most of you know that im in the education program at OU. for the program, i have to observe various schools/classrooms for a period of time (30 hours per semester).

this semester im observing at Capital Hill high school. for some idea of what this school is like, more than 90% of the students who attend this school are considered "economically disadvantaged" and qualify for free-and-reduced lunches, more than 50% of the students are hispanic, one out of five students are white, and almost one out of five students are black.

http://www.koco.com/news/15586582/de...*=okl&psp=news

Hector is one of the three kids im observing (or was observing) right now, and is a good kid. does his work most of the time and is very sociable. i dont know the other kid involved, but its really surprising to me to see this. i observe on monday/wednesday/friday afternoons, so i wasnt there when this happened. as for it being gang-related . . . give me a break. these kids only barely know what a gang is. they live in central oklahoma, for chrissake. granted, some of these kids are from other areas, but to say this fight is gang-related borders on paranoia.

kinda just caught me off-guard, bc i know this kid and im at this school three out of five days. and hes a good kid. i would very much like to hear his side of the story.

It'* naive to think that there isn't a gang problem.
Fort Smith has a gang problem, and it'* a fraction of the size of The City.

we had many stabbings at my highschool...never even made the news

dont just say its naive to assume that there isnt a gang problem.

i didnt say there isnt a gang problem. i said that this is not gang related.

I was just basing it on what I read here:
You seem to imply that just because it is Oklahoma, the gang threat is diminished. And I disagree with that implication. Perhaps I have misinterpreted your meaning.
What is clear is that you find it sad that an apparently "good kid' got in over his head, whether it was an isolated incident or gang-related as Capt. Steve McCool is quoted in the article. And I agree; it is sad.

i should clarify that my reasoning for not believing this gang-related is because of the kid involved, not because of the location.

granted, the location being where it is and the neighborhood, the "gang problem" which is alluded to is that there is undoubtedly a group of kids who think theyre in a gang -- and thats a problem.

but any time theres a problem in these areas, the media/mccool attributes it to a gang-related problem, which is asinine. its just a way to get around putting it directly on bad parenting or bad "overseeing". calling it gang-related means that the school gets a bad rep as being a "gang school" which it is not, and also allows the parents at other schools to feel it cant happen to them (surely there are no gang problems in their neighborhoods, so stabbings cant occur).

if this occurred at the school i attended, just acouple miles south, no one would have said a word about "gang-related", it would have been "depression" and "he didnt take his medication".

calling this gang related does border on paranoia but has its basis in class distinctions and a wall of "this cant happen to us" for better neighborhoods. not calling it what it is (bad parenting, bad overseeing) means the school gets punished when as much blame should go to the parents involved.

A 13 year old drug dealer was shot in the head a few blocks away from my work the other day. Its sad, but its reality. I blame the parents as much as the individual, as well as gangster rap. Its a part of life in my area. They like to idleize the gangster lifestyle like its something to be proud of. Thats why I carry a .40 Glock and/or a .38 special when I leave the house. The .38 is on my ankle all day at work. There are some crazy and stupid m-fers out there. Just because the they are young kids, doesnt mean that they wont pull something on you and try to kill you. Its pathetic

Gangster rap isn't the only thing that idealizes dangerous lifestyles. Pretty much every type of music or media does. If people think that what they see on TV, hear in a song, or play in a game is something they should do, they are too moronic to be a part of society. The mutual fear that people have of each other is what causes these problems. You feel the need to arm yourself so that you can kill someone else when the times comes to it. Sadly, that is one of the problems. I know 2 people that got in trouble because they carried legal concealed firearms, and used them in anger. They were completely level headed guys, no anger issues and pretty laid back.

If they used their firearms in anger rather than self-defense, then apparenty they were not level-headed or responsible enough to carry a firearm. I hope to god that I NEVER have to draw my weapon. But, the sad reality is that there ARE 13 year olds out there with guns and other weapons that WILL use them on you for just the fun of it. And the bottom line is that I WILL NOT let myself be a victim. I dont care how old they are. If they feel that they are man enough to pull a gun on someone, then they are man enough to deal with the consequences, not matter what they might be. They last thing in the world that I want to do is take someones life, especially a kids. I am a tax paying, law-abiding citizen that works HARD for what I got. And I will defend what mine, especially my life. And if that means that I have ot arm myself, then so be it. I wish things were different, but you can bring a knife to a gun fight and expect to survive. In these days and ages, you have to be prepared. Spend 1 day down where I work and you will see. Gunshots are constant all day. You lose track of all the ambulances that go by. We have had a few attempted robberies and breakins that were stopped by off-duty officers driving by and noticed "suspicious behavior" from young kids hanging around the corners of the shop. I walk out of there with thousands of dollars in cash sometimes to take to the bank. And those people know it. Like I said, my reason for arming myself is not to intimidate people. I carry to protect myself and my property from the POS worthless scum that dont want to work and would rather hurt people and take whats not theirs. The only reason I would draw is if I felt my life was in danger, not because Im pissed off at someone. Just my .02