There have been a lot of things that have been really frustrating lately... All I can say is that I'm REALLY glad I'm a teacher. It's nice to know there's hope for the future.

1. I'm so sick of people telling me that South Central is "such a dangerous place to be." Instead of finding out for themselves, they avoid all of South LA completely. Get over it. It's not that bad. If my students can walk to and from school everyday by themselves, it's.not.that.bad. Stop telling me that I work in the "ghetto". Stop telling me to watch my back. Stop dissing on the area. Cuz you know what? I love it. I LOVE it. I walk around on Compton Ave. I drive my kids home. Yes, I'm careful. But in all honesty, I've never felt threatened. Ever.

2. I absolutely hate that people make so many damn generalizations about South LA. Case in point, the Tookie Williams case. First of all, if you don't know, you're ignorant. Secondly, if you are happy with the outcome, you're ignorant. I cannot believe all the people running their mouth about the issue when they live in the f.cking suburbs. You don't even know the half of it. You obviously don't even know what people in LA (and I mean real LA, not f.cking "OC") think about the murder. Yes, I called it a murder. Our pig-brained Terminator of a governor, in my opinion, used Tookie Williams as an example. With one crushing blow, he asserted his dominance and showed all Californians that he could do whatever he wanted and still get away with it... cuz, after all, he's in power. F.cking bastard. You wanna know why people have been referring to Tookie Williams as a martyr? It's cuz that's what people in LA REALLY think. If you don't believe me, ask around for yourself.

3. The death penalty. If my 6th graders can get this concept, the whole f.cking world should be able to. Forget the whole eye-for-an-eye bullsh.t This isn't Hammurabi's Code. This is the f.cking 21st century. Killing a murderer does not miraculously bring back all the people that he has killed. And no, it doesn't make things right. Keep the wrongdoer in jail for life. Trust me, it's a worse punishment than death. Yes, certain people probably do not deserve to live. Serial killers. Terrorists. Rapists. But, nothing justifies killing. (Don't use the "self-defense" argument on me. In that case, it's protection, not killing.)

4. Something that pisses me off to the nth degree: teachers that don't believe in their students. I have smart kids. Yes, my LAUSD kids ARE SMART. Dare I say it... but I KNOW my kids are smarter than most rich ass snobs. For one, my kids have heart. When they talk about changing the world, it's not some "beauty queen" answer about "making the world a better place." They talk about real issues. Cuz they're living it. My 6th graders KNOW about politics... at least more than most college graduates I know. My 6th graders can do a better job running the government than George W. Bush and Arnold Schwarzenegger put together. I know who I'm voting for in the future - my students.

5. Backtracking a little... let's review the word "ghetto." I've yet to hear the word uttered from the mouths of my students... you know, the people that actually live there. Which means, the ONLY people using that word are people that don't live there. Hmm... maybe people should stop talking sh.t??? Oh yeah, one last thing: Montebello is NOT the ghetto. Please refrain from using the word. You don't sound cool using it.

6. And last, but not least... "OCers", stop pretending you're from LA. You just make real LA people sound bad. Really... just stick to your little bubble of a world because LA would eat you alive. San Diego, you're also NOT LA.