family talk

[ljgeoff]

Present were: Sam, Kyle, Justin, Fred, Luke, Josh, Travis, Brianna, and unknown female friend of Brianna's.

For being as tired as I was, the talk went well. I think one of the reasons it was so successful is that I didn't just talk one-to-one with Justin; we had a big house meeting about drugs in society (1), house rules, and the coming school year.

I did make it very clear, specifically to Justin, that any type of drug use, possesion of anything illegal (including paraphenalia), and general ass-hattery would get him kicked out of the house. Justin said that he wasn't a pot head, he didn't have anything on him and he definately wasn't selling anything. He just liked getting high occasionally, and he could keep it out of the house. I told him that he was on probation, and if there was a next time, he'd be out.

The longest part of the meeting was more about what it took to live together cooperatively, and how if people didn't pull their weight, it didn't work. Everyone agreed sagely that the jobs needed to be done, but I'm sure that I'll have to bully them through the carry-through.



1) "Do yous guys remember that part from 'The Matrix,' when the dude held up the battery and told Neo that that's what humanity was? Well, to corporate America, to the rich and the powerful, that's what you are. You are a consuming machine whose only purpose is to power the economy. Your purpose is to work as hard as you can, and spend all of your money on the 'stuff.' Drugs play two important rolls in society: they keep you passive, so you don't think or worry about this dynamic, and they give the rich and powerful control of you specifically, so they can throw your ass in jail when they want. Recreational drugs make you stupid, passive and easy to control."

Comments

[ailbhe]

Gods, you're brilliant.

[ljgeoff.livejournal.com]

I don't know if they really got it, but it gave them something to think about. The 'Just say no' message is for ... I was going to say 'idiots', but that's not it. It's for people who do what they're told. And teens are in the midst of struggling for identity -- in my experience, they feel strongly about not just doing what they're told. They need to be told why, and it better be a damn compelling reason. They need to be told that the choice is theirs, and that they are the masters of their destinies.

[ailbhe]

My mother certainly thought so.

[firecat]

I hope the talk has positive effects.

That's the best explanation yet for the battery thing in the Matrix.