American History X

Throughout my viewing of "American History X" I could not help but notice how disillusioned all the D.O.C. members seemed. Even Derek, "the golden boy," was revealed as a mere child still seeking the appraisal of his lost father. Although Derek had become and adult, and believed he had his worldview completely figured out before his prison stint, he really was just a lost boy with the ideals of his father ingrained in his memory. He missed his dad, and the racist tendencies that were passed down from father to son were magnified by his tragic death. This left Derek with a skewed worldview, but it took a man who saw the potential to manipulate his fragile mind to drive him to the edge. Once Derek became charismatically involved in the white power movement, he was given the responsibility of finding new recruits and bringing them to the movement. Derek was perfectly suited for this because he found kids who were the way he once was. Lost, alone and in need of a feeling of belonging. Imagine what the outcome would have been if instead of taking these kids and making them members of the white power movement. How much positivity would have come from these children involving themselves in a group devoted to making a better world for themselves and future generations?

Derek picked up kids who were lost. They shared a nostalgia for when they did not fear the neighborhood they lived in. Derek pinned this fear on the incorporation of other races, and used this as the driving force to pull them into the white power movement. Maybe a lack of good jobs and a deteriorating social structure was more responsible than the mere involvement of new people who happened to be a bit different. These children easily could have been brought into a group devoted to fixing the problems in their community. Cleaning it up, educating themselves about why crime was such a problem in their area and making an effort to correct it then, or when they were old enough to be financially and democratically responsible for their community. These kids did not seek out the white power movement. They were searching for somewhere to belong. They did not need racism, they instead needed a place where they felt safe. Where they were not alone. A community that they could truly call their own. Acceptance was their great interest. Derek gave them a place to be accepted.

Too often are young people in this exact position that they are taken into a group based on negative actions. Like the D.O.C., groups like the bloods and crips use a feeling of acceptance for lost children who feel marginalized to continue to grow. My real view is, what if all these groups that give children homes worked positively? Wouldn't the world be a much better place? In this new world, would there even be a place for negative groups like the D.O.C.?