God on the Wire: I ain’t him…I can’t go home.

Note, there is some profanity in this clip. 

Namond’s dad is in prison serving life…his mom has had him out dealing drugs to build up his own rep and keep her lavish lifestyle.  Here, he gives up altogether, letting down his guard he’s had up all season long…he knows where to go…but he doesn’t know where he can stay. 

When a kid hits rock bottom, realizes running game and the street just aren’t where he needs to be….. where else can they go?  Or as Duke said on Season 5… “how do we get from this world to that?” 

Ideally,  the local churches in these neighborhoods would be places of sanctuary, mentoring, job training, tutoring, and neighborhood transformation.  Whos’ doing this right out there?  And are they providing a model? 

I keep thinking I don’t want to see how “the Wire” ends.  How these 4 kids turn out.  I guess what I’m really afraid of is will they find the new “home” they need to get them out of the cycle that’s bound to have them dead by 18….

God on the Wire: if these kids aren’t ours, then whose are they?

“The kids in this school aren’t yours. You do your peace with them and you let them go.”

The video here is a slice of the Wire, Season 4, Episode 12. Duquan, aka Dukie, is an 8th grade kid whose addict parents sell his school uniforms for drugs and hardly ever feed him. Prez, a new teacher, intervenes, buys new uniforms for Duquan, keeps them at school, and has his wife do Duquan’s laundry. Also, he teaches him computer skills and builds a strong mentor relationship with him. As this video shows, the joy is shortlived.

Duquan is “At Risk Youth” as they come. For moments in Season 4, he has flashes of greatness, and you think he will somehow escape the hell he’s lived. Prez is his lifeline, but Dukie lets go.

What the assistant principal, Ms. Donnelly, said was her way of coping. And she’s wrong.