Jared Loughner, let's talk about mental health and politics

In the hours following the shooting in a grocery store outside of Tucson of Arizona U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords, six people were announced as dead: U.S. District Judge John McCarthy Roll, 63; Christina-Taylor Greene, 9; Gabriel Zimmerman, 30; Dorwin Stoddard, 76; Dorthy Murray, 76; Phyllis Scheck, 79. Twelve additional people were wounded. (Source)

In the days following the shooting, we will hear many voices of concern. Sarah Palin's Facebook note still has a map of targeted districts with names; many have and will continue to blame this and other "vitriolic rhetoric" for the fatal shooting. Others will argue that the suspect (or suspects, if another is found) was mentally ill and a victim himself of lack of affordable health care. Right wingers will point to this as yet another blame game by liberals to defraud the second amendment. I myself have my own concerns, as I'm sure do you.

In the article of the suspect, Jared Lee Loughner, the New York Times reports that he had been suspended from college, to conditionally return after seeking a mental health evaluation. The article authors opine that Jared may have had schizophrenia, judging by the content of his Youtube videos (for example) and the testimony of former college classmates. It is unknown whether he saw any mental health professionals, but Jared dropped out of college last fall.

At this point, Jared may or may not confess to the shooting. He will likely undergo an overdue mental evaluation, and from there we may gain a better understanding of his motivation. Unless Jared himself admits he was inspired by talk of liberal "targets" or other right wing propaganda, it is unfair to make such claims for him. The Safeway where the killings took place was close to Jared's home; it's possible that he did not know of the event taking place at the time and had in mind a random act of violence. However, his videos suggest he was politically informed, and he had met Representative Giffords in person at a previous event.

Consider the possibility that Jared had opened fire in a grocery store on a normal crowded Saturday morning. National headlines, certainly. Political news? Only insofar as gun control is concerned. This tragedy has eclipsed other recent and concurrent tragedies, such as the Omaha school shooting and the brutal murder of a Portuguese gay activist, and not without reason. Deadly threats to politicians should be more concerning because these are people we deem important and clever enough to make decisions for the country on our behalf. But let's not forget the lives that are lost every day to the hands of those who had the opportunity to seek help and did not.

I doubt that lack of "affordable health care" was the main factor in spurring this act of violence. Pima Community College offers counseling for students and those enrolled within the past three years; it is unlikely that they would refuse Jared service due to his suspension. I've seen comments on this issue that attack the quality of mental health services in the U.S., though this claim is unfounded. We do not necessarily have the best care in the world, but it is world class.

What I see as a problem is the reluctance of Jared and his family to take interest in treating what may be a serious mental illness. This happens to so many people across the country. Articles on war veterans hurting themselves or their families because of untreated substance abuse and PTSD proliferate newspapers and cable news, but despite recent efforts to allay these actions (such as recent commercials for mental health services for military enrollees and veterans), many refuse to seek help. Many mental illness sufferers are diagnosed, receive therapy and/or medication, but do not stick with it and relapse.

So many times when an act of violence shakes the nation, we treat the perpetrator as heinous and evil, without thinking about what we as a society could have done to prevent them. Rather than extreme vilifying of individuals, especially those who we see as guilty by association, let us carefully critique societal pressures that prevent people from getting the help they need. Affordable health care is one step in the right direction, but so is destigmatizing mental illness. Jared, please get help.

Taking a couple VF Primary girls to a Chess Workshop in Castries

Minority Experience

Part 1

Last Monday, January 18th, I checked with the music teacher at the school to see if he could take the children for music at 4pm. He was packing up to go home already, so I needed to come up with a music and theatre combo for the group.

A few minutes later, as children started coming in for the After School Programme, Zoya came up and showed me that she finished a half-page I asked the kids to write about what it means to be a good leader. She wrote about Dr. Martin Luther King, and had even done a little more research about him. I looked it over, then told her that today was in fact MLK day in the US. Her smile got bigger and her eyes lit up. "Really?" I'm sure my eyes lit up at the same time, because I saw an immediate solution.

I asked her if she would like to read it for the group when it was time for the theatre session, since we had to change plans a little. She agreed, and I made a mental note to come up with some songs we could sing.

