I had asked for an alternative student teaching placement, while in college, and was lucky enough to find myself for one semester as the student teacher in Holy Family Parochial School located at the time in the Lawrenceville neighborhood of Pittsburgh. Here I was a Jewish guy teaching in a Catholic School. It was the 60’s so I looked like the brown headed young Jesus, with my long hair and thick bushy beard. The Mother Superior, upon meeting me in her office, looked up at the picture she had of Jesus Christ, smiled and said, perhaps once you two were relatives, then she giggled, and closed the conversation by saying this is just between you and I. I took a quick glance at the picture and actually thought that Jesus looked like my cousin Billy. There were many rules and regulation at Holy Family, and as any student teacher I knew i would abide by them. I wanted this challenge in my career, because I needed to know what it was like to be in elementary school and not be Jewish. The kids loved me, I became the PE teacher, albeit all we had was a cemented courtyard, but at least the kids had a chance to let off some steam, and relax from a very regimented curriculum and behavior environment. It was about the fourth week when a young third grade student came over to me, and asked, “Mr B, when honestly when is enough REALLY enough?” I was taken aback and questioned his question trying to find a reference point so I could try and answer his question. The third grade student, without a moment of hesitation, replied Sister Ambrose, always says enough is enough, she smacks her ruler on the desk, we pretend to be afraid, fold our hands and say sorry Sister, and class goes on”. But then the next day or the next class we hear that enough is enough. My brain began to race, I was trying my best to respond, after all I pictured myself the hero the young Jesus look alike cool guy able to leap tall buildings and answer what might at fist seem like smart ass answers but which in reality had great depth and perception in its being asked. I looked at the student, and said, “None of us know when enough is enough, but we try to be reasonable as to when certain behaviors should end. Sister Ambrose wants it quiet in her classroom, what she is really saying to you is that YOU can control the noise, that you know when it is enough.” I was not sure if what I said, made any sense, but then this third grade student, surprised me and responded, “So Sister will keep on complaining knowing that she has little to do with stopping what she doesn’t like, and that even hitting the ruler on the desk is not the answer.” “So I guess I and my friends have a lot of power.” “Thanks Mr B, oh and by the way, my Mom thinks you look more like Jesus than Jesus.”
So, now America, thanks to Putin, his Oligarchs, Comrade McConnell, Comrade Ryan and the entire spineless group of Republican Congress People and of course the idiot citizens of America who needed no more than Trumps’s word as to how great a President he would be, we now hear that Troops will be sent to our ally Mexico’s boarder because the Mexican government has the audacity to NOT pay for a fantasy wall. We will have a military parade on Pennsylvania Avenue, because Mr Bone Deferment, who probably dresses up in German Nazi Military outfits, can feel more masculine. We will not place real sanctions on the Russians for fear that all kinds of blackmail information will leak regarding the RNC and Trump. And we are abandoning the Turkish Kurds, another ally who has helped keep the number of innocent Syrian people from staying under at least half a million. So, now because the stupid are much more reliable to remain stupid using any kind of scare tactic, we have Trump and his Cabinet robbing the tax payer blind. So, now I have to reflect to my third grade student at Holy Family School and ask when is enough ENOUGH. And then I must remember as my third grade student reminded me, I do have the power to stop this. I, we must fight on and on and on. Silence is a killer!
