A city where life can't be lived? When you begin to read the article by Kozol, you think about how hard life must be in Mott Haven. These children have witnessed more than most of us will see in a lifetime. They have dealt with more stress and anxiety than most will ever deal with. Saddest part is that they will struggle more than most will ever struggle. Kozol writes that, "Depression is common among children in Mott Haven." No child should ever have to deal with depression. Childhood is meant for learning and having fun.
Drugs and Disease
In this area drugs such as heroin and diseases, such as, AIDS, are most common. They are so common that almost every child knows or has a relative that suffers from drug abuse or diseases.
A sanctuary in the rough?
That is St. Ann's church. This area may be run down, and may be sad to look at but not when you walk into St. Ann's. The church is their diamond in the rough.
Kozol writes that, "The beautiful old stone church on 51. Ann's Avenue is a gentle sanctuary from the terrors of the streets outside."
Kozol goes on to talk about David and a conversation they had about his mother and her suffering. Imagine being the child and having to care for your mother who suffers from AIDS and going to a clinic and seeing that there is a table passing out condoms and clean needles. That just goes to show how sad the area is and how much help they truly need.
Is the statement "All lives Matter" controversial?
I believe it is. In the article about this statement it is stated that this is just a distraction from the real issues. I agree with that statement. I think people are constantly trying to find a way to hide the real issues with a different point of view. Avoiding the issues we face is not a solution. It allows these issues to grow and continue to become bigger issues. It doesn't solve anything but instead allows these problems to stay the way they are. People tend to forget what the real problem in society is when their focus is pointed towards something else.
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Nice post! I agree with you that the "All Lives Matter" statement is definitely a difficult topic to discuss. The statement with that, like I said in my post, takes away from the movement of "Black Lives Matter". "Black Lives Matter" was created to bring attention to the African American community on how they are not being treated right.
ReplyDeletei found this to be an article i can highly agree with from the fact that a child should never have to experience sadness never mind depression. In the article, you talk about how a child has to go to the clinic with his mother so she can get clean needles. the fact that they are already so far gone that rehab is not in the picture and to just make sure they're being "clean" about their drug use. how does that effect the child? what does a child do when they see their mother doing drugs? this will not help a child to know any different and continue the cycle of bad behavior of drug use because it is all they know. i like how you also addressed the AIDS epidemic, that children either have AIDS or are most likely going to end up getting the disease. i liked your blog post a lot!
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