Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2002
Goosebumps, posted at 1:20 a.m.
Epiphany in Baltimore has moved to epiphanyinbaltimore.blogspot.com Another bunch of half-formed thoughts because I'm not having enough time lately to sit down with this journal:**
I'm a bit surprised that Trent Lott resigned his position as the Senate majority leader. I'm surprised because it's a bit of a shock to me that his comment turned into as huge a deal as it did. I mean, it wasn't a shock to me at all. If someone is continually elected over and over again after doing things like voting against the MLK Holiday, appearing with pro-white power organization, and keeping African Americans out of his fraternity (yet we live in a society in which Bill Clinton is forced to lie about his past dabblings with marijuana), then I'm not sure how we can possibly be shocked by his comment. I mean, this is exactly how I feel most conservatives think - I wasn't shocked by it at all. I mean, I'll even give Lott the benefit of the doubt and say that I don't believe his comment was at all racially motivated - it was just the same longing for the "good old days" (or, pick you own term for it - "family values" works, too). Well, much of this revolves around latent racist beliefs, and I think Lott was just expressing this, and perhaps didn't even know it. It shocks me that this sort of comment is shocking to people; it should be expected if that's the type of man or beliefs that we put in office.
**
One thing that intrigued me politically in the last few days was the possibility that Condi Rice may be the Vice Presidential candidate in 2004. If this occurs, I may vote Republican. I've had a ton of respect for Rice - a pro-choice Republican with a fierce intelligence - for the last few years.
**
Wanted to share a quick student story. First of all, the setup: Lately I've become more and more conscious that one of the goals of my life is trying to reverse or at least offset the degradation that our society heaps on young black men. There is so much fear and hatred forced upon this social group that sometimes I find heartbreaking; there was a scene in Bowling for Columbine regarding the topic that had me nearly bawling as I saw the faces of my students in the back of my mind.
Now, partially because of this, and partially simply because I am a young male teacher who likes sports and connects pretty well with my male students, I have tried to document my progress with some of my male students. My male students tend to me more at risk than my female students, and since I only have 18 males (compared with 60 females), it's easier to track their progress. Too many of them failed my course still, which is a concern for me - but few concerned me more than a kid who I'll call Harold. Harold is obviously bright, a good writer with a capacity for vivid description offset by poor spelling and grammar. He doesn't do his work consistently enough, and is sometimes off-task in class. Harold lives in a single-parent mother, and his mom is a waitress who works all the time to make ends meet. He's got a tough facade, a bit of anger creepign within, and is careful not to look like he's enjoying school, but is quick with a sly grin and his eyes are almost always twinkling. He's been one of my favorites since day one.
Anyhow, I ended up working out in the school gym after school just before break, and he was down there. We lifted a bit together, not talking much but just getting our workouts on. The next day, Harold did something that touched me a great deal.
Out of the blue, he handed me his used copies of Of Mice and Men and To Kill a Mockingbird. I didn't know why, so I thought perhaps I had let him borrow them earlier and had forgotten, so I asked him.
"Mr. E, I'm just giving them to you. I'm sure ever semester you have kids who don't have the books, and now you can give these to them to use."
I got goosebumps. This was such a genuinely nice thing to do, as Harold does not have much money and could have easily sold them to an incoming student. He gave me this smile and I just felt like giving him a hug. I didn't, not to worry. But it was a great moment that I've been thinking about a lot over the last few days.
**
Not a whole lot else I can write about with my exhausted state. I'm finally in South Haven after hours and hours of driving. Merry Christmas.