CBR Live! Archive
Friday in the 'hood
Change of pace, this week. Too many current events weighing on my mind to come up with a fun comics column.
No, it's not about the presidential election, don't panic. It's even sort of comics-related.
Wednesday I got a call from Nick, my boss at Aki Middle School. "Don't come in. We're canceling the rest of the week."
"Canceling?" I was a bit befuddled by this. It's a latchkey-kid after-school program; we cancel and there's a bunch of kids loose on the street all afternoon with nowhere to go. So this is a big deal. "What for?"
"Safety issue. There's been a threat of gang violence."
I made a noise like Buh-wha?
"Over the shooting, last week," Nick said patiently. "So, we're sending everyone home early this week. Stay home."
I had no idea what the hell he was talking about, so when I got home I looked it up. Apparently, there was a shooting at Garfield High, just down the street, earlier in the week.
From the Seattle Times:
A 16-year-old boy shot to death near Garfield High School Friday night was the fifth teenager killed in Seattle this year, a trend that had already prompted Mayor Greg Nickels to propose a new $9 million initiative to prevent youth violence.
Police would not confirm that Friday's killing was gang-related, although the department's gang unit is investigating the crime.
Several people who visited the crime scene Saturday and who said they knew the victim claimed the shooting had to do with gang rivalries.
"Whatever it is classified as, it is definitely a tragedy," said police spokeswoman Renee Witt.
A 15-year-old boy also was shot and wounded in the Friday incident, which occurred behind Garfield High School on 25th Avenue near East Jefferson Street in the Central District. The wounded boy made it to the Garfield Teen Life Center after being shot in the torso, according to police. He is in stable condition at Harborview Medical Center but is not cooperating with police.
Check out the last sentence. This idiot punk kid is in the hospital over this crap but isn't cooperating with police.
It's possible he's scared of retribution if he talks. But I'm down in that neighborhood every week and I see these kids all the time. From my observations of the way this plays out at school and on the streets, it's far, far more likely that he is subscribing to whatever bullshit code has been indoctrinated into him, that it's not cool to rat out your brothers.
The sheer dumbass stupidity of this is maddening. Here's why.
When I took the job two years ago to teach a new cartooning class at Aki there were all kinds of people who tried to warn me off it. Bad neighborhood, racial tension, dangerous job, etc. Anyone would think I was signing up to be the new White Shadow the way they carried on.
I told them they were being ridiculous and I believed it. I still believe it. Comics nerds are comics nerds and nerdity always trumps skin color.
And that's been the case with my kids at Aki. They are geeks to their toes. Whether it's Carlos' fierce determination to learn everything he can about the history of the Marvel Universe or Edwin's naked lust whenever he sees a discount longbox; whatever it might be, my point is that you know after spending two minutes in their company that they are Our People. Race doesn't enter into it at all.
Except for one thing. There is a difference. You know what it is?
The Aki cartooning students, are, without exception, incredibly grateful that the program exists. Much more so than any other class I've had in fourteen years. Every Monday and Wednesday, they are thrilled to be there. They understand what a special thing it is they are doing, maybe because there aren't that many arts programs in their end of town, and it's been an extraordinary thing for me to watch.
This year, I was asked to add a special-ed student who'd been having a hard time and it was like night and day from the last time I was asked to try that. They make it a point to include Marcus, they show him stuff, they share supplies. Apart from the single talk I gave them before Marcus' first day, this is pretty much without me intervening. (I did try to warn them they'd have to be patient, and mentioned the disaster I'd had at Denny with Desiree, but Carlos just snorted and said, "We won't be like those stuck-up bitches, Mr. Hatcher.")
They were furious at getting sent home over this gang threat. Furious.
Let's put it this way-- these kids love comics so much they wanted to ignore a police evacuation order and say screw the risk and stay. Because it was comics day.
So far efforts from school officials and police to try and get this under control are being continually frustrated by some low-rent code of omerta.
That's what I'm angry about. These gang punks, who doubtless think of themselves as Robin Hood figures out sticking it to the Man, aren't sticking it to the Man at all. They're sticking it to my students and the other kids in the afterschool arts program, kids their own age. They're sticking it to guys like my boss Nick who's down there every day trying to make their lives better, working fourteen-hour days split between school and the mission youth center, for a paycheck that I assure you is not nearly what it ought to be.
My kids, who are just getting a taste of how the arts can lift you up and out of whatever shitty situation you might be in, might have that taken away from them. Because of these knuckle-dragging fucks that every adult authority figure in the neighborhood has been trying to help.
These are the guys that the perforated hospital case is protecting. The Neanderthals fucking over my kids.
I asked Nick about what we were going to do and he told me they'd know more on Monday. The sense I'm getting is if the cops can't wrap this up somehow, then the whole program might shut down because the school's worried we can't keep kids safe. I have to admit that I can't argue with that, on a strictly practical level. If we're at school and suddenly there's a gun battle because some thirteen-year-old wannabe thug decides he wants to strike a blow for the primacy of his brothers' turf claim, me and my roomful of nerds would be pretty useless.
