Outside Reading: Always Running #5

Overall I really enjoyed reading Always Running. Being able to read this book and at the same time have my marketplace of ideas topic to research more about gang violence I felt like I was able to get great and accurate information about this topic in all different places. For my marketplace of ideas project, where I tried to build awareness of the problem, I was able to do that by learning about the organization called ceasefire where they try to end all the violence, and since they started in the city of chicago there has been a huge difference. I learned different things from the book, because in the book i was able to see specific stories from one persons experience. The movie and the project I did was a way broader experience, and with the two things I think I was able to learn a lot of the same topic in two different points of views. One thing i did like about this book is that after all of the bad things that happens in his life, he turns his life around. "I finally graduated high school, quite an achievement"(220). That really was an achievement and then he went on to write this book. it shows that its possible to go from the bottom and change your life. In a way its inspiring that I was reading a book writing by a gang member who lived these real experiences and has lived on to tell the story, and warn his son and people everywhere how the gang life really is.

Outside Reading: Always Running #4

The people who are involved in gangs not only risk there own lives everyday fighting on the streets for almost no reason that I would understand, but some of them have families that they are completely disregarding by involving themselves in this violence. "The Animal Tribe practically died with the death of one of the last presidents: John Fabela. Seventeen year old John -whose girlfriend was pregnant with his infant daughter- succumbed to a shotgun blast in his living room as his younger brother watched from beneath a bed in an adjacent room"(108). I know that its is virtually impossible for me to relate to this lifestyle because mine is 100 percent different, but for me its just hard to read how often brothers watch their siblings get killed or beat up in a fight and just move on so quickly from it. I read that in the book, and in the documentary The Interrupters, they showed cases of random shootings that happen all the time. It comes to a point where its not even surprising anymore and thats what so hard for me to comprehend. For some people thats just a completely normal life. In the book, his girlfriend now has to raise their child along because he died for his gang. To me it seems like these gangs are so important to the members that they understand that its a possibility that their families will lose everything, but those are just consequences they have to live with. I guess for me even after doing research and reading about the topic its hard to comprehend how my lives gang violence really does affect, in such tragic ways.

Outside Reading: Always Running #3

One scene in the book was about police brutality, and the whole time I was reading it I was completely disgusted. At first Luis and his friends saw the undercover cops and thought there were just white guys watching mexicans. then they got closer and one of them said, "Come on greasers who wants to go first?" to which one of Luis' friends answer with profanity. then the undercover vops flashed a badge and took advantage of them cuz they felt powerful. Luis and his friends didnt do anyhting to get yelled at and when he tried to move his leg the cop said to him, "Dont fuckin' move. Did I give you permission to move? Dont do anything unless I say, you fuckin' greaser asshole"(66). The white police men used their power in a horrible way and treated these guys like animals. To me that is part of the reason we have inequalities in this world because people with a little power take advantage of the power they have a treat people, who dont deserve to me treated badly, horrible. These people dont deserve that and that could be why they revolt, becasue they are going to be treated like taht anyways so why dont they get in trouble and beat up for a reason instead of just because they were at the beach.

Outside Reading: Always Running #2

For this blogpost I wanted to focus on the Authors realtionship with his brother. When they were younger they never got along, they would fiit and it seemed like his brother got everything, "my brother and I were moving away from eachother. Our tastes, our friends, our interest, were miles apart. yet there were a few outstanding incidents I fondly remember in relationship to my brother, incidents which despite their displays of closeness failed to breach the distance which would lie between us"(49). the incident im going to write about is one that both brought them close and separted them. They were young boys who were confronted by these white boys on the street.The Author, Luis, stuck up for his older brother Rano, Rano said, "You didnt have to defend me to those dudes, they're assholes. They aint worth it. Luis answered him and said, "I did it becuase I love you"(51). Luis said, "I looked at him and i told him something i never, ever told him again"(51). He felt compassion for his brother, he wanted to stick up for him like a gang member would stick up for their gang brother, and thats what he did for his older brother, but Rano didnt feel the same way. It seemed like he wanted to be able to defend himself. He didnt want his little brother looking better and fighting fights for him. He didnt need anyone fighting fights for him. Its sad because Luis fought to help his brother so they both make it out alive, not to try to be better then him. Its sad because Luis did love his brother and it didnt seem like Rano felt the same way, at least he didnt show it.

Outside Reading: Always Running #1

I decided to read "Always Running" by Luis J. Rodriquez because gang violence is something that I've always been interested in learning about but never really did anything about learning about it. The first couple pages were very interesting, and for me they were extremely interesting because they were all true stories about how he got involved with the gangs. Its really interesting for me that for some of these kids getting involved with gangs is less of a choice and more of a family issue. Most of these kids had parents who were involved and they were around gangs, and talking from experience, I like to follow in my parents foot steps so why wouldn't these kids? "Mama always seemed to be sick. For one thing, she was overweight and suffered from a form of diabetes. She had thyroid problems, bad nerves and high blood pressure. She was in her thirties, but she had all these ailments. She didn't even have teeth"(23). With his mom being sick he really doesn't have a mother figure to point him in the right direction. She was so young, but she had such a hard time just taking care of him and raising him when he was little. Him and his brother were basically on their own. They got into trouble and when they got home their mother would, "chase after my brother with a belt or a board" (23). That was their punishment, their mother was too weak to do anything else, and also that seemed to be the norm during the time they were growing and where they were growing up, but it did not change the route they went on. If anything it pushed them to the wrong route of life.

Shaw Shank Redemption

We have been watching the movie Shaw Shank Redemption in class, this is my first time watching it, but from what I have heard about it everyone who has seen it loves it and talks about how intense it is. We have yet to finish the movie but there was one thing from the movie that I was intrigued by. When the character brooks got released from jail and then soon after his release he killed himself. Although they got beat up in jail and it was not real life there, they made a life out of what they had. Being in jail for such a long period of time they got used to everything jail provided for them. thye got used to the life they lived. They all had their own indentity in jail and their own role. Going into the real world they didnt have an identity or role being gone for so long. Brooks didnt have a family or anything to live for so he killed himself. Although prison is nothing like life, they had friends and people to talk to, things to do. Being in their for so long they had a life. Going into world everything was so different, and its almost impossible to make the transition without help. As much as people wanted to get out of the prison, how do they know they can survive in waht is known as the real world?

End of the year

As school is coming to an end, and im graduation is quickly getting closer and closer I cant help but get sad about how fast time flys. I feel like it was yesterday when I was that little scared freshman starting high school not having any idea whats in store for me. The funny thing is that I have to do that all over again next year. Im going to be that little scared freshman not knowing anyone or anything, getting lsot in the big campus. The funny thing is that its all just a big cycle, I came into high school knowing about 8 people, im going into college knowing about the same amount of people. for me it was very stressful starting high school in the small town and somewhat small high school only knowing a few people. next year I am off to a huge college with about 40,000 undergraduate students and again I only know a few people. Hopefully it will all turn out ok for me, but for now I have no idea what to expect and that scares me so much. All I can do is hope for the best and be myself.