According to my notebook, this is from February 13, 2009.
A woman being interviewed on the radio said she hopes this stimulus package works because as a black woman, she knows that when you are black, it is harder for you to succeed, and you don't get a second chance. My son was in the car wth me, so I couldn't let it slide without discussion. (teaching opportunity)
I asked Owl what he thought of that. He told me "No, that's not true -- it doesn't matter what color you are. Everybody gets a second chance." I explain that some people believed that the world is unfair and harder on them because they were but are black or women or have a disability.
He said, "It's like they never heard of a pencil with an eraser!" I asked him what he meant, he said "You always get another chance. Just because you didn't do it the first time doesn't mean you can't do it."
We talked about how you can change. He said "Your brain controls your mind. If you are bad, you can just set your brain to be good. You are not always bad. You can choose. Like if you did something bad -- that's in the past. It doesn't mean you will always be bad."
We talked about crime and how we shouldn't think because someone does one bad thing they should be considered that the rest of their lives. I told him how drugs played into it: Since they make you feel good the first time, people find it very hard to stop doing the bad thing and it can ruin your life. I told him I was glad I never did it because it is much easier to resist doing it the first time than to try to quit. He told me that's how he is going to handle it -- never try drugs. He's not even seven yet. I hope he sticks to this plan.
Owl told me: "It's like if scientists who create monsters are real. If that was real, the things the drugs do - it's like the scientists' monster is in the drug and it goes inside your body and detroys you from the inside. It tears up your life into pieces."
How eloquent. How did he know?
