On page 249 Boo Boo speaks about his experience as the only black member of the hallway hangers. He discusses the ways that he changes and the differences in his environment when he is surrounded by predominantly white people or predominantly black people. He talks about the differences between the two groups of people, for example the types of music they listen to, and how black people see him as "white," but to white people he is still "black." He discusses how his friends' judgments of him and their drunken racial slurs have affected him and changed their relationships, but how it's just a part of life where he is. "It bothers me, but- it's a part of life," says Boo Boo. This reminded me a lot of the article we read about young women in an urban society who had just accepted sexual harassment and assault as something that was inevitable and that they had to live with.
While the hallway hangers regret the decisions they have made and wish they had finished school, wish they hadn't gotten involved with drugs, wish they had provided more support for their families, they don't seem to do anything to change that now. It's not impossible to go back to school, nor is it impossible to quit using drugs, it just takes a lot of time and patience, perhaps things that the hangers are not willing to give up. MacLeod calls one section of his chapter "No one to blame but me," perhaps by assuming responsibility for the wrongs they have done, the hallway hangers expect the consequences to decrease or feel like less of a burden, but admitting their faults doesn't erase the wrongs they have done.
I agree that there are obviously ways that the hallway hangers could change their current positions, but I also feel that those options would be even harder to pursue now that they are older. It is not impossible to go back to school or to get off drugs, but if many of them can barely hold down a job, I don't see how they could really afford schooling or any type of rehabilitation that isn't court mandated (and typically these types of rehab are not as nice as more financially stable people could attend). Given the fact that many of them have families of their own now, it seems like their own education would not be the most important aspect of their lives, even if it would improve their futures. Moreover, although drugs are quit cold turkey every day, the reality is that most addicts--especially those who have been struggling for a long time with seriously addictive drugs (like cocaine or heroin)--need some sort of support that these men are just not going to get. It is hard to pull yourself up when nearly everyone around you is unable to give any real encouragement given their own issues.
ReplyDelete