Division of Baltimore

Upon watching “The Wire”, my immediate thought was that the Baltimore that I know and presently live in is nothing like that. However, the more I thought about it, the more I began to realize that I actually don’t know anything about the Baltimore that is presented in this series. The lifestyle that I have experienced in Baltimore is certainly much different than the one depicted, but certainly does not mean that David Simon’s depiction is incorrect. What it has made me realize is that there is a separation that exists between the world that I have been exposed to and the real world that consists of drugs, violence, and poverty.
The most impacting aspect of this show was the demonstration of the separation between the poor and the life that I have experienced. Loyola’s Year of the City has attempted to teach its students about connecting to the city that is such a big part of our school. This includes all the diverse selection of people in the city. What “The Wire” shows us is that it’s not always easy[y to do that, since people from Baltimore and people that attend Loyola seem to be coming from two extremely different worlds.
In addition to this, we see the barrier that is present in our readings such as “The Mending Wall” and the barriers of sexuality in “The Whale Rider.” Much like the incredibly accurate depiction of life in Baltimore, these readings all talk about an unnecessary separation between equals. “The Wire” is one of the first few steps that can be taken in order to break the divide that separates two classes of people, mainly by familiarizing one half with the other. Through education and understanding of what the reality of life is like in inner-city Baltimore, there can be a greater sense of unity that can bring the whole of Baltimore together.