tuesday, october 20th

Whats been most interesting to me is the way foster kids live. I'm not sure how it is normally, but in Antwone's foster home, he lives with other foster kids and they all get mistreated. I totally disagree with all types of abuse, and there is definitely child abuse in this home. I applaud Antwone for being able to deal with it all.

Antwone is beginning to show his true character when Keith enters the story, a younger foster brother who is lighter skinned, and therefore more well liked. Antwone sticks up for him when he is picked on, and in turn Keith befriends him. Its amazing that Antwone can put up with so much rejection and mistreatment and still find a place inside his heart for people who are nice to him.
p83, Antwone discusses a time when Keith is being picked on for his light skin color, and Keith tells the other boy "Here comes my brother, and he's gonna get you."

"Keith gave a loud yell and burst out crying while I calmly walked up to the boy and punched him Pow!, in his face, knocking him to the ground, where he lay dazed.
Keith's tears stopped in their tracks and his face broke into a huge smile as he began laughing harder than I had ever seen him laugh before."

Important quote so far... on p83, Antwone is talking about why everyone fights the way they do in the household.

"It was a poisonous cycle. We were on the same battlefield, each dodging what we feared most, retaliating in those same modes. With Dwight, everything was external and physical. His pain was written on his face and in the nervous jump of his movements. He was hands, fists, kicks, hitting, running, shouting, crying. With me, it was all on the inside. I was hands-in-pockets, watchful, quiet, and hidden tears."

It just says a lot about what Antwone went through and how he handled things, and how this later affected his character and they way he would grow up.

Hmm, ethical desicions...
I can recall many times in school, or just anywhere, where I've stood up for someone when others weren't going to. You'll be with your friends, talking or whatever, and your own FRIENDS start teasing someone who is less-liked than them, or so they think. When this happens, I get extremely angry. In most cases I'll stand up to my friends, even if they think I'm weird for it, and tell them how it is. More when I was younger, I didn't do this as much, and I would feel guilty for letting things like this slide. Everyone is equal, really, and there's no need to put others down just to make yourself feel better.