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by Rick_Garcia

Last Post 6 days, 17 hours Ago


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Went back to my old high school the other night. It was senior night at Quartz Hill High and I was there to hand out a couple of scholarships to some kids.
A couple of years ago a series of events inspired me to create the Unity Award.
The first event was the sad and untimely death of one of my daughter's classmates. When I used to pick her up at school she would point out the boy to me. Said he was strange. That he was always in trouble and that nobody liked him. So I guess I didn't like him. Eventually she got to know the kid and became one of his few friends. Turns out he came from a broken home. Sounds like he was abused in many ways. I never got to know him. As I said I had already judged him and didn't want my daughter hanging around him. I wish I would have gotten to know him. He eventually committed suicide. Maybe I could've done something to help him.
Around that same time I was anchoring the news one night on Channel 13 and I wound up having to read a story about the arrests of some students on the campus of my old high school. Apparently they were in the process of planning a Columbine style attack.
Geez, High School isn't what it was when I went in the late 70's. Or is it?
So often these kids who either take their own lives or the lives of others are the outcasts. My school was full of cliques back in the day. And there were kids when I went to school who I didn't feel I could be caught dead talking to. Why is that?
I wonder what would happen if we ever took the time to say to hello to someone who isn't like us. Just let a stranger know someone knows they're alive.
The Unity Award is presented to two students who write the best essay on what the words "tolerance" and "inclusive" mean to them. And how THEY can bring students from all walks of life together.
One conclusion I think I've come to about tolerance is. Outcasts don't isolate themselves from us as much as we try to keep them isolated. Now why on earth do we do that? Some people have a hellish existence. It's what makes them act out the way they do. And sometimes the rest of us perpetuate those actions by either ignoring them or bullying them.
I challenged the QHHS graduating class of 2008 to do one thing in the final days of their high school careers. Just say hello to one person who they went out of their way to avoid. The picked on kid. The outcast. Just tell them what a pleasure it was going to school with them. May not make much of a difference.
But at this point isn't it worth the shot? I mean would it kill any of us to be nice to someone who rarely has anything nice happen to them?



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statueman read my blog view my photos
May 19, 2008 | 7:10 AM

And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? - Christ
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I think that your Unity Award will help. "Tolerance" and "Inclusive" are interesting words to put together but I think that connecting those words in an essay would cause students to look at the whole picture. I remember the first time reading these words...
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"You're familiar with the old written law, 'Love your friend,' and its unwritten companion, 'Hate your enemy.' I'm challenging that. I'm telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.
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Matthew 5:43-47 (The Message - Bit of an interpretive translation but helped me be less judgemental and more tolerant and inclusive.)

samo714 read my blog view my photos
May 19, 2008 | 1:57 PM

i think in high school, i was pretty nice to everyone. i never put anyone down, and was openly friendly to anyone. their were certain people that i wouldnt talk too, but it just because our paths never crossed, never because i just didnt like them. now looking back to my high school days, i would have done 2 things differently. 1 is asked more girls out cuz they all told me that they thought i was cute, but didnt think i was interested in them, when i was, and when they told me such things they now only thought of me as a friend. totally sucks. other thing is just get to know some kids that i didnt know what well better, because i still talk to some of them now, and just wished i didnt waste all that time to know them as good as i do now, when i could have known them better in the begining of our friendship.

drerunner read my blog
May 19, 2008 | 4:44 PM

Here in lies the problem. Schools are different today! The kids have the control and not the schools. Blame it on a lot of factors, but I disagree totally with you on your openness and tolerance policy. I want my kid to avoid kids who participate in counter -productive behavior. Who are into weird things and views about society. Today, there is no excuse for an 11 year old to be pressured or persuaded to be friends with someone who tells her or him to do something because everyone else is doing it .And if they don't, then ,they will spread rumors. Also, she or he shouldn't have to deal with other kids who are F77ck up in the head! They should only tell that person to seek help indirectly and leave it at that! It's stupid and dumb and I can t understand why someone like you don't get that! Your way of thinking is exactly why there is a "anything goes" policy in Schools today. Pandora's box has been blown wide open because of foolish liberal thinking such as yours! Where we see 10 and 11 year old performing sexual acts (in the classroom)while others film it! Where we see 15 year olds girls given each others horrific beat downs and filming it on you tube. That's why we see so many young people ruining their lives and letting other ruing their lives before they are 18! It's due to you liberal and your out of control view! There is no longer accountability for one's self! If a person is a weirdo today, it's more than likely, it's only the tip of the iceberg. And it's up to them to prove they are not and is a mentally stable person,not other way around. Kids must learn