When 4pm (the scheduled time for creative activities) rolled around, I introduced the topic. Many of them had heard of Dr. King, and a few even knew what he did. Zoya read her piece, followed by applause. I then talked a little more about what Dr. King meant for people in America. It was difficult and improvised, but I did my best to connect the story back to their understanding of their own history.

The US and St. Lucia both experienced slavery. I talked about how Lincoln set the slaves free with the Emancipation Proclamation. Here they celebrate Emancipation Day on August 1, when the UK freed its slaves. I talked about the struggle of blacks and animosity between races, and how Dr. King and other civil rights leaders used peaceful protests to demand their rights.

One boy said that the white people shot Dr. King. At this point it was extremely important to me to clarify the extent and limitations of racism in the US. I told them that there were white abolitionists before slavery was over, and that there were many white people supporting and working for civil rights for all races in the 20th century. I knew it would be a touchy topic, but it worked and the kids saw how strongly I felt about it. We ended by singing "This Little Light of Mine."

Goal 2 achieved.



Part 2

I've mentioned this before on the blog, but serving as a PCV has given me the kind of perspectives I was seeking. One that I hadn't given much thought to before leaving but that hit me in the face as soon as I arrived was a real minority perspective.

Some of you reading know that I identify as Hispanic, but I'm such a guera that practically nobody would describe me as such. Even my claim to it is tenuous, especially when I'm not in the Southwest. My mom was not from Mexico as it is known today, but rather from south Texas. She is also a guera, meaning she has fair skin and her hair is not pitch black like the typical image of the ethnicity. When I say my mom is Mexican, I suppose I mean Chicana--a word not used in Texas. She and her siblings grew up speaking English because her father wanted them to have that advantage, but that fair skin and no Spanish accent didn't mean she was (or is) never discriminated against. While I haven't had to overcome racial inequalities myself, I embrace my family's history and culture.

In that sense and that sense only I am a minority in the United States. In St. Lucia I am absolutely a minority. I live here, and endure assumptions about me from all sides. People who don't know me or haven't seen me often enough assume I'm a tourist. If I'm lucky they think I'm a medical student. They assume I don't know prices for things, that I don't know their Kweyol language (which is mostly true), that I don't know how to get around, and worst of all that I have a lot of money.

I'm also met with a lot of interest from people who wouldn't naturally ask questions of a Lucian they didn't know. Yesterday Berney and I went to Sandy Beach. As we were packing up to go, a girl of about 16 (I guess) came over and asked us our names. Well, she asked Berney his name, and then me mine. We each hesitated but told her. She wandered back to her friends who continued walking along. No reason, it seemed, just curiosity.

By the time we got to into VF, it was after 6, so we stood out by the beginning of the Vieux Fort-Laborie highway instead of the bus stand. About ten minutes went by before an Augier bus came by for us to get on, and as sometimes happens on weekends, the back of the bus was filled with rowdy young men on their way home after a day of drinks.

The gason (dude) sitting next to Berney had let rum get the better of him, and he loudly harassed us. Nothing really aggressive, and nothing to the extent that I expected bodily or property harm, but it was pretty irritating. His friends tried to get him off the topic, but he would have none of it. One gason behind us tried to apologize to us by saying "I love tourists" a few times. By the time we were by the mall, the soule (drunkard) next to us was lightly knocking (in the American sense of the word) Berney on the shoulder as he got madder.

At the mall two girls got on the bus, and one of the young men told Soule to knock it off while the girls were on the bus. That didn't last long. He continued to threaten us and tap (again, American meaning) Berney on the arm and head, speaking in Kweyol with the key words I was waiting for: fanm, blan, etc. I leaned over and told him "Eh gason, ki te nou bat mi se nou!"

"What?" He leaned over to hear me better.

I told him very firmly and angrily, "Ki te nou, bat mi se nou!"

That shut him up for a bit, muttering under his breath sexual threats against me and violent threats against Berney. At least he stopped tapping Berney. His friends were freaked out, one of them saying "Dey undastand ah language, gason!"

Soule turned his attention to the girl in front of him. I'm not sure exactly what precipitated, but he started a small fight between them and the girls shouted for the bus driver to pull over. They declared they would not pay, they must get off. The driver, caring more about his pay than the safety or comfort of his passengers, got out and demanded that they or the fellows on the bus pay for them, but the girls were already walking up the road.

