The Bubble

The month of March marks my favorite time of the year.  In addition to the weather becoming bearable again, I have the NCAA Tournament to occupy me for hours at a time.  So what does this have to do with the GLBT community in Jerusalem?

The road leading up to the NCAA Tournament brings up many vocabulary terms one of them being "The Bubble".  The Bubble is term to describe a team that is on the verge of making the tournament or not.  If a team starts to play well, they are no longer on the bubble, however if a team starts to play poorly their bubble expands and soon pops. 

Now, I understand that the content of this class is winding down due to time constraints (being the semesters end approaching) but I feel that there is no better way to describe Jerusalem than as a giant bubble.  How much more can Jerusalem take before it pops...but then you think of all of it's people, how much more can they take. 

Watching the trailer for the documentary City of Borders brought about the GLBT community in Jerusalem...something that I hadn't even given thought to throughout this semester.  In addition to the immediate sympathy that I felt for the GLBT community, the trailer somewhat twined together some of the major idea that we have covered thus far in this class.  

I thought about the students in the school with Palestinians and Jews alike.  For them, there is nothing wrong with one another.  

I thought about the musicians (orchestra and rappers) with Palestinians and Jews alike.  For them, there is nothing wrong with one another. 

Now I thought about members of the GLBT community with Palestinians and Jews alike.  For them, there is nothing wrong with one another. 

Then I thought about the extremists, the older generation.  For them Palestinians and Jews are separated by 180 degrees.  Everything is wrong with one another.  This is where the bubble gets bigger.  

This is class isn't about music, GLBT, sports, food, or anything else.  This is class is about the evils of politics in Jerusalem.  Politics will build a barrier, but music will knock it down.  

Jerusalem, you are on the bubble.  You have been on the bubble for a long time.  It is going to take the efforts of regular people, both Palestinians and Jews, through their friendships and extracurricular activities to shrink the bubble before it bursts.  

For as long as the earth keeps spinning, Jerusalem will remain a giant bubble.  The only question is, can the actions, people, and activities keep the bubble at a minimum.