6/7/24
Mark should be appreciated for exposing what he calls the Soft White Underbelly of America. He suggests that exposing realities might motivate citizens to find ways to make society better. Based on my life experiences and education through the USC School of Education I can briefly provide some insights into the challenges involved.
First, been there done that. Many of the people Mark interviews live where I used to live. Before I escaped to Virginia, my last home was in South Central LA. I lived a fifteen-minute drive from Nickerson Gardens. The “bookends” of my years in the state were the 1965 Watts Riot and the personally experienced smoke and flames of the Rodney King Riot. Major changes in negative social environments will have to occur for Mark to have fewer people to interview.
Second, nearly every person Mark interviews relates a harmful upbringing. My doctoral studies and work experiences involved early childhood development and motivational psychology (why do people do what they do?). It is important to understand that the brains and cognitive capabilities of babies and children grow and develop just as their physical muscles do. A child’s home environment, as provided by parents, has a great deal to do with promoting good development or harming it. The social environment I observed in South Central and similar communities does not promote quality parenting, resulting in damaged children.
Doing what can be done to help those that Mark interviews is a good thing. But the greatest challenges involve restructuring our society in better ways. What approaches can be successfully applied? There are, of course, no simple answers. But one area we might explore can be seen in Wayne Slappy’s interview. He reported that at one time the project he grew up in was a good place to live but things changed for the worse. Being an old guy, I also can report that life was much more peaceful and safer during my early years. From 1948 from 1964 there was no need for any police officer to be stationed in my schools. Some things have changed in our society since then. What has resulted in the violence and hatred we see today? Why are there so many people for Mark to interview?
For additional information, if you are interested in normal stages of childhood cognitive development watch a few of the Piagetian tasks found on YouTube. One is at
. Please understand you are observing “normal” children demonstrating “normal” thinking. Children’s brains are not yet adult brains and can be damaged by negative social environments. You might also read the Wikipedia information on Jean Piaget at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Piaget.Additional insights can be found in the June 2024 issue of National Geographic in the article titled “The New Science of Stress.” Stressful, almost inhuman, conditions in Romanian orphanages damaged children’s development to the extent that indelible marks were left on their brains. It can be assumed that many of the people Mark interviews have had their emotional and cognitive development harmed by their stressful childhood social environments as well.
Joseph L. Bass, EdD
This was very informative to read and appreciate you sharing~