Reading Discussion #4

So I am deciding to blog about the article by L.J. Dance On Being "hardcore", "a hardcore wannabe", or "hardcore enough". I am not sure if I am suppose to but it was listed as a reading on the website and I'm interested in it. The term hardcore does seem to be tossed around alot and very casually now a days. For a while there I heard it about as much as the phrase "epic fail" and I will admit to saying it myself. I never gave much thought to the term and I guess I used it more in the sense of toughness or challenging either for a person or a task. For example "Man he took a header down the concrete steps and walked away like it was nothing - he's hardcore."
When reading the examples of innercity hardcore kids it reminded me of a friend of mine. He plays up the hardcore demenor all the time. Nothing bothers him and he has no feelings and remorse about things he says and does (hm, perhaps he's a sociopath instead?).Yet I know better and have called him out on it several times.  I once told him that deep down inside he was still that teenager who was beat by his father, that learned to run away from his problems, and drink his feelings away and just claims to be hardcore. He promptly cussed me out and walked away. Oh and did I mention he is white as Wonder Bread and came from a very rich community? Why do I mention this you ask? I find this notion of being "hardcore" is not just limited to an innercity black community. Perhaps this started there and spread into other cultural areas? While reading the article I found my heart went out to these kids who were making major decisions that may not have been for the best. In some cases the choices were made for them. Some found themselves being forced to leave school not drop out but leave because they felt there were not opportunities for them. My friend went through the same thing. He dropped out in this case and got his G.E.D. but said he felt like the system failed him and that he would not be successful while going to school. Thankfully he now wants to get back into getting an education and to better himself but he made many stupid mistakes along the way before getting to this place in his life. Many of these "hardcore" and  "gangsta" inner city youths may not have that opportunity and the system will really have failed them.
From personal experience I have worked with many adult at risk students in a community college level and it is so hard some days. I found I had to work twice as hard to keep them coming back to not just class but to the school in general. I had one student tell me he wanted to get an education and make something of himself but thought he may have to go back to dealing drugs just to feed his family. His friend remarks that all he would ever be was a "wannabe", at the time I didn't understand the term but now I do. I am glad to say that he didn't go back into being a "wannabe" and is now making something of himself - he was one of the lucky ones.