Fatherhood

There is a lot to say about the intentional scripting and design of the show The Wire. Clearly an experienced and informed individual is behind every scene, line and character. I took this into consideration as i reflected on 'D' and McNulty's shared, lone role as father. These characters are the only to have their interactions with their children captured in the scenes of the show. While the drug game is a family operation it is not past down father to son. Not to say I am surprised because I have not seen anything counter to this reality in the urban settings I've encounters which reflect that which is seen on The Wire.

"In June 2008, National Fatherhood Initiative released The One Hundred Billion Dollar Man, a ground-breaking study that showed that the federal government spends $100 billion each year supporting father-absent homes."

It isn't a new problem but it tends to only catch the majorities attention when there are financial ramifications for tax payers. it certainly is relevant for more than just a financial reason but i find that The Wire's depiction of this reality is more disheartening and upsetting than rough nature of 'the game'. Omar references his honor in maintaining a certain limit in his criminal activity - "i don't kill no one who's not in the game" this is followed by Bunks reply "A man's got to have a code". In a culture that relies on codes and loyalty where is that found in fatherhood? What is so heartbreaking about watching these lives and characters unfold is that conscious understanding that if a handful of those characters' fathers had been the slightest bit more selfless the criminal issue would be drastically different. Sure someone else would be dealing and Baltimore would still see dead bodies on their streets with glass vials encrusting the soles of their shoes. But the game would have spared the life of Wallace whose juvenile mind and heart are in trauma from the violence he is witnessing, incapable of comprehension he deals the way the only men in his life have shown him and enable him to, he gets high.

Expectations that blockade progress

      Throughout these first 5 episodes and the discussion following i have been mulling over some questions about these ideas of 'no other viable option' or the 'trade' of the urban African American community. These all dealing with the idea of  I have swung back in forth on this issue of privilege throughout college. First exposed to my own privilege, as a middle class, college educated white woman, in a History of Social Welfare course I justified hardship and criminal behavior with the lack of options or opportunity. However personal exposure to these populations; urban underprivileged and offending parties, i can see that this perspective alone actually serves to handicap them further. If we as a society are to never believe that it IS possible to live outside of the expectation of one's race, gender, nationality or socioeconomic position than we would be

a. ignoring historical record of those who have risen above societal structures and restraints

b. playing into the very structures enlightened and systemic thinkers [such as college educated individuals are expected to be] hate [example racial discrimination by employers etc]. If all of society busy into the idea that people cannot overcome the broken circumstances they find themselves in than they really wont.