Press Coverage

As soon as I heard about the murder of Andrea Kruger, I felt the same level of distress, heartache and loss that many others were expressing.  What a senseless loss of life.  I have achingly thought about her children and her husband that now must try to cope with her loss.  I have understood the urge of the community to want to wrap their arms around the family, around ourselves, as we try to make sense of such a painful event.

However, undergirding this sympathy has been a nagging concern about how this murder has been covered in the media.  I didn’t want to name it, but knew what was going on, long before Ernie Chambers wrote his letter to the editor.  It became clear to me when the police chief announced the capture and charging of the alleged killer.  He was explaining that this man was an “indiscriminate killer” who “crossed racial, gender and city boundaries.”  I realized the moment I heard that phrase that he pinpointed exactly what has been implied over the past few weeks through the media portrayal. 

                This murder matters in our city because it crossed racial boundaries.  Before the discovery of all 4 murders being linked to this one person, the previous 3 murders weren’t even mentioned in the media, or if they were, they were a blip on the radar.  Why?  Because they fit the expected and accepted profile of murders in our city.

 Even after the link was established between the accused killer and his 4 victims, when written about, Andrea was the one given an identity in the coverage, as a wife and mother of 3.  The other three men, Juan Uribe-Pena, 26, Jorge C. Cajiga-Ruiz, 29, and 22-year-old Curtis Bradford have repeatedly been placed in the background and only identified by their names and ages.  Curtis is the only victim reported to have known Jenkins, but the other two men didn’t, so their deaths are equally as senseless and random, but their deaths are not being reported as horrific and devastating as well.

                This murder matters in our city because it crossed city boundaries. The first two murders of Juan and Jorge happened at 17^th & F st., Curtis’ murder happened at 18^th & Clark st.  Only after the 4^th murder happened at 168^th and Fort, did it receive considerable time and attention.  Those city boundaries are the difference between being on the front page or a byline in the Midlands section.

                The media coverage seems to imply a value to certain lives over others.  Beyond that it brings attention to a large chasm in our community.  A chasm in which, in one neighborhood a murder happens and it is unexpected, horrifying and something should be done, while in another neighborhood, kids are not allowed to play outside for fear of being an innocent bystander.  And a neighborhood in which when fathers, brothers, sons and daughters come to equally violent ends, it’s treated as collateral damage, not as a devastating loss to our community.

The death of this woman is heartbreaking, but so is the senseless killing of the young men and women who came from those racial and city boundaries in which murders are accepted.  These are the same young men and women who have left empty desks in our classrooms. The family of this woman is aching, her community mourns her, but that is no different than a community who mourns far too many of its young people, week after week, month after month.

                We as a community should be mourning the shortened life of this woman and feeling the pain of her family and friends as they cope with her violent death.  But, I can’t help but wonder what would happen if we used this tragedy to open our hearts to those in our community who know the pain of such violent, senseless killing all too well?  What if we use it to say Enough is Enough, no matter where it happens?

 

I am from poem

I am from
A place that isn’t glamorous like New York City
Nebraska-where is that again?
cow country, football country, corn country
I am from
Midwestern values of kindness & simplicity; a place where people say hi to strangers on the
street

I am from
cottonwood trees lining the creek behind my house; creating a soothing sound with each breeze.
Exploring the concrete sewers draining the creek at the base of those trees.
Sledding down the large hill at the base of the playground of Holling Heights elementary.

I am from
being able to walk home from my elementary school if I forgot something.
I am from
a combined 70+ years of “How can I help you?” “Let me take that out for you.”
working my way through school & paying for my first home.

I am from
Abel Hall where the immaturity got old the 2nd year; Pound where I, as the RA, was the only
one up to no good.
I am from
gaining confidence; persuading others; interpreting literature; laughter and tears on bus rides;
exhaustion on planes home.

I am from
my cookie-cutter house; the cornfield across the street.

I am from
Standing Bear Lake, my peace, my quiet; sun sparkling like a million photographers trying to capture the sky.
I am from
room 126; challenges & opportunities, successes & failures, memories.

My student's places

I incorporated the "Deep Map" assignment into my sophomore English class and I wanted to share what they have come up with so far. I worried that my students would look at me quizzically when I gave them the assignment, but they dove right in and I have really enjoyed looking at them!

We are currently reading The Freedom Writer's Diary and so after giving them their books, I also gave them journals just like Erin Gruwell did (Thanks Office Depot for selling them to me for $1 a piece!). I have told them I want them to follow the lead of the Freedom Writer's and start writing. There is some reluctance there, many of them are only writing for the grade, but my hope is the journal will be there for them in a time of need.

They are using the images and places on their Deep Maps to write their "I am from" poems. I am interested to see if this assignment pushes them a little further in this poem than they have done in the past.

After completing a "Coat of Arms" (this comes out of the Freedom Writer's teacher's guide) which identifies some parts of their current identity, I gave them the Deep Map assignment and told them to identify the places that shaped their identity as they see it today. I am not sure how well you will be able to see these through the pictures, but here goes!

Standing Bear Lake

This is Standing Bear Lake, named for Chief Standing Bear. I walk the shorter path of 40 minutes as many mornings during the summer that I can and when I have time during the school year in the evenings. There is a longer path on the south side that I take when I can, it takes about an hour and 15 minutes to walk.

During summer mornings, I often share this space with fishermen and women. This summer, I saw the same man sitting in the bed of his white pickup truck feeding birds and squirrels. I often wondered if he waited for me, expecting me everyday or what he thought on the days I wasn't there. We never even said hi to eachother.

Often in the evenings, I can hear and see miniature airplanes that some people fly around the lake. There is a spot on the southside where I believe people convene to fly their planes together.

As we look for a new house, I desperately want another place like this to be able to walk to and escape to.

Cornfield

To the right is a photo of the view I have every
morning of the summer or evening during the
school year when I walk around my neighborhood or to the lake across the street. Although we want to move eventually, I love the corn and soybean fields growing here every year; I love the wide open space.

It is breathtaking to see the sun rising over the fog and dew of the field. Or to watch lightning crack across the sky.

We know that eventually this land will be sold for more housing or other development, just like it was for our neighborhood and we mourn that day.

Baker's

This is Baker's supermarket. A grocery chain started in Walnut, Iowa in 1927 by Abe Baker. My father, mother, brothers, stepmother, sister, countless friends and husband and I have all worked there. In fact, this is where my husband and I met. We often joke that it should be called "Bahle's", which is my maiden name. I worked there off and on for 11 years until 2006 when I finally quit because I was fed up with the changes that took place when this local grocery chain was taken over by Kroger, a national chain. Among many greivances, our customer base suddenly became distant strangers as Kroger made us into a national brand, rather than a local grocer. But this place has supported my family, built a strong work ethic within me, taught me to respect all those working in retail or with the general public and helped me pay for school, my first home and more school. Leaving was a bittersweet event.