While the door was still open, Soule's friends tried to get him out of the van. He resisted strongly, and one of the guys with him took a 4 foot long two-by-four from a pile nearby. Not even a real scuffle, and the drunk man was finally pulled out and a couple of his friends stayed with him. The driver got back to his seat, picked up the girls, and continued on.

Not too far down, the leader of the young men, called Blacks, said "Stopping at de gap, driva," and the remaining group went down from the bus. Blacks apologized to us as he got out, but I told him "Thank you." We were safely at my house not much longer.

Talking about it afterward, Berney said he was glad he was the one sitting next to Soule, but I felt awful that he had to go through it. There had been two other seats on the bus we could have taken, not next to each other; we decided it was better that we were seated together even though we were closer to the rowdy bunch.

We know, though, that the aggression wasn't because it was us, but because he was drunk and we were different. Had two Lucian girls been sitting in our seats, I expect something similar would happen. I'm very thankful that nothing further precipitated, but I also know that there's not really a way to avoid the same situation in the future.

I wish I could blend in anywhere I go, but I'm not a chameleon. Here I will continue to stick out like a big pasty sore thumb.

Best Compliment Ever

I was leaving the After School Programme and a group of girls were ahead of me. Three from the programme, one was not.

"Miss, Miss, Naomi saying you have flak backside!"
Naomi says crossly, "Miss I not saying that, uh."
"Miss, she saying it foh true!"
"Miss not true uh!"
I tell them, "Hey hold on let's talk about this. I'm not mad."
"Miss, Naomi say you have flak backside."
"Did you say that?"
"Yes miss."
"What does it mean?" I ask.
"Miss it meaning 'flat.'"
"Miss like not round backside."
"Ok, well it's true. I have flak backside then. Why is that?"
"Miss when you bend down you have flak backside."
"Well there are two reasons for that. One is that I wearing pants that ah a little too big for me, they not tight on me like some women weh."
"Miss yuh pants too big on you?"
"Yes, but also I'm white and many white people have smaller backside than many Lucians."
"Miss, Asians having flak backside too eh!" I was surprised the girl did not say "chiny," as most people here refer to Asians.
"Miss, where you from?"
"I'm from the United States."
A few ask at the same time, "New York?!"
"No, I'm from Texas."
"Miss, how you having so many moles?" The same girl that said "Asians." I was surprised she knew the word for mole, too. I've often heard younger children call them "buttons."
"Well I was born like that, with feh skin and moles."
Naomi looks up and asks, "Miss, are you a tourism?"
"Eh eh, tourist, Naomi!" the other girls correct her, "Tourist, tourist!"
"I'm not a tourist; I live heh and I wuhk heh."
"Miss wheh you livin'?"
"I livin' Augier."
"Miss looking like tourist, eh."
"But that's only because I'm white. Do I dress like a tourist?" I want to challenge their assumptions about white people.
"No, miss."
"What do tourists weh?" I ask.
"Miss dey wearing shoht skuhts an' fing."
Naomi asks, "But Miss if you from United State how come you not talking yahnking?"
"Talking yahnking?" I ask, "What that mean?"
"Miss you not sounding like you from United States ey." Naomi explains.
I smile. This is what I've been working on, a secret to me as much as anyone. "Well I livin' St. Lucia ovuh a yeh now, I pick up the accent."

They asked a few more questions, but our conversation was cut short because a teacher that livin' near me came outside and was starting her car. I got a ride home.




I work with children ages 5-11 on basic literacy. Much of this involves learning and reviewing the sounds letters make. I found out over a year ago it was useless to try and teach them the sounds they have in American English. So the sounds are easy to get right. The dialect came later. Slowly I tried incorporating different phrases and words that would make me better understood by the young children. My classroom management skills are improving, but a lot of it is just the fact that kids understand what I'm saying now.

I look white, and maybe it's something that my students think about often. I don't, however, but I do take advantage of cultural education. Maybe I need to introduce real flour tortillas to my students so I can explain my moles better.

Work and play

So many things, so busy since the beginning of this month! I'm home sick right now, but feeling a little better, I'll probably be able to attend the literacy workshop tomorrow. Hello vinegar and LLB, goodbye stomach pains (hopefully)!

