Wednesday was National Stop the Violence Day. Perhaps you witnessed the many Oakland youths standing on street corners with signs promoting an end to violence. Some kids and I noticed them in our neighborhood. The kids even told me to honk in support. We did, and the neighbor kids cheered for us. Wow, how nice to see our neighborhood kids out urging people to think about peace. One kid struggled between deciding to hold up his sign or hold up his pants. He somehow managed both. It was a bit of a feel good thing for us.
...until a boy in my car realized he had seen that same boy earlier in the day. He said that same youth had walked up to a kid at the bus stop and intimidated another kid with a golf club. "Are you sure that's the same kid?" I asked him.
"Yes, trust me, it is."
"Why would he be holding a peace sign now after having beat up a kid earlier?"
"Don't know. Maybe he's getting paid, and getting seen."
Surely there's a more positive way for these kids to be seen these days.
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