drerunner read my blog
May 19, 2008 | 4:45 PM

Kids must learn social skills and to know what 's right or wrong. If they lack that and do the wrong things , I don't NEED you or anyone else trying to play a "guilt trip" on my child to be more tolerant of stupid behavior. Kids can be smart , they know what other kids are into and who to stay away from ,just as we do as adult. Why don't you practice what you preach, say hello to guy at work who you think is weirdo and less than you??? You probably ignore people everyday ,but now you want to paint it differently ,as it relates to HS? Thats' weird! You are having regrets about you daughter not befriending a nut case who could have harmed her? Now that's being strange!! You were lucky ,he only harmed himself and didn't take your child with him. Get a clue dude! High school was fun but not always fair! "it is what it is"! It was mostly that way for everyone! Big deal , life goes on!

samo714 read my blog view my photos
May 19, 2008 | 8:50 PM

drerunner, i think after reading your post, i'm gonna take your advice, and advoid you because of your anti-social person, with potential of being dangerous to me and your self, and i think your a weirdo. get mental help as soon as possible because i believe you are smart enough to be able to seek the help you need. do whatever you can to become a normal citizen like me and the rest of us in this fox blog. just practicing what you preach man.

drerunner read my blog
May 19, 2008 | 9:45 PM

Samo714**** Dude, you don't touch me one bit. The view is clear for me. So get back to your xbox, MTV, and your special moments watching you tube , while I help make the world a more sane place ,in spite of Prozac/ecstasy weirdos like you ,who promote irresponsibility and Pandora's box philosophy. Lay off the movies dude, they are meant only for your entertainment and not a blue print on how you should live your life ....you Jerry springer clone. The funny think is, I loved high school. I was one of the most popular males(even when I was a freshman) and I dated the hottest chick in school. Not only was I the envy in my HS , I was the envy of rival schools..as well. I actually had one guy called me up and ask would I break up with the girl ,so he could have a chance to date her. Yo see i figured it out.(LOL) What times, what good times!! Ya see , it was simple. Unlike you, I stepped up and simply asked the girl(s) out. When you don't or cant simply do that, you automatically will be classified by a girl as strange.(no social skills -get it !) More so than not ,you probably were strange my man.......

drerunner read my blog
May 19, 2008 | 9:52 PM

P.S.
You! ..."and when they told me such things they now only thought of me as a friend. totally sucks."
Memo to you!: When a girl says she just want to be friends ,it really means you aren't doing it for her because you are strange....

samo714 read my blog view my photos
May 19, 2008 | 10:11 PM

wow, what a world you have created in that sick mind of your. reality hurts so much that you had to create a alternative world for yourself. wow. just sad. well let's hope your social skills improve in the next life dre.

drerunner read my blog
May 19, 2008 | 10:26 PM

ha! I just had a friend read your post. She smiled and said...loser. Ha!

samo714 read my blog view my photos
May 19, 2008 | 10:32 PM

this from the man who isn't man enough to show his face. i had two friends read your post, and thought wow, what a freak.

drerunner read my blog
May 19, 2008 | 11:04 PM

Ok samo ,I am being just told to settle down. I was (and still am) under the impression you might think this is TMZ and not fox news.Not for the thinned skin. So, if you truly read my post (and your friends) you would at least see my key point.( Life is too short to miss out....) Actually ,If you read the feature blog , it said someone committed suicide. In my entire life ,that thought has never crossed my mind, not even when I got a speeding ticket(LOL). But you (and your friends) seem to think that the part about the "strange" guy, who committed suicide, was something to relate to ,where I found it to be something I could never accept. But I guess you and your friends could. So, I apologize for your pain. I didn't meant to be mean . I have been pretty lucky in my life ,so I sometimes take things for granted. I live life with no regrets and no excuses. What i lost I lost and what was won I make it known , that's all. Life is too short for pity and to worry about the in between stuff . That's something I will never accept. So, I apologize to you(and your friends) who might have encounter some pain during high school. Hard to believe, but I guess for some ,it wasn't really fun.