The Vieux-Fort After School Programme is running! We have two dedicated regular volunteers, and Sister Mary Lee will be able to help out more regularly, as well as having generously donated some great maths flash cards and books. The participants have regularized, and the attendance has dropped a little and leveled off, so now when more children want to be in the programme, I can finally tell them yes! We have activities everyday after homework or academic work, including music, theatre, arts & craft, chess, and athletics. Speaking of theatre, the girls I worked with on Monday was the first group of kids here that really understood Charades and played it well once I explained it. We're also participating in an International Art Exchange, so over the next few weeks we'll create full color drawings of holidays celebrated in St. Lucia, then send them off and receive art from other students all around the world!

While things have been going pretty well recently in VFASP, for a few days a couple weeks ago things were kind of unstable. Ms. Casilda James, a teacher who had worked at the school 29 years, passed away. It was a very difficult time for everyone at the school and the family, so last week Vieux-Fort Primary put on an amazing Memorial Service. It was so touching, and I got to see sides of Ms. Cas and the impact she had that I hadn't yet learned in the year I'd known her. Rest in peace, Ms. Cas.

When not at work, Berney and I have been expanding our horizons. We have some new friends a couple towns away, where we've visited for dinner a couple times. The woman is French and a translator, so she and Bern have plenty to talk about with language experiences. The children are lively and instant friends.

Last weekend Bern and I climbed Gros Piton, the second tallest mountain on the island at a height of 2,619 feet. The cost was quite off-putting, though, and even though it was a good workout with better views, I'd rather not spend $70 EC for two of us to walk and have sore legs and feet. I can do that for free most places.

Last Sunday was Jounen Kweyol, so we dressed in our madwas and went into VF Town for some food and music. All the locals loved that we were wearing their national dress, and while it seemed like pestering at first, we realized soon that they were flattered at the compliment we were paying them.

Soon I'll have Mid-Service Training, where all of us on St. Lucia will get to see everyone in our group who flew off to other islands after staging. I'm looking forward to the reconnect, though I'll definitely be sad when I don't see some familiar faces. You know who you are.

Austin in Photographic Memory

A short summary of my Austin vacation (sorry, no picture of the legendary barbacoa y guacamole taco). Mom's birthday party, Diana and I at the Ice Cream Festival, cousin's first birthday party, and at the airport. Try and guess who's related to me!

More work, more play

It seems I'm so busy now that school is out and I'm not going to a different school everyday!

Last week I went to Dennery to finish up the Barrier Analysis surveys (we're officially done with surveys in both locations! Hooray!) with MaryEllen and Haley. I don't exactly enjoy data collection (I'm too introverted to like it, though this is the third time I've had to contact large numbers of people--first was when I worked for the Census a few summers ago, then a year and a half ago when researching for my BA thesis), but knowing that data collection means data analysis is what keeps me going. That step is scheduled two Fridays from today :D

When I got back into Vieux Fort Town that Monday I was just in time to see the VF bands jump in our local Carnival parade. Today (Tuesday July 21st) concludes Carnival season. Several of the smaller Eastern Caribbean islands have staggered Carnival seasons, while Trinidad is the only one with the correct time (just before Lent). This is so that no one loses out on tourists.

One great group of older women started wining in line, and ended up falling down all over each other!

Tuesday and Wednesday last week I volunteered at Camp Lajwa ("Joy" in Creole), a retreat for children with disabilities. Tuesday was for the families in the south of the country, and Wednesday everyone met up (including those from the north that held their regional camp the Sunday prior) at George Odlum Stadium in VF. Honestly I didn't expect to have nearly as much fun as I did, despite the disorganization on Tuesday and the late meals both days. Seriously, it was a great time.

Friday I went with Fae up to the Gros Islet area. We originally intended to go to "Outrageous: Sexy in Black," a Carnival fete that featured all this year's big Soca finalists, a party to last until sunrise. Then we found out that it cost much more than we were previously told, so along with Fae's lifelong friend Tricia we hit up Rodney Bay and the Gros Islet Jump Up (the best time I've had at the Jump Up, with all the top Soca songs thumping until 2. Though I'm sort of sad we missed out on the real Carnival events, we totally had a blast! We got a free round of drinks from a bartender where Tricia sings sometimes, because it was her birthday (for true!).
A couple of their friends joined us, including Jason (a Rasta version of King Julian from "Madagascar"). The best part of the night was when all five of us were piled into Tricia's small SUV, and Jason realized that the CD playing was Jason Mraz. He flipped out--because he loves Jason Mraz so much! Each song he would listen for 30 seconds, and demand the next song be played, "Pull up, pull up!" At the next bar we went to, he went so far as to request Jason Mraz songs be played instead of the typical Soca or Dancehall songs that dominate St. Lucian night life. Just before we took everyone home for the night, a trip to a chicken and fries stand was necessary. While Fae and Tricia stood patiently in line, Jason called out to the server repeatedly "Ten dollars backs, five fries!" Chicken backs are popular here because they're cheap, and as a Rastafarian Jason is a vegetarian, so he was giving the order for the two ladies and himself, of course!

