Building Community/Facing Violence- Chapters 6, 8

"Clearly, zero tolerance determines action against people on the surface of things, not on content." Pg 73

The quote is saying that People of the community focus and judge people on how they look or how they dress rather than how they are and what they do for a living or to help society. This quote stood out to me because it shows how many people can judge you and not give you the opportunity to try new things or grow because of how they dress. For example, the members of the YSS were very respectful and clean after themselves, and the director of the hall that they were renting found out they were gangsters, he told them they couldn't be there anymore. An emotion that I evoked was shocked and thought it was unfair that people judge others by how they look or how they were in the past.

"Most of these women, which little or no support, have raised wonderful children" pg76

This quote is describing how single mothers have raised good children, just because the children have one parent in the household doesn't mean that they are going to become criminals or gangsters or something bad. This quote grabbed my attention because I can relate to it. My mom was and is a single mother of three children and we are not criminals. And our maybe people will judge because of where we are from but that is it because we all work and are striving to accomplish our goals. This particular quote made me get a chilly and emotional reaction because i connected to it for the same reason that people judge who you are based on what they see, just because they see that we have one parent does not mean we will become a criminal. That's how many people see children in their eyes.

Building Community/Facing Violence- Initial Reactions

Chapter 1:

" For them a gang embraces who they are, gives them the incipient authority they need to eventually control their lives, the empowerment that other institutions-- including schools and families-- often fail to provide" p25

• This quote is saying that youth turn to gangs because they find themselves gaining power when they are involved in the gang. they feel the need to turn to something that is going to get them noticed in a good or bad way, since families and schools or whatever it is that they are involved in doesn't give them the attention they need.
• I thought this quote was important because the youth fall in to gangs because thats the easy way for them to get power and feel noticed by others even if its in a negative perspective.
• As i was reading this quote, it made me evoke the emotion of shock, i can say because i never thought of it that way. As the youth joining gangs for attention. i thought they would join gangs because they wanted friends or they wanted to hurt others. After reading this my connotation and view of gangs and youth in gangs changes.

Chapter 2:

"Tony, who was close Pepe, began having problems in schools and with the law after his older brother was jailed" pg42

• This quote is saying that the Tony was very close to Pepe. ANd after pepe got sent to jail and was incarcerated. TOny started having problems in school and in the community because he knew that pepe was innocent and he didn't feel heard. so he started having problems everywhere.
• My thoughts about this quote was that children who aren't in gangs like Tony, which he was a YSS member started having problems in school and his community because of his brother getting taken away to jail. He became angry that he got taken away from him even when he was innocent and him not being in a gang and being agry that his brother got taken away because the police thought he was in one, he might join one to prove a point.
• my question was, if he actually joined a gang or what happened. or what will happen to peeps case through out the book.

Chapter 3
"when more and more young people plan their funerals and not their futures, it spells alarm for the rest of us" -Father Greg Boyle p47

• This quote is warning the adults and the law and everyone in the community to aware with whats happening. its saying that if children are planning their funeral instead of their future than we should be worried about whats going on in our society and community because it can hurt our further which is the youth of today.
• My thoughts about this quote is that if children are planning their funeral instead of their future then we should all we worried as a society because our future are our youth and they are planning the funerals instead of striving for their goals.
• i felt sad by reading this quote because i know that in reality in some communities, youth have joined gangs and they don't see their way out of it and they don't know where to turn for help. they see no future, but there is a future if they turn somewhere else like Luis Rodriguez did he turned to writing. and he was in a gang as well. he changed. i believe everyone can.