earl Jones! He was born Jan. 17, 1931 and is 92 today.

You likely know the actor because of his voice, whether you grew up with him announcing that you're watching CNN, or urging you to "Give yourself to the Dark Side." Jones has steadily been the voice of Darth Vader in Star Wars titles ever since the first film debuted in 1977. He most recently provided the voice again in the "Obi-Wan Kenobi" miniseries. But as a child, Jones had a stutter. It was so bad, he refused to speak for many years in school. It wasn't until high school that he began to speak, publicly. He credits a love of poetry for helping him overcome his stutter and with helping him speak aloud with other people.

ALSO ON OUR MINDS

For California, weeks of deadly storms are finally set to wane after Monday

In California, where some areas have seen as much rain in three weeks as they normally do in an entire year, the last in a series of deadly storms is expected to leave the state on Monday. Since late December, Californians have been pummeled by historic levels of rain and snow that have swollen rivers, flooded roads and homes, forced evacuations, and knocked out power to millions.

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