[email protected]

HI everyone,
I'm sorry I've taken so long to get back on here with new information.
I've been gone a lot lately. Not too much is new with his situation. I had
a long discussion with the school district's Director of Pupil Safety and
Attendance, who is in charge for that district, but it didn't get anywhere
really. He said he had no way of telling the D.A.'s office to not press
charges because it was completely out of their hands. He also said he would
be surprised if he actually had to go to juvenile camp for this because he
has seen others who had previous records just get probation.
I feel like I should do something but it is difficult because I am 3 hrs
away from the town and his parents aren't doing much. His mother is gone
almost all the time, not working, just gone with friends, and each time I ask
her if she followed up with a certain thing, she hasn't. He is currently
back at home with them. His older sister, who just turned 18 and is
finishing up her last year of home schooled high school, may be coming to
stay with us again. She started home schooling a little over a year ago and
has really come a long way. The family does have a lot of problems. I don't
know if this sounds harsh but I don't mean it to. It's just so frustrating
seeing the whole situation and not knowing how to really help. The kids ask
for my help and their mom does also when there's a crisis but then she just
leaves it to me and her mom.
Someone, I think Joel, had asked for addresses to write. The newspaper
for the town is the Antelope Valley Press. If you want to do a search for
them on the Internet, they're there because I've found them before. I will
post their website and/or address. I have contacted some other organizations
but haven't heard anything back yet.

Lucy in Calif.

Joel Hawthorne

Lucy,

Is Antelope Valley in Northern California? I thought Lancaster was in Southern
California?

I may try to write the newspaper. It is frustrating when people most directly
affected by injustice are the least able to fight against it. That however is
the nature of injustice. Somebody with lots of resources would be down at the
court filing some kind of lawsuit against the school district, the police, the
teacher, and maybe the people in the cafeteria in addition to being on the local
call-in shows, writing letters to every elected representative,local official,
and newspaper. If that failed then pulling up stakes taking the kid and moving
from the damned regressive, repressive obnoxious, paranoid, sick twisted place.

officious school people and criminal justice people alike pick only on those who
they can safely get away with doing so.

--
best wishes
Joel



LASaliger@... wrote:

> From: LASaliger@...
>
> HI everyone,
> I'm sorry I've taken so long to get back on here with new information.
> I've been gone a lot lately. Not too much is new with his situation. I had
> a long discussion with the school district's Director of Pupil Safety and
> Attendance, who is in charge for that district, but it didn't get anywhere
> really. He said he had no way of telling the D.A.'s office to not press
> charges because it was completely out of their hands. He also said he would
> be surprised if he actually had to go to juvenile camp for this because he
> has seen others who had previous records just get probation.
> I feel like I should do something but it is difficult because I am 3 hrs
> away from the town and his parents aren't doing much. His mother is gone
> almost all the time, not working, just gone with friends, and each time I ask
> her if she followed up with a certain thing, she hasn't. He is currently
> back at home with them. His older sister, who just turned 18 and is
> finishing up her last year of home schooled high school, may be coming to
> stay with us again. She started home schooling a little over a year ago and
> has really come a long way. The family does have a lot of problems. I don't
> know if this sounds harsh but I don't mean it to. It's just so frustrating
> seeing the whole situation and not knowing how to really help. The kids ask
> for my help and their mom does also when there's a crisis but then she just
> leaves it to me and her mom.
> Someone, I think Joel, had asked for addresses to write. The newspaper
> for the town is the Antelope Valley Press. If you want to do a search for
> them on the Internet, they're there because I've found them before. I will
> post their website and/or address. I have contacted some other organizations
> but haven't heard anything back yet.
>
> Lucy in Calif.
>
> > Check it out!
> http://www.unschooling.com

--
best wishes
Joel

For a wonderful gift possibility and to support a great cause check out:
http://www.naturalchild.com/calendar_pictures.html

All children behave as well as they are treated. The Natural Child
Project http://naturalchild.com/home/

[email protected]

In a message dated 11/6/99 2:26:58 PM CST, jhawthorne@... writes:

<< s Antelope Valley in Northern California? I thought Lancaster was in
Southern
California? >>

Lancaster is in Antelope Valley, located in southern California. It is about
an hour or so from L.A.

[email protected]

