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x_staff2004-02-04 10:00 am
x-rogue.livejournal.com) wrote in x_staff2004-02-04 10:00 am
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Is this thing on?
To stave off any questions (Pete) on whether or not I've been eating psych books instead of meals (Logan), the answer is yes. My Amazon book orders look like a small psych library. Also, I should apologize for the somewhat paranoid attitude lately. Draining people who are sneaky and paranoid by profession leaves a lingering veil that tints everything in frightening colours. It seems to be passing. Now that we have that out of the way, I just wanted to put a few thoughts out there.
I'm thinking back to when I came here, after everything that happened to me and wondering how the heck I got through all that and then through Stryker without ever feeling the need to turn this place into a fortress. I realize that what it was was a really healthy balance.
First, I was training on teams. That was important because it gave me a sense of belonging and comfort and the knowledge that I was protected and ready to protect myself. Even kindergartens have a buddy system and a fire drill and lessons on what to do when a stranger tries to steal or touches you wrong. This is basic, and it's not damaging. Preparation is less traumatic than damage control. That's why I think that kids finding ways to defend themselves and feel safe is a good idea. I think, though, it's got to be overseen by the authority figures around here. It's got to be sanctioned and controlled and even graded. That takes the glare off of it, y'know?
Second, there was the normalcy thing. Things were 'normal'. They're not right now. The adults here are showing the signs of strain and that's not good. Back after I came here, people were still pretty relaxed and looked well-slept and no one needed their classes covered too much. I don't know how to fix this. People need to be where they say they're going to be and the kids here need to feel like when they walk into your office for something, they're coming to someone who knows the score. I'm positive people were just faking it better 18+ months ago.
Then, there's the third thing I was thinking of, and that's the counter-balance to the self-defense aspect of things. We've got to see that it's not like that all the time and that words are going to get us further than guns or a sharp blow to the throat. Role models. Not just on TV, but in person, up close. We've got a few of them rattling around, you know? We need something like Saturday seminars or Friday afternoons, something. The kids need to start their own pro-mutant 'zines and websites, Jamie's got to be encouraged to start throwing together pilot episodes and sit-com proposals. We need to go see and talk to the grown-up versions of what we hope the kids here are going to become.
They need to be out interviewing and writing and filming and photographing and documenting visions for their future. They need to sit in circles, not in desks, and talk to one another and to people who have made the paths for them to follow. They need hands-on work, not printouts or texts. They need to work together, not be divided up by age. They need to get out into the community, build some houses for Habitat for Humanity or work in a soup kitchen. We need to connect to the world out there as well as the one in here and not just on the premise of being mutants, but on the premise of being people who have as much right to live here and as much power to change it as anyone else.
I suppose that's about all I've got on the subject. I don't know if I'm right, but it's been less than two years since I was more scared, on a personal and general level, than most of these kids, and I think I made it through okay until I hit the wall, but that was all personal crap, not the issue at hand. I've been wracking my brain for what got me through, and I think this is most of it.
I'm thinking back to when I came here, after everything that happened to me and wondering how the heck I got through all that and then through Stryker without ever feeling the need to turn this place into a fortress. I realize that what it was was a really healthy balance.
First, I was training on teams. That was important because it gave me a sense of belonging and comfort and the knowledge that I was protected and ready to protect myself. Even kindergartens have a buddy system and a fire drill and lessons on what to do when a stranger tries to steal or touches you wrong. This is basic, and it's not damaging. Preparation is less traumatic than damage control. That's why I think that kids finding ways to defend themselves and feel safe is a good idea. I think, though, it's got to be overseen by the authority figures around here. It's got to be sanctioned and controlled and even graded. That takes the glare off of it, y'know?
Second, there was the normalcy thing. Things were 'normal'. They're not right now. The adults here are showing the signs of strain and that's not good. Back after I came here, people were still pretty relaxed and looked well-slept and no one needed their classes covered too much. I don't know how to fix this. People need to be where they say they're going to be and the kids here need to feel like when they walk into your office for something, they're coming to someone who knows the score. I'm positive people were just faking it better 18+ months ago.
Then, there's the third thing I was thinking of, and that's the counter-balance to the self-defense aspect of things. We've got to see that it's not like that all the time and that words are going to get us further than guns or a sharp blow to the throat. Role models. Not just on TV, but in person, up close. We've got a few of them rattling around, you know? We need something like Saturday seminars or Friday afternoons, something. The kids need to start their own pro-mutant 'zines and websites, Jamie's got to be encouraged to start throwing together pilot episodes and sit-com proposals. We need to go see and talk to the grown-up versions of what we hope the kids here are going to become.
They need to be out interviewing and writing and filming and photographing and documenting visions for their future. They need to sit in circles, not in desks, and talk to one another and to people who have made the paths for them to follow. They need hands-on work, not printouts or texts. They need to work together, not be divided up by age. They need to get out into the community, build some houses for Habitat for Humanity or work in a soup kitchen. We need to connect to the world out there as well as the one in here and not just on the premise of being mutants, but on the premise of being people who have as much right to live here and as much power to change it as anyone else.
I suppose that's about all I've got on the subject. I don't know if I'm right, but it's been less than two years since I was more scared, on a personal and general level, than most of these kids, and I think I made it through okay until I hit the wall, but that was all personal crap, not the issue at hand. I've been wracking my brain for what got me through, and I think this is most of it.