Recently I was on the bus, riding through an area of the city where many homeless youth congregate. It was about 7:00 p.m. and still light outside, when the bus pulled up to a stop. I looked over and I see this kid, with several others surrounding him, smoking a crack pipe. I stared at him, he met my gaze unflinchingly--I don't know if this was a result of the crack or a result of his brashness in general. I then looked away and blinked, because I had to make sure that this was not actually happening. When I looked back he had passed it to a friend who had his back to me, but was still positioned in a way that allowed me to see that he was taking hits from the pipe. So I sat there a minute letting it all sink in and when I 'came to', I realized that two other people had been sitting at the windows closest to them and hadn't even flinched or looked or said anything. I thought that perhaps these people had never seen people smoking crack pipes. I was appalled, this was happening in broad daylight, at the bus stop, AND these were kids. WHAT THE FUCK??!!!?? I knew others had seen this. But they were just sitting as if we didn't just see KIDS smoking crack at the bus stop.
It got me thinking about how anesthetized we are to the plights and suffering of others. I mean, I am here in Seattle and everywhere you look there are nut balls walking the streets, homeless or drugged out and there they are. Everybody just looks at them, the city, clearly overlooks them. This IS NOT liberalism, folks, this is indifference. It's not cool to have a place called skid row (road, actually) and have lots of people on the skids living there, still. People turn a blind eye to these things. This is one of the reasons, the major reason actually, I had to stop teaching. Kids suffering, not getting what they need, because those in charge want to maintain the status quo and continue to get paid their fat bonus checks and salaries...I can't take it. It makes me sick and angry. Here in this place, there is an area where all the homeless people kick it (they are all over actually but especially concentrated in the Skid Row area, which most Seattlites know as the area in and around Pioneer Square and Yesler Way specifically) and another area, the U-District, where all of the homeless kids hang out. I saw in a bookstore window that someone had published a book of photos of these children. What?!? They need homes and services and food and drug rehabilitation, not their pictures taken. Believe me I know that issues surrounding homelessness and drug addiction are multi-tiered, but they need to be addressed. It is disgusting that we live this way in the 'free' world. Even moreso, when I realized that we're pumping cash into a useless space program and, God, I don't even want to go further with this...
Anyway, you may wonder what I did after seeing the crack-smoking children at the bus stop. Well, I got up and let the bus driver know and then, I called the police, because while I have a huge problem with the po-po, I have an even bigger problem with kids or anyone else, for that matter, smoking crack at a bus stop in broad daylight.
Now, I've seen some shit, but never anything that bold even in Englewood on Chicago's southside, the murder and drug capital of the city. Come on now. You will not smoke crack at the bus stop.
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15 comments:
Je vois... c'est incroyable.
Interesting observation. This post is an interesting one as a lifelong Seattle resident. I am curious about what gets you so fired up. I know it's downright horrible they are smoking crack, but that's their choice. Sure it's illegal, but so is drinking and driving. Just curious why this resonates so much with you Rachel.
I have never ever used any drugs so I am not making excuses. I do think there's a reason you have many homeless youths in Seattle and Portland. We sympathize their plight and have a hospitable year round climate.
What are your suggestions to improve a situation like this other than calling the cops? Je voudrais savoir tes commentaires dans plus de détails.
Even though I disagree with the fact that these things happen, knowing that a teenager has been out drinking or smoking, or maybe even doing pot seem normal.
A teen smoking crack is a sign of a lot more trouble than the other evils listed about.
Seattle, sadly, is a hospitable environment to the homeless, young and old alike. We've all seen the guy that sits on 5th and pine in the wheelchair selling roses. I can't think of one time in the five years I lived there that I went up there and didn't see him. Yet he still begs...
I wouldn't even know how to begin a suggestion on a remedy other than community outreach...
Yes, Seattle is a rather forgiving city. That can have some drawbacks, but it's also a great thing.
Keep in mind I am not pro public drug use whatsoever. I know I have never been in there shoes so it's hard for me to say why they may be smoking the crack. Why are picking on them vs. other law breakers that kill thousands of innocent people every year? I am referring to drunk drivers of course.
We definitely need to provide a safety net of some sort. This is a really tough call on how to manage it.
egan,
this is exactly what i'm saying, the liberal attitude toward this. i think because i was a teacher and i worked with 'at-risk' kids and i worked in a juvenile jail, i have a different outlook. certainly, smoking crack is as illegal and harmful as drinking and driving or smoking weed, but as eunice points out, it is an indicator of larger problems.
i am, as a result of my experience, a huge proponent of the idea of preventative justice (i can't remember the exact term for the concept) which is essentially that in order to prevent the larger more violent crimes from occurring you have to deal with the petty ones. this keeps them from escalating. now, i am in no way an advocate of a police state and i do consider myself a left-leaning sista, but, i believe strongly in that idea. i don't think people should be allowed to smoke weed or drink alcohol, or smoke crack in public. this breeds other more undesirable and ultimately uncontrollable behavior.
