"tough" boys on that playground are the educators in a younger boy's eyes and the older boys come from homes that are either struggling or non-existing. Canada tells an eye-opening story about a little boy, Ronaldo, who was constantly told by his mother never to go to this certain street to play football with most of his classmates. Ronaldo wanted so much to be a part of the group that one day he and his close friend snuck over to that "forbidden" street and started playing football with the other boys. Ronaldo was having so much fun, felt so much apart of a group, and almost forgot that he wasn't supposed to be there. That is, he almost forgot until he experienced the most horrifying incident that had taken place right before his very eyes. The boys were laughing and running when they suddenly heard an old beat up Buick come screeching down the street. There were four adolescent boys with their bodies half way out of the windows. Thinking that they possibly could be on a harmless joy ride, the boys playing stepped to the side of the street to let the car pass. Just as the car was passing, Ronaldo saw one of the boys pull out a gun. Being drilled about what to do in this kind of situation, Ronaldo automatically dropped to the ground. He turned his head to look at his friend and saw something he will never speak of. His friend had been shot and was lying on the street with no movement whatsoever. At such a young age, Ronaldo had already learned from his culture and society around him that he was not allowed to cry for emotion. This child had already learned, at age 7, that there is always a chance for someone to get shot at any moment. It happens all the time and this boy has been trained to take it and stride. He feels as though he is not allowed to take time to think about it, not allowed to talk about it, and definitely not allowed to get upset about it. This child has already been programmed to not show emotion. If t...