samo714 read my blog view my photos
May 19, 2008 | 11:31 PM

i didnt think high school was tough either. i went to school, did my work, made some friends, and went home. not a big deal. but i knew others that were outcast, and i always did my best to let them know that not all kids are cruel, and that i cared about them. actually 2 of those outcast are still my friends after 10 years. their lives are much better then what it used to be, and are now more social, and pretty up beat. so i like to think that i helped them in some way. but i agree, you can only help a person so much. they need to have the desire to make that change. one of my other outcast friend didn't make that change, and he's now in jail, left a girl pregnant, and is on drugs. he didnt have the desire to change, and that's what happens. i can't save them all. but i tried. but yeah some might find life great and perfect, then others aren't born into that enviroment. bottom line is that we are all god's children, and we all have to help each other out when possible. sometimes a lil hello might go along way, sometimes it wont. who knows? i'm sorry too for the mean words.

drerunner read my blog
May 19, 2008 | 11:52 PM

Hey no worries. looking back , I just assumed everyone was having a great time. I like to think,however, if I came across such a person ,I would have pated them on the back and say "hey just get out there", but things went really fast for me in HS. Anyway man, alls well!

marv read my blog view my photos
May 20, 2008 | 10:52 AM

i was uncomfortable in high school. i was conscious that the students were a collection of society which i would not be forced to commingle with after graduation. my goal was to get high marks. while not an unpopular boy, i fantasized about a different school environment. one of my friends hanged himself at age 12. i've no explanation for his action. his dad coached our little leage baseball team. another friend died from an acute stomach ailment in 12th grade. another friend--a math genius--died a year after graduation with a facemask attached to nitrous oxide tank. another friend died of a brain tumor a few years after graduation. a couple dozen of my classmates went on to ivy league colleges. several went on to med school or law school. a few headed to mental hospitals. one guy is now principal at the school, as his father was when we were students. he'll probably become superintendant of the school system. i know these people yet i don't have a desire to attend a reunion. rick, your involvement with your alma mater is wonderful.

o0lux0o read my blog view my photos
May 20, 2008 | 1:33 PM

Great story Rick, I think as members of the human community we owe it to our selves, current, and future generations to treat everyone the way we would want to be treated. In reading your post it reminded me of the movie “Bowling for Columbine” when Michael Moore asks Marilyn Manson what he would say to the kids if he had a chance to talk with them before the incident. He responded, "I wouldn't say a single word to them, I would listen to what they have to say and that's what no one did."

I've had/have friends who have attempted suicide. I've known of people who were horribly anti-social. I must admit, I didn’t talk too many of the people who were extremely anti social because I was a bit of a quiet and shy person myself. I wasn't by any means anti-social but you catch my drift. I've always been a person of few words; I'm just mellow that way. But my point is, those people are here today because of social support and now they don't have the issues they had before or are working hard and are determined to fight their depression.

We're not all built the same. Some of us find it easy to socialize; some of us find it very difficult. Some of us are fragile; some of us are tough as nails. Those of us who have a thicker skin should put that to use by helping people who aren't so fortunate. Personal responsibility is very important, but social responsibility is equally important.

statueman read my blog view my photos
May 20, 2008 | 7:23 PM

Well... I think that greeting people is not just a social skill but a survival mechanism. This country can ill afford to keep justifying it's own apathetic behavior and elevating one weakness as wrong while defending another as acceptable. Neglecting to pay attention to one another in the most basic of social needs will cause more and more of what we are already seeing... America gone Postal.

statueman read my blog view my photos
May 21, 2008 | 5:06 AM

Oh and I meant to say

o0lux0o

Extremely well said.

_Bella_ read my blog view my photos
May 21, 2008 | 9:33 AM

Well said oOluxOo

Paul_D read my blog
May 21, 2008 | 11:57 AM

what i did not like about high school was the competition. i could get excellent grades in my classes yet i was not good enough for the sports teams, the drama teachers would not give me parts in the plays they organized. not that i really wanted to do anything after shcool except go home and watch TV. i resented the administration and felt embarassed that i had to show up everyday to sit and listen to the teachers whom i did not respect since they were "teachers" rather than movers and shakers in the world. oh and surprise to me was whent he list of cum laude for graduating students was posted, i was amazed how many students came and told me they had no idea i was a serious student. they thought i was just a stoner.

John_Schwada read my blog view my photos
May 23, 2008 | 10:17 AM

rick: nice award, nice sentiment. looks, from some of the comments here, that we could all use a little tolerance-training....

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Rick_Garcia

Rick Garcia is the sports anchor for the top-rated Fox 11 10 O'clock News, seen weekdays at 10pm. He also anchors My13 News at 11pm.

Member Since: 7/4/2006