I graduated from Groveton High School in the 1970s. In 1986 Fairfax County combined Groveton High School with Ft Hunt High School and named the new school West Potomac High School. West Potomac still occupies the same buildings on Quander Rd where I once attended class. It still sits just down the street from the seedy Rt 1 corridor. It is still just around the corner from my old home on Huntington Ave. It is still a mix of poor and middle class people. It is still a racially diverse area. And the kids who attend the school are still a source of inspiration and pride to me. This is one of their stories.
Maryam Ali is not your typical crew team member. She would not have fit in at the Lilly white, toffy prep schools where some of the contributors to BaconsRebellion came of age. She is poor, lives in subsidized housing and is an African American. She lives with her hard working widowed mother. Sometimes her family has to decide between spending $2 for a bus ride or having lunch. If Maryam can’t afford to pay the costs of being on the crew club the parents of the other young people in the club will make up the difference. The good people of the Rt 1 corridor do not run to Richmond with their hats in hand like so many of their fellow Virginians from downstate.
For the edification of many of the ill-informed contributors and commenters on BaconsRebellion – Maryam lives in Fairfax County. She hardly fits the misconceived and ignorant stereotype of a Fairfax County resident. She is from one of the many working class families in that part of Fairfax County. When the weak kneed members of the General Assembly steal from Fairfax County they steal from kids like Maryam.
However, none of the limousine liberals so prevalent on this blog need worry about Maryam. She has more moxie and determination than all of the Democrats in Congress added together. She also has the benefit of good hearted neighbors in Fairfax County. When she can’t afford the costs of a trip with the crew team an anonymous donor pays for her to go.
My bet is that Maryam will grow up to be a well educated, well adjusted successful taxpaying citizen. She will probably resent the “goodie two shoes” liberals who want to take her hard earned money so it can be given to those unwilling to claw their way up the economic ladder.
My bet is that the life experiences of growing up poor in Fairfax County will lead Mayam to a conservative world view. You see, people who earn everything they have resent big government trying to take it away. This is especially true when you start with very little.
Mr. Groveton should know.
Read the full article here – http://bit.ly/dBJhH0
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