Thursday, February 12, 2009
Taking it for Granted
After reading the first chapter in the book Gang Leader for a Day, I learned some things that truly shocked me. I, thankfully, live in a very safe, low-crime area. This reading opened my eyes to the everyday life of someone who has almost nothing to call their own, someone who calls a staircase home, someone who resorts to crime, drugs, and violence because that's all they have. I think that most people in the area where I live take everything for granted: from the schools we attend, to the cars we drive, to the clothes and material items we buy. People don't appreciate what they have. I bet any of those people in the inner-city gangs would give anything to start over and be given a chance to prosper and belong in other ways that gave them a secure future ahead of them. I had never really thought about gang activity as anything other than frightening, violent, and unnecessary, but I now see that this is how many of these people live their lives in order to survive, and simply to get by. I don't think that the violence is justified, by any means, but it showed me another culture, another way of life, that truly made me feel thankful for everything I've been given. I think that many people need to remember that it's not important to compare yourself to the person who just got a new Porsche, or the girl that just got a pair of True Religion jeans, but think about the people that would be forever grateful for a roof over their heads, guaranteed food on the table every night, somewhere they can feel safe and loved...we forget about these things because it seems so ordinary in our area. We need to really open our eyes to the world around us, and realize that we are really lucky.
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I know what you mean, it's so hard to understand why people would resort to shooting at others or stealing from a local store because of what we were thankfully born into. We were brought up to know what is right and wrong with no grey areas. I'm not saying criminal acts are to be looked over for those people who are less fortunate than us, but some of them are doing it because they have no where else to turn.
ReplyDeleteps. good luck this weekend!
Skray,
ReplyDeleteGang leader for a day helped to open my eyes more. While i have heard many stories about this kind of thing, it still makes me feel thankful for everything i have and for everything my parents have given me. Most kids at stevenson dont understand how lucky and rare it is for us to live in this kind of an area with this great of a school. To live in a culture that values education more than anything else is very rare. I feel extremely lucky to have gone to stevenson and even though we talk about how much hw we get and how hard tests are, i wouldnt trade that for anything else. Because most kids dont have tests to worry about but living through the day or the week.