#allpackagesmatter - Thank You, @Sean Carter

So I've been spending a lot of time talking about myself lately, which is probably not a surprise. It's my blog, and I've been avoiding Facebook and its inherent drama, so that leaves me as my #1 topic.  Today, though, I got sucked into a good one, and I'm going to talk peripherally about Sean Carter, because he's awesome. Thank you, Sir, for keeping the faith.
All Packages Matter, people. Add this to your list of causes.

I lived in DC (That's short for Our Nation's Capital, #2 Black majority city after Philly) for 13.5 years. I watched my neighborhood gentrify, and as a person who started out as the minority, I can tell you I had mixed feelings. I appreciated the restaurants that popped up down the street - Red Rocks, El Chucho, and Room 11 - but I was sad to see houses emptied one by one, as the original occupants passed away and their relatives sold the houses to flippers.  Do other cities have Luxury Condos with Used Tire Mart views?  Dunno. I do know that it started to be a thing to have a bunch of white people playing football in the alley and having screaming parties every weekend. I saw them - they were white. The previous neighbors would say hello from their porches and never screamed.

This is all to say that I've had some Package Events myself.  There was one where I called the phone number on the shipping label, and the lady said she'd come over and get it.  She may have sounded non-white; I don't know, don't care.  Not all nonwhite people don't sound white. If you meet enough people who are not white, you learn this is true. But I do remember she seemed extremely polite and - Cautious, capitalised - as she approached the steps. She was really sweet and I wanted to meet her for coffee some day, but it was just a package. Maybe if we'd crossed paths on a different day we could have had a cuppa.

There was another Package Incident where I delivered, and the person (who did actually sound white) did not answer the door nor the phone though I said I was coming immediately. I left a voice message that the package was outside the main entry and hopefully nobody would pick it up.  I didn't hide behind a car to see if some furtive white person ran downstairs and snatched it - maybe they weren't white. Don't know, don't care; it's just a package, after all.

Today I got a package I ordered on Etsy, and it was delivered to my mailbox. I'd entered into negotiations with the person to buy something she wasn't selling but was related to her wares. She agreed to the transaction, and accepted my payment, but then suddenly went out of town and forgot to ship. She sent me an apologetic email and hoped I was a patient person. 

I am, and I asked that she please include a rock from her travels. I like rocks, and almost nobody actually gives them to me.  I've gotten a lot of awesome gifts from around the world, but all I really wanted was a rock.  Anyway, the Etsy-person emailed once she was home, and sent a picture of the tracking so I knew my package was on the way. It arrived today - what I'd ordered, and more, and also a sparkly-white rock - with a sweet letter. Can't say if she's white or not, don't care. Thank you, Etsy-friend. We will get our story out of this yet. I don't think this is it. Stay tuned.

Sean Carter, you shouldn't have to qualify your decision, and you shouldn't have to even  consider whether to send your teen-agers to perform a neighborly duty, but you do. All packages matter, Sir, but it matters who delivers them. And I will not shut up until the rest of the white people GET IT.

This is a thing, and it's been going on since way before Obama was elected.  You-all probably didn't know about it because nonwhite people (and yes, I'm going to be racist here) quite often have better manners than the privileged few do.

Cheers, mates.