Shocking+Passages+and+Questions


 * The following passages are all from Chapter 1 in //Savage Inequalities.// I chose these passages because I feel they offer good insight of St. Louis for anyone who is unaware of the region.**

"Fiscal shortages have forced the layoff of 1,170 of the cities 1,400 employees in the past 12 months." -Unable to buy heating fuel or toilet paper for city hall ... unbelievably poor

"In 1989 the mayer announced that he might need to sell the city hall and all six fire stations to raise needed cash."

"Rats as big as puppies..."

"Odor of smoke from burning garbage...'has become one of the scents of spring.'"


 * City in debt by more that $40 million
 * Government blames mayor and his administrators
 * Government refused to grant loans unless mayor resigns

"Two school girls 'experienced hair loss since raw sewage flowed into their homes.'" -Just like a Third World country

"Sewage systems separate us from the Third World."

"Poison [from factories] in the soil where children play."

"When the plant gives off emissions that are viewed as toxic, an alarm goes off. People who have breathed the smoke are given a cash payment of $400 in exchange for a release from liability..."

"It takes three minutes to cross the bridge... for white people in St. Louis, it could be a thousand miles long."


 * School uses more than 70 "permanent substitute teachers" which get paid $10,000 a year... saves the school money


 * Questions**

1. What is the largest problem with the way the city is run? How do you determine which problem in more important than the others? And then that is determined, how would the city go about fixing them? Is this something the entire country needs to help with?

2. Are the schools the cities biggest priority? Or should the St. Louis get cleaned up before they focus on the education in the area? (pollution from garbage, factories, etc...)

3. Should the United States work to fix problems like the ones in St. Louis before getting involved with global issues? Ex: Syria...

4. Can some of the problems be taken in the hands of people outside the government? Volunteers, donations, etc...

5. How many people are actually aware of the issues in St. Louis? How many more places are like this in America?

6. Although programs such as Zero Tolerance can do more harm than good, did Savage Inequalities make you think differently about the areas you have grown up in and schools systems you have been enrolled in? Places like St. Louis are not able to enforce rules such as Zero Tolerance. There is always a lot of fuss about the rules and regulations in school systems, and many times it is frustrating, but at least they are not like St. Louis.