Jonathan Kozol
“Amazing Grace”
“I saw a boy shot in the head right over there.” He says a moment later, in a voice that does not sound particularly sad, then looks up at me and asks politely. “Would you like a cookie?”
I found this quote from Cliffie to be shocking because he says it so carefree. This is said as if it’s normal to witness shooting every day, but in the town of Mott Haven it is. If this was to occur in my neighborhood it would be considered a tragedy because not many people witness murders. These types of incidents occur so often that the people of the town begin to think it is normal, which explains why Cliffie changes topics so easily.
“Why do you want to put so many people with small children in a place with so much sickness? This is the last place in New York that they should put poor children. Clumping so many people, all with the same symptoms and same problems, in one crowded place with nothin’ they can grow on? Our children start to mourn themselves before their time.”
I agree with this, because every town, state or country needs leadership. If this town has so much bad then everyone is going to amount to nothing. If the children don’t see the good they will not have goals in life. They will want to become what they see, which is drug addicts and prostitutes. By the state of New York placing all of these homeless families in Mott Haven they do not have anything to grow from.
“I waited in the emergency room two days to be admitted.” I ask, “Where were you waiting?” “Waiting in the waiting room with everybody else” she says “In the chairs with all the other people who were waiting. Sick children vomiting up their food. Men with gunshot wounds. People with AIDS. Old people coughing up their blood. On the third day I gave up and went back home”
The hospitals are so understaffed in this town that they do not even get the correct treatments. Just because their a lowercases town doesn’t mean they have to wait for days to see a doctor, never mind in a dirty hospital where they are likely to get even sicker. If the hospital isn’t cleaned properly then people are more likely to contract illnesses like AIDS just by sitting in a waiting room. If this was to happen in a town that was considered “wealthy” it would be fixed in no time. It’s like no one cares to help them, they want to see them fail.
I have to comment on this one because we chose the same quote: the one about Cliffie seeing the boy get shot in the head. Not only did we choose the same quote, but we described it in almost the exact same way. I imagine if I were to witness a murder, I'd have to start seeing a mental health counselor all the time in order to help get over it. And here he is, at the age of seven, going from witnessing a murder to a chocolate chip cookie.
ReplyDeleteI liked how you described the second quote, on how children will end up being what they see around them if there is no positive people around. Positive influences could surely help children in poverty stricken areas.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you when you say, "If the children don’t see the good they will not have goals in life. They will want to become what they see, which is drug addicts and prostitutes."
ReplyDeleteChildren need to have successful role models in their community that they can look up to. Children should set goals for themselves and strive to achieve them. This can be as simple as a parent, telling their child to write down a goal they'd like to set for themselves and tape it to the fridge. Every once in a while, the parent should check up on their child and see if they are working on reaching their goal to success. I think whats key is that parents show care towards their child. Dont let them just do what they want. Too many parents today are concerned with being their childrens "friend" rather than a "parent."
I agree with what you said about how the goals of children are determined by the things that they see. It is hard for a person to stand up against habits and lifestyles that they have always been surrounded with. Especially when the people that they look up to most show them that these things are okay.
ReplyDeleteI can see that this made you all feel emotional. Now say more about why Kozol told us these stories. He wants more than our pity... what do you think?
ReplyDeleteI think that the first quote you use a lot of people have thought awhile about. If any of us were to see something as traumatic that Cliffie did I can be sure that no one would be asking you if you wanted a cookie. This quote just shows that where you grow up and how you are raised says a lot about the things you will witness. I think you did a great job describing this quote.
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