Venting

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rugged
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Venting

#1 Post by rugged » Tue Sep 28, 2004 8:27 am

I just thought I would use this to vent a situation that has just gone down in my neck of the woods.
I used to be employed by a youth trust to work with at risk youth and run a youth facilitiy. It turns out that two of the guys that were fairly regular at my youth centre have killed a homeless guy and are currently facing murder charges.
The strange thing is why these two kids were always hard, you could still talk to them and they weren't all that bad. Now they are inevitably going to do a jail term. Its strange you know they have to be punished for what they did but at the same time you know that jail is going to rip away any softness that they had left (this is the consequnce for their choices).

At the same time as this is going down the organisation I worked with is finally seeing breakthrough and a change in heaps of young peoples lives, one of the friends of the two had been using drugs everyday for the alst three years and has now not used in months.

I don't blame myself at all but you can't help but wonder, what you would have done differently if you had known what was going to happen. (not in a gulity way)

I am pretty spun out about all this, it is front page news and lots of people at work are talking about it and stuff. Murderers all of a sudden don't seem so hard and evil when you used to shoot bball with them.


This sort of stuff spins you out.

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#2 Post by Klytos » Tue Sep 28, 2004 9:05 am

Hey Rugged, that sounds like a difficult situation and I (for once) don't have any advice to offer. All I can say is that I hope you deal and move on, and remember that whatever these guys have done, you tried to help them and hopefully some seeds you planted in their lives will bear fruit in the future.

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Gronagor
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#3 Post by Gronagor » Tue Sep 28, 2004 9:08 am

Just goes to show you... the ideal 'evil villian' we see in the movies doesn't exist.

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#4 Post by anathoth8 » Tue Sep 28, 2004 4:49 pm

It's a tough situation, indeed. My fiance works in juvenile corrections, so I hear firsthand about similar situations. (Although in our case, I am not aware of any murderers under her care.)

It is difficult to see that your hard work didn't seem to have any effect. Just remember that there are some people who won't change. Try to help everyone that comes your way, but inevitably, there will be some that you cannot help. That doesn't really make it easier to accept, but that is just the way it is.

Good luck to you. And like Klitos said, you never know. Someday down the road, they may remember you as someone who was kind to them and it may change them for the better.

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Senor Matt
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#5 Post by Senor Matt » Thu Sep 30, 2004 12:21 am

I have worked with troubled kids off and on for over two years now, and at those times when I am feeling down and think I'm not making any progress I like to think of a verse of scripture in which a prophet asks God to bless that the people he is working with "have charity" meaning that they change and be good. God's answer to this is "if they have charity or not it mattereth not unto thee, thou hast been faithful" Meaning that whether or not those people changed for the better didn't matter as much as the fact that he (the prophet) was going around trying to do good.

So the point is, if we try to do good and better people's lives it doesn't matter whether or not we meet our goals. We will still reap the benefits of doing good as long as we try, and whether you are religious or not that point is still valid.

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#6 Post by Blackthorne519 » Thu Sep 30, 2004 2:15 am

Senor Matt wrote: So the point is, if we try to do good and better people's lives it doesn't matter whether or not we meet our goals. We will still reap the benefits of doing good as long as we try, and whether you are religious or not that point is still valid.
So very true. I hate it when people think that being non-religious also means you're a horrible person, and incapable of doing good things for moral reasons. One does not need to believe in a deity to be a good person.

To Rugged,

That's a hard situation to deal with, and the best thing I can say is be strong, and believe in the fact that you know you are strong and a good person.

Bt

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#7 Post by Quest For Glory Fan » Thu Sep 30, 2004 2:23 am

Blackthorne519 wrote:
Senor Matt wrote: So the point is, if we try to do good and better people's lives it doesn't matter whether or not we meet our goals. We will still reap the benefits of doing good as long as we try, and whether you are religious or not that point is still valid.
So very true. I hate it when people think that being non-religious also means you're a horrible person, and incapable of doing good things for moral reasons. One does not need to believe in a deity to be a good person.

To Rugged,

That's a hard situation to deal with, and the best thing I can say is be strong, and believe in the fact that you know you are strong and a good person.

Bt
Amen to that. I actually have a friend who is a Ijehovas Witness (SP?) and I'm not of any religous prefrence but i read the first three chapters of the catholic bible and all I learned from these was that the only thing for certain about religion is uncertainty. It's nothing more then an unsolveable mystery. no less or more interesting then the full number of pie. Well that's all i got as far as religous rants.

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#8 Post by Gronagor » Thu Sep 30, 2004 7:51 am

Uhm QFGF... that type of post isn't allowed on most forums, and I know the AGDs doesn't like it when someone start this type of discussion.

In other words: keep it to yourself.

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#9 Post by Klytos » Thu Sep 30, 2004 8:06 am

Come on Gron, I thought that for once QFGfan actually made some sense.

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verdict

#10 Post by rugged » Mon Oct 04, 2004 8:27 am

Well the trial is over and the two guys were found gulity of murder. They have not been sentenced yet but will have a minimum of 10 years non parole in prision anyway.

Pretty strange really, I have dealt with kids who were much harder who I still don't think will ever murder someone.

I atopped worked at WYT nearly two years ago now, Although I have recently startd up a youth centre in the side of town I now live in. WE are still growing and have about 20 youth attend (as opposed to 120 at the one I used to manage). These youth are not quite the hood rats that I was working wiht on the East side. They are still not angels and have baggage but in a smaller capacity, still I miss the little gangsta from the wyt days ...
Hmm beginning to ramble ......

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#11 Post by Quest For Glory Fan » Wed Oct 06, 2004 2:45 am

Klitos wrote:Come on Gron, I thought that for once QFGfan actually made some sense.
IN YOUR FACE....someone...aww I lost all respect I had gained for a moment

Still this is terrible news but it's not as though you can have responsibility or anyone else other then themselves. As long as you can live through this learn from it and teach what you've learned to others that may turn close to the same fate. As long as you gain some wisdom no action is a complete waste.

Did I get my respect back yet huh huh huh? Damn I just lost it didn't I?

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