Look at what the thief didnt want.
  • Charles Mudede
  • Look at what the thief didn't want.

After a radio interview at KIRO concerning the movie Two Days, One Night, I decided to walk through the part of town that Paul Allen's billions have transformed into a node in the global net that connects the life sciences with state and private capital. Before I saw many wonderful things, I came across a car with a smashed window. The glittering glass in the grass seemed fresh. The driver, who was clearly unaware of all the bother (police report, insurance, repair) that was coming his/her way, had unwisely parked on a stretch of street that, at least on this Saturday afternoon, lacked those eyes that are described in the pages of Jane Jabobs's most famous book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities. I also noticed that the thief wanted nothing to do with the yoga mat. He (I'm sure it was a man who did this crime) left it there and a few other items.

The mat fascinated me, as it seemed to reveal the class and culture of the thief and the class and culture of its owner. I also recalled at that moment an article published not too long ago in the Seattle Times. It concerned a young yoga teacher from India, Sweta Saraogi, who has a hard time finding a balance in the yoga culture of Seattle, which, as everyone knows, is very white. (Yoga comes from India.) Americans have remixed this old tradition into new forms that often emphasize exercise (losing weight) rather than spirituality. Sweta Saraogi does not approve of this trend, nor does she like it when white Americans get too spiritual and Indian with their yoga. Where is the balance to be found? Mats are not expensive.