Customs and Capitalism

How can a family not hold funeral or wake services for a sixteen year-old?

Until this point, I've had a really open and unfazed attitude toward the cultural differences between my students and myself. I am aware that the attitudes, behaviors, and styles so many people in my cultural cohort see as negative are markers that demonstrate the divide between the culture of poverty and the culture of wealth. I realize that poverty is systemic and people should not be judged unfairly because of how and where they were raised. But, I never would have thought that a family and its community wouldn't be able to provide remembrance services for a kind and respectful sixteen year-old boy. It shocks and saddens me. Not to cheapen the genuine sentiments of those who paid their respects more unofficially, but is a candle and note-strewn wall in the middle of a housing project the best we can do for the memory of this child? And why hasn't the school stepped up yet to even acknowledge Adam's passing? Is the statute of limitations for officially recognizing the death of a sixteen year-old merely a week to the date of death?

I can't shake the feeling that the death of this sweet boy is being swept under the rug. At first, the school claimed that they were being restrained by Chancellor's Regulations about the protocol for student deaths, but that excuse surely can no longer stand.

I had always assumed that tragically unhonored deaths belonged to individuals who were invariably older and also likely friendless or very poor. I had always thought that society would step up and give appropriate recognition and respect to the deaths of children and teenagers.

This past week has made me feel so nihilistic about a human's place in this world. Our impact only officially matters if our families have means to provide recognition and remembrances.