But my kids want to chance it and I think I do too. I think the odds favor us. I think overall they're safer at school with me than at home or roaming around, waiting for their parents to get home from work.
Apart from all that....
Maybe it just comes from reading too many Captain America stories, but damn it, at some point you have to just commit to doing what you said you were going to do, and I told my kids last spring that Cartooning was at Aki as long as they'd have me. They all showed up again in September based on that promise. The idea that I might have to break it because of some asshole gang kids and a nervous school administration just makes me sick inside.
We might be able to put something together outside of school if we had to, but then there's funding issues and a whole lot of other stuff. I would do it for nothing as long as I could afford it if I was forced to, but it's not just me. Supplies cost money. Publishing costs money. And truthfully, if I could bankroll it all myself I'd have done it that way in the first place.
The after-school programs need the support of the school to make this work right. We have the teachers' support, but we may not have the administration's or the parents', and the cops would just as soon we all went home and stayed there.
So that was my week. Not a lot of fun thoughts about comics in there. Sorry.
See you next week, hopefully with better news. According to Nick we're supposed to be back on Monday. I'll let you know how it turns out.
- Posted on November 7, 2008 @ 11:55 PM
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16 Comments
Marty Schneider
November 8, 2008 at 12:56 am
Once again, Greg, your program echoes mine.
No actual shooting here, but a few weeks ago, someone shot out the windows of two of our sheds, and tagged one of our dugouts with graffiti that threatened a school shooting. For a middle of nowhere 160-kid school, that's a big deal. Police say they caught the kid that did it, but still, that echoes around the school for a long time.
In three years, my co-workers and I have become confidantes, go-betweens for kids who can't talk to their teachers or parents, and our program has become a safe haven. These are more than some kids I work with, they are MY kids, MY students. When an 8th grader wants to say how much she hates church because they say she's not allowed to like a boy who isn't a Christian, they don't tell the parents that make them go, they tell me. When a second grader, the middle child of a family of seven, is feeling ignored and neglected, she comes and makes me laugh. Dammit, these kids need this.
And because I live in California,come January, it could all be taken away. We live in a rural area, and a lot of students are farm kids who go home and work and raise cattle and sheep and other animals, and still others would rather be at home drinking (I hope soda) and playing video games. Given this, we still average about 60 kids a day. Which is great, except the state wants 96. In fact, they want us to AVERAGE 96, so we would have to make up for it by pulling down nearly the entire school, 120 or so kids.
And so, come January, the ax may fall, and the program could well be cut. And frankly, I'm scared. And I'm praying that for the sake of your kids, and of mine, that somehow we make this right.
Chris Jones
November 8, 2008 at 1:08 am
While I understand your position, and I feel so sorry for you and your kids, the Stop Snitchin' dogma has become incredibly, INCREDIBLY powerful over the last few years. The things that have been done to people for talking to the police for things far less serious than murder have been utterly staggering. People's entire lives have been destroyed for things as relatively inconsequential as revealing the culprits in an assault case.
Having been on this earth far longer than I have, I'm sure I don't need to tell you this, but never underestimate the mere IDEA of brutality.
Rohan Williams
November 8, 2008 at 5:43 am
You obviously know these kids well, and like most teachers and teacher aides, the work you do with them sounds awesome. Not sure about the wisdom of calling a 15-year old hospitalised shooting victim an "idiot punk kid", though. It certainly is possible, as you concede, that he fears retribution, considering that the other kids ALREADY SHOT HIM.
I completely understand your frustration with what this means for your program, though. My mum's a teacher aide, and does a lot of work with her school's after-hours program, which is constantly threatened with closure. God knows what those kids would do without it, right? So I wish the kid in question was able to take the effect he's having on your program into consideration, but it's still hard not to empathise with a kid who doesn't want to get himself shot again.
Stephen
November 8, 2008 at 6:31 am
What the hell's going on in Seattle these days, anyway? Between this and the Tuba Guy being beaten to death, every story I read from the city makes me more and more depressed.
Story: Violence takes iconic Tuba Man - http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/jamieson/386267_robert04xx.html
Greg Hatcher
November 8, 2008 at 7:43 am
It's possible. But even if that's the case... it's STILL dumb. Putting the shooters away lessens the chances overall of people in the neighborhood getting shot. Leaving them free and armed to continue roaming around, popping off at anyone with whom they have a grudge, is increasing those chances. You have to start somewhere.
And, if what Chris says is true and this code of silence is the one spread by some self-important hiphop figure, that's even more maddening.
