The other night, someone got killed in my neighborhood because he made a u-turn and accidentally cut off another car.  Not only was there no accident, but the man who made the u-turn paused to apologize to the guy that he cut off.  The man who got cut off saw fit to draw a weapon to conclude this situation.  Even though he apologized, he was still shot and killed in the driver's seat of his car, which at the time was also occupied by his wife and his daughter.  This makes no sense at all. 

The same day, a man went to a church in a neighboring county to find his girlfriend and shot her.  She died on the scene.  Police were close by and apprehended this culprit, but the one from the previous situation is still at large.  What's wrong with you people?

There was a time when I was fascinated by the violent, steetlife personas, and there were even situations where I can say I was a part of it.  But some stuff is just ridiculous.  For a man to go to a woman's church on a sunday morning only to murder her... that would have been an unspeakable act at any time in my life.  What bothered me even more about this was the fact that it's not even being viewed as a big deal.  The news is kinda treatin' it like, "it is what it is... and in other news..."

It's just wild to me the things that get swept under the rug.  I remember how hard I had to look (and still do) to find information on Megan Williams.  For those of you who don't know, she is a black girl who was kidnapped and held in a shack in West Virginia by a group of white, racist bastards.  She was kept there for about a week, during which time, they committed every horrific act they could think of against her.  She was repeatedly raped, beaten, stabbed, pissed on, etc etc etc.  It's difficult for me to write about and talk about, but she endured a lot more, so that's the source of my strength to do so.

What really gets me about all of this is the connection that I draw to my job as a teacher.  Eight years standing in front of the class in a borderline Title 1 school and I have yet to face a group that I believe cares about their future... or their present for that matter.  Of course they all say they do, but words mean nothing when the speaker is ignorant to their meaning.  I have kids who refuse to read anything at all, no matter what level of reading it may be.  At 14-years-old, these same kids tell me they want to be doctors and lawyers and so forth.  I take that back.  They tell me they WILL be. 

I realized about two years ago why so many of our youth want to be in the NBA or the NFL or singers, rappers, dancers and other similar professions.  It's not because of any true talent they believe they have.  It's because they view these professions as ways to get rick without doing any work.  That's not to say that these people do no work to get where they are or to maintain their position, but their work is not publicized.  I was told by a kid recently that he was going to be in the NBA AND the NFL.  Same kid quit his high school football team because practices were outside and it was too hot. 

If what I see on a day-to-day basis is truly a microcosm of the real world, then I know why so many terrible things, such as Megan Williams sitiuation, can occur and be overlooked and ignored.  It's because we have a rising nation of people who don't respect themselves.  People who don't respect themselves don't get respect from others.

outta time for now... to be continued...