When I first moved into Allston last fall, I was happy to see multiple trash cans throughout my neighborhood at various street corners. As with any trash can, it offered me a chance to toss out dead weight I was carrying around before I changed my bills at the corner store and hopped on the T and pretty much stuffed my pockets with crap throughout the day.
It also gave me a reason not to litter, knowing I would pass a trash can at one point during my walk.
However, the irony of these trash cans has recently had me wondering.
These cans, as you can see, are decorated with various phrases and light colors and it's obvious that more work than usual was put into these than the average trash can. A phrase commonly found on these cans is, 'KEEP ALLSTON DECENT.'
Decent. What a word.
Here are the definitions of 'decent' according to Merriam-Webster.com:
1 a: appropriate b: well-formed : handsome
2 a: conforming to standards of propriety, good taste, or morality <decent behavior> b: modestly clothed
3: free from immodesty or obscenity <decent language>
4: fairly good : adequate , satisfactory <decent wages>
5: marked by moral integrity, kindness, and goodwill <hard-working and decent folks> <it's very decent of them to help>
Out of those, I would say the most decent definition of decent that applies to my neighborhood's effort to keep Allston decent would be number 4. And that is arguable.
But I guess that isn't what I find ironic. Any neighborhood full of undergrads can expect a reasonably poor effort out of its residents to keep it in good shape. I just want to know who was in charge of the trash can painting operation that decided on the word 'decent.'
It turns out that they were set up by a group named KEEP ALLSTON DECENT. They haven't updated their site since last Fall, but I will try to get in touch with someone involved with the group in the few weeks. I will propose a name change to the trash cans...howabout these?
KEEP ALLSTON NICE
MAKE ALLSTON BEAUTIFUL
MAKE ALLSTON MORE THAN DECENT
I actually read in the paper today a quote that applies to this situation: "I don't see how anyone can accomplish anything if he doesn't shoot higher than he can hit."
I think it's common knowledge that Allston isn't exactly the nicest part of Boston. But how can people who make trash cans (or the people who order them being made) expect residents to respect the cans themselves if they only promote mediocrity in cleaning up the neighborhood that it attempts to better?
If I set every goal I have to only being decent, according to Webster that means I'm only trying to be "fairly good." Maybe it's just me, but that's a pretty low bar. Why should trash pickup be the same?