Joel,
Yes Lancaster and the Antelope Valley are in Southern California, just
north east of the San Fernando Valley, out in the Mojave Desert. I agree
with your take on this whole thing, that they do "pick their shots." There
are so many things about this situation and the mass of related situations
that bother me. I feel that there are elements of racism in the ways the
schools in this town are dealing with certain kids. Lancaster used to be
kind of a hick town when my parents moved us there back when I was an 8th
grader. Over the years, it built up. For a while, many residents were happy
to see the subdivisions going in all over because it meant more jobs. Also,
they were happy to see restaurants and malls going in so that they wouldn't
have to go "down below" (local term for L.A.) for these things.
The housing was a lot cheaper than L.A. so that brought a lot of people.
Then the economy started crashing. They were very dependent on aerospace
jobs so that was one big part of it. Crime has increased a lot. There are a
lot more Mexican-Americans and African-Americans. There are also more gangs.
Some of them are predominantly Mexican-American or African-American and
there are also a lot of skinheads. There are a lot of people in the town,
particularly in the schools, who are very angry about this and have
stereotyped every kid in baggy clothes as a gang member if he/she is Mexican
American or African American.
My nephew is Mexican-American. They think he's some kind of gang-banger,
as they thought his sister was a few years back when she was in their school.
They don't have any basis for this. I know quite well what the true gang
style is and my nephew doesn't even dress that way. He never goes out, goes
to parties, or anything like that. He stays home almost all the time.
I can't stand the way this town just throws away so many kids. I watched
it happen to my best friend's son, who is now 19. He was an honor student up
through 7th grade. He found a knife one day at school and went straight to
the office with it. He turned it in on his own. He still got in trouble for
it. My best friend, unlike my nephew's mom, is quite adept at arguing her
case and did so. She explained to them that it was absurd for him to be in
trouble, that this would discourage him from going to the school authorities
the next time around. It was useless.
I feel like I want to fight against this and yet sometimes it seems like
nothing changes anything. I also do get frustrated with my cousin (his
mother, but I consider the kids my nieces and nephews) because she can't seem
to set aside her everyday all day trips to help him or the other kids. It's
like he and the other kids have it bad from so many angles.
One side point I don't think I mentioned before. I asked him where he
got the idea of the finger across the throat, if that was a common gesture at
his school or what. He said no. I said, "Then how did you think of it?" He
said, "I don't know...they do it on wrestling..." These kids have watched
wrestling for years because their dad loves it. That even made me believe
more strongly that he was certainly NOT thinking of that as some kind of
death threat.
I get so sick of all the injustices. Sometimes it seems like they're
everywhere and just once (or more) you want to actually be able to DO
something instead of just rant and rave about it. Anyway, thanks again for
caring and for your own anger at the whole thing.

Lucy in Calif.

Joel Hawthorne

I truly think this kid's civil rights are being violated, not to mention human
rights. Get some civil rights activists types involved. I'd do anything to try
and stop this kid from being ground up by a bunch of scared, ignorant, power
crazed adults. Something that you can do is start writing every elected
representative, every official, every newspaper, every youth and children's
list. I would be happy to give editorial advice and work on the fine tuning of
whatever you want to write. I would write amnesty international, prison reform
groups etc. etc.

Writing is cheap and can be amazingly effective. It lets the powers that be know
that you will be troublesome at the very least. You will also find compassionate
sensible people in places where you wouldn't expect to find them.

Let me know what you choose to do.

LASaliger@... wrote:

> From: LASaliger@...
>
> Joel,
> Yes Lancaster and the Antelope Valley are in Southern California, just
> north east of the San Fernando Valley, out in the Mojave Desert. I agree
> with your take on this whole thing, that they do "pick their shots." There
> are so many things about this situation and the mass of related situations
> that bother me. I feel that there are elements of racism in the ways the
> schools in this town are dealing with certain kids. Lancaster used to be
> kind of a hick town when my parents moved us there back when I was an 8th
> grader. Over the years, it built up. For a while, many residents were happy
> to see the subdivisions going in all over because it meant more jobs. Also,
> they were happy to see restaurants and malls going in so that they wouldn't
> have to go "down below" (local term for L.A.) for these things.
> The housing was a lot cheaper than L.A. so that brought a lot of people.
> Then the economy started crashing. They were very dependent on aerospace
> jobs so that was one big part of it. Crime has increased a lot. There are a
> lot more Mexican-Americans and African-Americans. There are also more gangs.
> Some of them are predominantly Mexican-American or African-American and
> there are also a lot of skinheads. There are a lot of people in the town,
> particularly in the schools, who are very angry about this and have
> stereotyped every kid in baggy clothes as a gang member if he/she is Mexican
> American or African American.
> My nephew is Mexican-American. They think he's some kind of gang-banger,
> as they thought his sister was a few years back when she was in their school.
> They don't have any basis for this. I know quite well what the true gang
> style is and my nephew doesn't even dress that way. He never goes out, goes
> to parties, or anything like that. He stays home almost all the time.
> I can't stand the way this town just throws away so many kids. I watched
> it happen to my best friend's son, who is now 19. He was an honor student up
> through 7th grade. He found a knife one day at school and went straight to
> the office with it. He turned it in on his own. He still got in trouble for
> it. My best friend, unlike my nephew's mom, is quite adept at arguing her
> case and did so. She explained to them that it was absurd for him to be in
> trouble, that this would discourage him from going to the school authorities
> the next time around. It was useless.
> I feel like I want to fight against this and yet sometimes it seems like
> nothing changes anything. I also do get frustrated with my cousin (his
> mother, but I consider the kids my nieces and nephews) because she can't seem
> to set aside her everyday all day trips to help him or the other kids. It's
> like he and the other kids have it bad from so many angles.
> One side point I don't think I mentioned before. I asked him where he
> got the idea of the finger across the throat, if that was a common gesture at
> his school or what. He said no. I said, "Then how did you think of it?" He
> said, "I don't know...they do it on wrestling..." These kids have watched
> wrestling for years because their dad loves it. That even made me believe
> more strongly that he was certainly NOT thinking of that as some kind of
> death threat.
> I get so sick of all the injustices. Sometimes it seems like they're
> everywhere and just once (or more) you want to actually be able to DO
> something instead of just rant and rave about it. Anyway, thanks again for
> caring and for your own anger at the whole thing.
>
> Lucy in Calif.
>
> > Check it out!
> http://www.unschooling.com

--
best wishes
Joel

For a wonderful gift possibility and to support a great cause check out:
http://www.naturalchild.com/calendar_pictures.html

All children behave as well as they are treated. The Natural Child
Project http://naturalchild.com/home/

[email protected]

Joel,
Amnesty International is a great idea. I hadn't thought of them but I do
admire their work. I did try the ACLU but maybe I should just keep trying.
I will forward some of my writing ideas to you and see what you think.

Thanks for everything,

Lucy