It Will Never Be Black and White

One of the most important films of recent memory is Steve James's The Interrupters (2011). In it, James explores all sides of the frustrating issue of gang violence in Chicago. The tragedy of this whole situation is the obscurity of it all. The Interrupters program is an embodiment of such obscurity: they are not there to dissolve gangs and rid the streets of violence, they are there to prevent a violent act about to occur. Many people see this program as something that will try to do the former but that simply is something they cannot handle. There is one heart-wrenching scene where some of these Interrupters are speaking to a high school which had recently accepted transfer students from another high school that was turned into a military school; this heightened tension between gangs of each respective neighborhood. As the men and women who constantly put their lives on the line to directly prevent violent actions speak, these kids looked on blankly and uninterested. When they got the chance to speak, it was all hateful to another group of kids whose only difference was what street they lived on. They broke up into smaller groups to discuss what they would do in specific situations. The general consensus was that they will use violence if necessary and that if they don't use violence then violence will be acted upon them. Their foundation for such conclusions was that they were raised this way, it was their way of life.

I mention this film and this particular scene because, in the wake of an absolutely terrible event, we are experiencing this frustrating notion these Interrupters face. So I look upon these kids and I ask myself, "What do I say, 'They are bad people?'" In this regard, simplified language cannot encapsulate the complexity of these individuals. 'Bad' is insufficient, 'good' as well. How can we ever begin to understand these people if we denote them as 'bad' when their nature has been forcibly mutated into a complexion that is undesirable for people living outside such a suffocating environment. Psychologically, their morality is based off a set of principles different from people who live in Greenville, SC or at the University of Rochester. Their emotions obviously function off such principles and, ultimately, their actions. Thinking about it in terms of economics, the weighing of costs and benefits of a given choice in their position is vastly different from ours. Why would they continue doing violent things if they really thought the cost of getting caught and thrown in prison was lower than shooting someone? Again, their environment makes no mention of the same costs and benefits we come to in a decision we make. The social norms are extremely dynamic between two systems; reality becomes a constant fluctuation. It is even more devastating when you consider that, in other parts of Chicago, things seem fine. Distance is not a factor when it comes to abrupt changes in reality.

It is crucial to note that it is hard to blame 'society.' Again, that falls into the same narrow dominion as 'bad' and 'good.' Society, as a term, is far too kaleidoscopic to even suggest, especially in regards to one person. There is too much of an informational and emotional disconnect for such a statement.

So here we are, today, with this unfathomable act of cruelty, where children are the victims. The man involved may or may not have been involved with the elementary school. Nevertheless, there is a psychological component to this. There is, if I may, an economic component to this. They converge at a point that is never really definable. We can try to talk about the origins of such an act but how far will that really take us? There is an epidemic of gun violence in America; some places more susceptible than others, as in Chicago. Yet, all acts are instituted in a realm of obscurity because the moment we try to rationalize this sort of act we come to the limits that our own, personal, reality has constructed. It is easy for us to question this man's actions and to belittle this man we otherwise would never had known existed (unless, of course, you knew him), especially in the realm of triteness that places like Facebook exhibit.

I hope you don't think this is any sort of justification for what has happened today. There is obviously no question the act committed was atrocious. But, this does not mean there is a simple understanding or a clear dichotomy that we can easily assess. It will never be black and white. I look back at the Interrupters who, amid such overwhelming odds, continuing to confront and prevent. They do this by awareness, understanding, and listening. There is a lot to be learn in a sad situation like this, but we must make an initiative to act. This tragic figure, about to be projected in so many ways in the days to come, cannot be fully clarified. Yet, we still must try.

That's all I have to say.