Southland & Pictures

[annundriel]

I thought the sky was neat on my drive home tonight, so I took a couple of pictures.





Most depressing episode, but that may be my own headspace at the moment.

For every Janila, there's a Casper.

And while I can appreciate the symmetry in Sammy's storyline, that doesn't do anything for the ache in my chest.

I don't think it helps that I'm working the library this week and it's spring break, which means kids in there all day. I watch an episode like tonight's Southland and I think back to those kids that were in today and I...I don't know. There is an increasing gang problem in the area. I don't want these kids to get involved in things that they shouldn't, things that are negative and destructive. It won't happen to all of them, but it might happen to some of them.

What can you do, when you live in the middle of nowhere and there's a father/brother/cousin/sister/mother/aunt/uncle who's involved? When you live in the middle of nowhere and there are limited ways and means to have fun or entertain yourself? When there's peer pressure? People get mixed up in bad things not because they're bad people, but because they don't have a choice.

Sometimes there just are no options.

And that is seriously depressing.

I don't really have a point here, but the last ten-fifteen minutes hit me really hard.

The rest of the episode was good. I enjoyed Cooper and Sherman being all bantery and competent. I loved Cooper breaking that perv's iPod. Heee.

I also liked how Tammi handled herself with the gang members. Sadly, she later got her camera stolen by skater boy.

Comments

[lattimore.livejournal.com]

Definitely, the scenes with Sammy & Juanito must've hit you particularly hard when your job involves working around kids. We all take our good fortune so for granted - David Simon had a great chapter on this in either "Homicide" or "The Corner" (can't remember which one), where he refutes people who expect the under-privileged to just pull themselves up by their bootstraps. If a kid is dealing with peer pressure, the temptation of easy money via crime, lack of support at home and schools that are underfunded or apathetic, it's really not surprising to have the results we do.

The iPod scene was a bright spot, though. How awesome was Cooper's "Have a nice day" with Sherman grinning away?

The pictures are pretty, too - the horizon seems to stretch on forever.

[annundriel.livejournal.com]

I think it's really easy for people who are in a more comfortable position in life to say, well, why can't they just, yes, pull themselves up by their bootstraps. That's easier said than done. I mean, it's exactly what Juanito told Sammy when they went out for food: rich people have choices, everyone else makes do.

If a kid is dealing with peer pressure, the temptation of easy money via crime, lack of support at home and schools that are underfunded or apathetic, it's really not surprising to have the results we do.

Oh, totally. And on top of all that, there's the added pressure of being a kid. I think once we hit a certain age, we forget how hard that can be. Especially when you add all of those things that can pile up against them.

I loved Cooper's "Have a nice day" and Sherman's grin! And the way he just kind of non-chalantly threw the iPod over the railing. Hee!

the horizon seems to stretch on forever

This might sound odd, but sometimes it's nice to just go out there and look and not hear anything but the birds in the trees, the cows down the road, and the occasional really loud semi 10 miles away. I like the city a lot, but I love being able go outside and just see.