why do i think calling the police is important here? why did i do it? because there has to be order in society and kids especially, homeless or otherwise, have to learn to respect order and understand boundaries. i felt more than anything that what the child was doing was incredibly disrespectful, to me, to himself, and to those around him. to society even. you will probably say, 'hey, he's had it tough, why should he respect anything...'
i lived in places in chicago, where nobody did anything, nobody called the police, nobody spoke to kids out in the streets, etc. and things spin out of control.
i have other reasons for believing that this is behavior not to be tolerated, but i don't know if i want to share them here.
i'll say this, i am a child advocate, i am also a human advocate and i really believe that allowing people to do whatever they want, however, whenever, is not always good for them. but, i know that having this right is precious. it's a paradox here. how do you control society, make people stand up and respect themselves and others without trampling on their rights? i don't know.
what plan do i have, i don't know, it's something i could discuss all day. something i feel very strongly about but am realistic enough to realize that probably there is nothing you can do. i could share my theory about the 1960s and start there, but i'd be writing pages and pages. something is lost in society, egan, people generally have no sense of respect, they have this idea that they are owed something and free to do whatever...oh, i am repeating. this is something near and dear to me as you can tell, it would make a good discussion...
i'll gather my thoughts and get back to you...
i also think egan, that the sympathy of which you speak, is a huge problem here in seattle, as well as society at large. we've gotten to a point where people aren't held accountable and while most have issues --some that are crippling-- there has to come a point where people put there foot down, or things spin out of control. i speak from experience here, that depending on your background, i'm not sure you'd get 100%. i don't mean that condescendingly at all, so please don't take it that way, but, i think it's true...
there's so much you have to do, calling the police included, sometimes that...here i go again.
i will get back to you on this, i promise!!
as you can see, eunice, i am stumped too.
after a 7 year career in teaching and social services i know that you have to take a multi-faceted approach, that is to say
-community involvement
-community outreach and services
-law enforcement
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY
-eradicating indifference and overly liberal or conservative attitudes towards this problems
this is why i don't teach anymore. i want to spend time thinking about how to do this and then maybe jump back in the game at a later date....
boy, i could tell you some stories...
I can see you have done much thinking about this. I am really curious now about your story you briefly mention, but don't want to discuss. I am curious how this may sway your opinions.
I do think we are essentially saying the same thing and have the same belief. Don't get me wrong, I would love to fix this sort of issue. We do have to choose our battles. This particuliar one seems to be near and dear to your heart. Good for you, I mean that. The vast majority of society does turn a blind eye to this kind of stuff. I applaud you for having the courage to act.
I see people dealing drugs near Pike Place and near I-5/International District often. What am I to do about that? It's a very interesting predicament.
Not sure it's fair to say we have a too liberal or conservative stance on this. When you say it's too liberal a stance, do you mean we need to start putting people away for this stuff? It could work, but more likely than not they will end up back on the streets doing the same thing. I haven't the slightest idea what can be done.
I do have a question for you Rachel. Why does this kid smoking crack disrespect you?
egan,
don't worry, i don't want to discuss either...just thinking out loud...
as for how his disrespectful to me, i have my reasons. but really mean it in a more general sense it is disrespectful to everyone. the lifestyle, the pain, etc. that crack represents should be appalling, offensive to everyone. i'm not sure how much you know about that scene, but, everything it represents is offensive and disrespectful.
after i saw him and the reaction of the others on the bus, the slogan on that semi-popular bumper sticker popped in my head:
if you're not angry (or maybe it's appalled) you're not paying attention.
i don't know if that's clear, but that's why i think it's disrespectful to me, you and everyone else.
Rachel, thanks for sharing your thoughts on this very serious issue. Yes, only discuss what you are comfortable. I completely agree and apologize if my question was too personal. Have a good Friday.
i found you egan!! ahahaha.
tag.
It gets really hard at times, because on the one hand, a more liberal stance, as Washington so clearly is, seems to fuel the fire. But do we really want a city overrun with police and government officials ready to bust anyone for anything? No. There has to be a happy medium.
I used to mentor underprivileged kids and it just broke my heart. First because I couldn't believe that these kids had to grow up under these circumstances (one girl's father had killed himself and her current boyfriend was dying of AIDS, and they were on welfare, etc...), and secondly because they would do great while they were in the program, but would go right back to how it was when they were finished. So that's a fight that makes things difficult as well, you really have to motivate these people to change their lives and know that they deserve something more out of it.
It's just a hard spot for our society right now...our focuses are on so many other things than what's happening at our own bus stops. It's so very sad.
Wow, that's about as political as I have ever gotten.
Uh huh..
You're so right, Eunice and I think that's what I tried to say in one of my responses to Egan.
I don't think we should be living in a police state, certainly, but I do think we need to 'tighten some things up' and loosen in others.
Again, this could be a major discussion...
Ultimately, I'm not sure things can/will change, because there are too many people who benefit fincancially and otherwise -on both sides of the law- to really effect any change...
This was always an issue for me when I taught and something that motivated me to try and become a journalist.
Rachel,
thanks very much for comming to Avenida Copacabana.
Muito obrigado por vir à Avenida Copacabana.
Beijos cariocas,
Carioca Kisses,
from
JÔKA P.
Avenida Copacabana
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