Oh Yeah, That's Right

When I first moved here, I noticed that the town had a culture of violence. The gangs, the military presence (and reverence), the fist-fights in class. You know, the stuff you've heard about. But it got pushed to the back of mind while dealing with all this other crap, but it's back in front.

And I've realized, it's not so much the violence itself that worries and saddens me; it's the anger that these kids are dealing with. They are so angry it is incredible. They tell me they are angry. They sometimes even explain their anger. Let me explain.

We are reading Oedipus to prepare for reading Antigone. We'll, we're reading a condensed version of Oedipus, but they need to know who all these people are. Anyway, Oedipus's tragic flaw is his anger (and maybe his hubris -- but his anger is what feeds that). He gets mad, makes rash decisions, kills some guy at a crossroads in the first documented case of road rage -- thus killing his father. And it goes on: he vows to kill the killer of the king, he assumes Creon and Tiresias are out to get him, he demands to know the truth. All of which lead to his realization that he has, in fact, killed his father and married his mother.

So, I ask them to think of a time when they got angry and did something they regretted as an opening free write. Some take it seriously: there was the time that a guy insulted my race, so I pulled out a knife and slit his throat.

Er. OK. That's good. Now tell me why you regret that.

Do you know how hard it is to not react to that statement? I do my best to keep a nice, flat affect with my students. (They do not need more rage or derision.)

And then -- there was the time I punched a kid and he punched me back. I kicked him because he wrecked my four-wheeler -- while he was lying on the ground injured. Or, what might be the best: I get angry, but I don't regret anything I do.

Really?

My mom is really lucky that I didn't punch her.

Huh. Tell me why.

Well, it would have knocked out her teeth. She has loose teeth.

Oh, and what would happen to you if you punched your mom?

Nothing.

Nothing. That's the response. These kids know they have anger management issues. They obviously grow up around adults with anger management issues. And it's not just one or two kids. It's a good minority of each of my classes. They are angry, violent children. They all need serious counseling. But the chances of any of them getting the services they actually need is really quite slim.

So, we read Oedipus, and talk about anger management. I'll probably pull out Joseph Campbell, and try to convince them that myths have a meaning for our lives. And maybe, maybe, one or two of them will walk away with something useful.