Sunday I went all the way upstairs to my landlady's apartment for her grandson's birthday party. I forgot to get a picture of the card I made for him; I didn't get a gift because I didn't find out until the evening before. Thomas turned 5, and everyone wins!

Great food, delicious tamarind juice (it's my favorite local juice, it has so much flavor), lots of sweets--ice cream and cake of course!
The past couple days I'm just using to wind down and get serious work done on things I've been needing to type up, like my reviews for the IBG Phonic Programme and the After School Programme, both at VF Infant School. This week will be another very busy one, with a meeting tomorrow, minor surgery on Thursday, and an overnight farewell beach bash for EC77 (the PC group before ours). So it was definitely nice to take a couple days to stay at home in cocoa-tea-with-dumplings weather (lots of rain, a small tropical wave) and just watch the final Carnival Jump parade on the local TV stations.

Bonus: Dancing to "Suzette" at Camp Lajwa!

July, a month of work and celebration

School ended either last Friday or the Friday before, depending on who you are. For me it ended July 3rd, but there are several projects I have to work on organizing regarding school. Another work day to be scheduled, a meeting this week to discuss the afterschool program at Vieux-Fort Primary next year, perhaps a summer camp with the Lions preschool.

In addition to school projects, I've been working on Barrier Analysis interviews in Soufriere and I'll go to Dennery tomorrow to do the same. We're very nearly done with this stage, so analysis is next. That's the exciting part for me. This week I'm also helping out at a summer camp for disabled children.

Of course, you cah have July without fun! Last weekend of course was 4th of July, so 4 PCV cohort groups got together with staff at our Country Director's house for a party.

EC77, 78, and 79 represent, but also EC2! Peace Corps who served here 40 years ago came for a reunion, and we got to learn from each other about how St. Lucia and our service has changed over the decades.

And of course plenty of food!

The next day was Jess's birthday, so she organized a great camping trip. We got to stay in this nice roofed pavillion looking out to the sea.

Andy resuscitated the fire to make homemade pizzas and smores--with graham crackers and Hershey's chocolate (a rare find here)!

On Wednesday I joined Sam and his family, along with Eric, Jeff, and Fae, to tour the brewery down the road from my house. It was pretty neat, and I got a free shirt (plus drinks of course)!

Within the next week and a half I'm looking forward to going to different Carnival events! I'll be sure to post plenty of pictures.

Work day and a dasheen preview

A couple weeks ago I organized a work day for some PCVs to come to Belle Vue Combined and help organize the reading room.

This room was an initiative by the principal, Ms. Poleon, when she advanced to that position four years ago. That year the Vieux Fort PCV, Dan, organized a work day to make this beautiful room a peaceful place where students can come to read.

My work with Ms. Poleon is focused more on organizing and streamlining existing systems. In the reading room we're organizing books by reading level, as well as creating a catalogue and book cards, so it will work a little more like a small library. Students will be able to see on the cover what level a book is, and they can keep them organized alphabetically by author.

So two Saturdays ago a bunch of my Peace Corps buddies came over to help out. Ms. Poleon and Charmaine brought us cake, mango juice, and made a boulyon soup for lunch. We were able to get through over 200 books--about half of what's in the room total.

Yesterday I spent several hours cooking dasheen (the local name for taro root) in a couple different dishes. I wanted to prove to myself that I could use a somewhat bland ground provision in a fun way. They turned out alright, though I definitely know a few changes I'll make to the recipes I found online. Once I try them again and perfect the recipes I'll post them.
Bonus pic: the contents of my refrigerator. The plate of things in the middle is the other creation, dasheen black bean fritters. The bottle next to those is mango juice, and below that is a bunch of ripe bananas. Mmmm.