WORD, On the Street

Anybody who knows me knows that the one thing that brings me joy, aside from my button collection, is my support and involvement with inner city youth. Some youth in our fair city do not grow up with as much privilege as others, and its good to give them a voice.

At the cafeteria the other day we came upon Word on the Street - "A Free Journal for Youth and Urban Saskatoon". At first I thought to myself 'awesome, some kick ass literature for my lunch break!' This first thought quickly turned to dismay, and then hysteria as I read through "Being Jacked" by M.P. Now I'll copy an excerpt for my readers... nah, fuck it, I'll write out the whole damned thing:

Being jacked for personal belongings is a big problem in Saskatoon.

Hats are the most common thing being jacked, which is unfortunate because some hats can cost $50 +. If you have to buy a new hat every time someone runs off with it, you're going to be blowing all your money on hats. What really bugs me is people who don't have the guts to come up to me and tell me to give them my stuff, instead they grab the hat and run as fast as they can.


- Okay, so I'm not writing out the whole thing, but you get a hint. Seriously, though, I do believe in youth in the inner city getting opportunities, but this magazine is ridiculous. Half of the titles aren't checked for spelling (e.g. Rap Music and it's Affects on Me). My favorite is the "STreet Speak" feature in which youth are asked what job they would want, if they could do anything in the world. "a male teenager" responds "I'd work on the oil rigs" And thats why our youth are so successful, with that ambition and lust in their eyes.

So yes, I'm an asshole for poking fun at an honest attempt by our youth to make themselves feel successful but honestly, forcing success on a group doesn't necessarily make results happen. Let's not overinflate these kids egoes.

And, to seal the deal... these kids are paid to write these gems. Ta-Dah! What a use for taxpayer money