Wednesday, September 21, 2011

talking point #1

In this excerpt from his book Amazing Grace Jonathan Kozol argues the reason for the conditions of extreme poverty and sickness in the South Bronx.  Kozol lays the blame on institutions such as the hospitals, the police, and government agencies such as social security.  Kozol gives examples of unsanitary hospital conditions including patients waiting for hours in the waiting room and then needing to clean their own room as it is still covered in bloody bandages from the previous inhabitant.  He also tells about how in some areas if the heat shuts down, the government hands out sleeping bags instead of repairing the heat.  Kozol talks to an elderly woman slowing dying of the AIDS virus who is constantly being bounced around  between the hospital, her doctor and the social security office, even though she was previously on SS and was only removed accidentally.  The writing speaks about the police doing little to bring justice to crimes, including the rape of a little girl, so the grandmother takes the law into her own hands and puts a bullet in the head of the rapist.  Then the government is astonished at the high level of shootings, when in reality a lot of them are probably taking justice into their own hands.  From the problems with social security to the body parts disposal facility, Kozol blames the institutions for the poor conditions the people live in, even though the force of power will place all blame on the individuals.

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