Think how it is living here. I love this town, but lately that love is tinged with frustration all the time.... the kind of frustration that happens, say, when you see your sister that used to be full of joy turning bleak because she's going out with a guy that beats her up. You love her but you want to shake her and ask what the hell she's thinking. Lately that's how I feel about what my town is becoming.
Sijo
November 8, 2008 at 9:18 am
I'm really sorry to hear about this situation, Mr. Hatcher. And I'm especially concerned about the "Stop Snitching" campaign... I can't believe some rappers are actually supporting things like that. It's one thing to gloat or pickup fights with other rappers- but actually telling people to cooperate with gangs? That should be a crime in itself.
Hopefully, this incident will soon die off, and you will be able to get back to teaching your kids GOOD stuff.
Btw, let me congratulate you... if there had been courses like yours in my school, I wouldn't have felt so bad about being a comics fan growing up. (Granted, it was more my own family than the other kids who hassled me over it!) The fact your students appreciate your class even after this event shows how much good you have already done to them. I hope you are able to continue it for a long time.
stealthwise
November 8, 2008 at 9:56 am
If I was 15 and I got shot, I'd be pretty happy to be alive, and would likely want to keep myself from the risk of getting shot again. Not saying that it's smart, but I can understand the fear of being killed, especially if you've had no reason to trust any adult figure in your life. All speculation on my part, but it's possible that this kid's not speaking out of more than just an adherence to some ridiculous code of honour.
Danielle Leigh
November 8, 2008 at 10:01 am
Very sorry to hear about this -- the enthusiasm you see in your kids and describe here is just extraordinary. Simply extraordinary. When I think how I slept through most of my education (until I got to college and "woke" up one day), it really is amazing to see how these kids' dedication to art can give them such great returns in their lives. I hope for the best and that the program can continue for a long, long time.
StereotypeA
November 8, 2008 at 11:02 am
I had trouble reading this post because it kept getting blurry through the tears. That really sucks, but you're an inspiration. Keep up the good fight, brother.
Mike Loughlin
November 8, 2008 at 11:40 am
Even at an elementary school level, that stop snitchin' bullshit is prevalent. A 5th grade girl brought a knife to school last year, and many 4th & 5th grade students knew it. She was planning on stabbing a kid in the class who was unpopular. I doubt she'd go through with it, honestly, but kids knew about it for weeks, and no one said anything.
Joe
November 8, 2008 at 3:12 pm
Normally I don't mind playing the devil's advocate and argue for a side even if I don't agree, but I really can't think of a single excuse for the "Stop Snitchin" campaign. I really hope you and your students find a way to meet up so they have something to look forward to other than worrying about dodging bullets.
Seriously, even after watching several hours of Gangland on the History channel which gives a bunch of cons, ex-cons, gangsters, and ex-gangsters a chance to speak their mind I can't think of a single excuse for why this stupidity should keep going on.
Craig M.
November 9, 2008 at 1:00 am
Geez. I shouldn't have read this. Now I'm so mad I want to hit something, but its 3 in the morning so that would be a bad thing to do.
I hope things work out ok for you and the kids.
Joe Lewis
November 13, 2008 at 11:51 am
Today is Greg Hatcher's 39th birthday. Greg is responsible for turning me on to a show called "Star Trek" when we were freshmen in high school. Our French Teacher, Mr. Post, was from Potlatch, Idaho, and burned down his house once.
Greg Hatcher
November 13, 2008 at 2:31 pm
Well, Joe turned me on to most of the bands I like, so it all evened out. I had the Jam blaring in the car on my way to work today, as it happens.
Joe is also the person with whom I collaborated on my very first 'zine, called Visions, about thirty years ago. That story is here, for those who came in late.
Joe Lewis
November 13, 2008 at 7:56 pm
At first I was going to say that “I only drove the getaway car,†but I see that you got that in there. Yes, the Visions thing was fun, although I seem to remember that the vice principal (can’t remember his name) was mad about us taking their money. Tee hee. Then there was the TuTu band interview. I saw a reunion show about ten years ago, where the singer Max Volume (Jim Baldwin) did a performance piece called “Captain Christopher Pike recites the soliloquy from Hamlet.†And John Shirley…he told Greg and I an entertaining story about how he got suspended from school for locking his journalism teacher in the closet. If I still have a copy of “Visions,†and you never know, I just might…I’ll send it. I do have tons of Greg’s drawings from French class. This was right around the time that “The Coneheads†appeared on SNL, so he was attempting to convert everyone we didn’t like into one of those. Thanks also for posting the flying elephants (from a band that nobody in America has ever heard of–called Osibisa). I still have the poster on my wall. We used to get those from a record store called Bird’s Suite in Portland. This would be around 1977-78…the old days.
Comics Should Be Good! » There will be more Fridays in the ‘hood
November 14, 2008 at 8:17 am
[...] didn’t want to leave everyone hanging after last week. Here’s how it shook out with the gang situation and the Cartooning class at [...]