Interrupting Our Dysfunctional Society - The Interrupters and LeadON! Among Many

How does change happen?  At this point in the history of the US, change is not coming from the official political leaders.  But change is happening all around.  People are coming together and taking charge of their own lives.  Whether it's the people at Occupy events around the country, or businesses who are converting their structures and operations to be more energy efficient, or local food groups, or even people joining the Tea Party, people everywhere, mostly off of the media's radar, are coming together and speaking openly about how they feel and how to make life better.  Not only for themselves, but for everyone else.

In Anchorage this week, a group of kids from around the state got together to talk about how to make their lives better.  Although a group I volunteer with (ANDVSA) was the sponsor, I didn't get to the Lead On conference.  But the participants made their own videotape.




Here's what Meryl of Tenakee Springs wrote about it:

For the past two years I have been lucky enough to attend the LeadON! conference, and I’ve learned an awesome amount about my peers, my community, my state, my world, and myself. Despite the impact it has had on my life, I have a real difficulty describing what LeadON! is exactly. A leadership conference? (Yawn…another one?) A mini-summit? (Summit? To what? Everest?) A youth gathering? (Are we starting a cult?). Nothing really seems to do it justice, or make any sense. I find myself always tripping on my words when I try to explain it to people.
For me, LeadON! has been this incredible opportunity to actually gain the confidence I need to make positive changes. I’ve met people and made connections that have broadened my mind and pushed my life forward. I participated in workshops during the conference that were very, very far out of my comfort zone, and found myself actually enjoying being out of my “box”. I got to listen to speakers who were so powerful their messages still stick with me. I heard my peers tell stories about the rough parts of their own life, which made me brave enough to do the same.  Yes, it’s a lot for only a few days!
The most empowering part of LeadON! was the way everyone, the speakers, the adults, and the youth, spoke openly about a wide range of topics. I believe that positive change begins within ourselves and grows outward, and talking honestly about what we want to change is the first step. LeadON! gave me the chance to do that. While I may not always have the words to describe how LeadON! has influenced me, maybe that is actually what has given me the power to show the world what leadership is, instead of simply trying to slap a definition on it. We define it in our actions, every day. That’s what LeadON! has really shown me.
-          Meryl, Tenakee Springs

This year's conference is over.  But if you are (or know) an Alaskan Youth between the ages of 13 and 18 you can look at this year's application form and think about applying for next year. 


The Alaskan Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Abuse (ANDVSA), which sponsors LeadON!, is focused on PREVENTION.  That means working to prevent problems before they happen and opening opportunities to people who might not have otherwise known they had healthy and positive options. 

From the ANDVSA site:

What Do Youth Leaders and Community Partners Do at the Mini-summit?

• Youth-led workshops, nationally recognized speakers, and major fun!
• See what youth and community partners are doing across the state.
• Use theatre, art, and media to improve their leadership skills
• Share information and projects from your community.
• Have fun with musicians, actors, activists, business leaders, and Alaska youth
• Develop ideas to promote peace and equality in your community
• Learn more about youth and adult project partnerships.
• Hiking, outdoor activities, networking, and much more!

This week, we also saw the movie The Interrupters.  It follows a group of ex-gang members and ex-cons as they go through their dysfunctional neighborhood, interrupting violence, through the force of their personalities, experience, and fearlessness.  They too, offer people alternatives to killing, as a way to resolve differences.  Another example of people speaking openly.



This is a powerful film that takes you on an intimate trip into a dysfunctional neighborhood in Chicago, where violence is the learned behavior for dealing with violence.  Into this neighborhood a doctor joins locals who want to change things.  The doctor views this epidemiologically - as a disease that needs to be tracked down and stopped as you would any other disease.  It's not about bad people, but about people who are infected by things in their environment that cause them to behave in self-destructive ways.

And once you've been through the neighborhoods with different interrupters and seen how they gain the trust of those infected with violence and slowly offer them alternatives, after you see the humanity behind the stereoptypes we have of 'those people', it's easy to understand that ignorance that leads one legislator to call the National Guard to come pacify the neighborhood.  And if your brain is good at making connections from one situation to another, you realize the enormous foolishness of the National Guard and the US military trying to make force peace on Iraq and Afghanistan.  This is using violence to teach people peace.  The target already knows violence.  It's the interrupters, working slowly and tirelessly, with love and respect and intimate knowledge of their patients, who are using peace to teach peace.

It's people from the neighborhood interrupting dysfunction to solve their problems. 


This interrupting business is going on all over.  It's what Anchorage Healing Racism does by bringing people like Brent Scarpo to Anchorage. And what Penny Arcade does in an entirely different way with her show that's at OutNorth again Friday and Saturday night at 8pm, with an extra show added Sunday afternoon at 5pm.

Look around your community.  It's happening all around you.  You just need to pay attention, reach out, and connect to it.

Cadets Like Brent Scarpo A Lot - And Why You Should Consider Being a Mentor

Brent Scarpo's been keeping busy in Anchorage - East High, Clark Middle School, some radio shows, a small public workshop, Anchorage Police Department, the Cook Inlet Tribal Council among others.

Today I went along to hear him talk with about 160 cadets at the Alaska Military Youth Academy at Fort Richardson.  Their website gives an overview:

"The Alaska Military Youth Academy's ChalleNGe Program is designed to meet the life coping skills and educational needs of 16 to 18 year old Alaskans.  The Youth ChalleNGe program is a 22-week residential school based on the traditional military training model.

Cadets are instructed in the following areas: Life Coping Skills, Academic Excellence, Job Skills, Responsible Citizenship, Leadership/Followership, Health & Hygiene, Physical Fitness, and Service to Community. In addition to these skills, cadets work toward the completion of a GED or High School Diploma."

These are kids who have experienced difficulties in their young lives.

"Who can attend the AMYA ChalleNGe?
Young Alaskan men and women 16 through 19 years of age may apply to AMYA for admission to a ChalleNGe Program class. Applicants must be Alaska residents, must provide proof of United States citizenship or legal residency, may not have a traditional high school diploma or GED, be willing to commit to a drug, alcohol and tobacco-free life while enrolled, be free of legal entanglements and must be volunteers.

No young man or woman can be "sent" to an AMYA ChalleNGe course. Most importantly, applicants must have a desire to move their lives in a positive direction and must have made the decision to make a healthy change in their lives."

And Brent was raring to go.  His favorite audience, he said.  Alternative schools, places with kids who have extra obstacles in their lives.  And he had their close attention for two hours.

They wear uniforms, answer questions, "Sir, yes sir!"  They sit up straight.  It's a very military setting.  Brent is totally unmilitary.  He's real and his combination of experiences -  his own childhood difficulties but also being associated with movies all the kids had seen (they nearly all raised their hands to say they'd seen Shawshank Redemption and Matilda) - combined with his transparent delivery, was powerful.  When he asked questions, kids raised their hands to respond.  In a setting with a lot of formal military discipline (probably helpful for most of these kids) Brent was a brief moment of piercing love and about issues these kids know too well.




At the end, kids were lined up to shake Brent's hand and tell him thank you and that one part or another of the program had connected with them.  It was very powerful and I'm glad I was able to attend. 














This program is run by the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.  They have lots of volunteer mentor positions.  Anchorage folks, these are kids that a mentor could really help.

"Each class of the Academy consists of 17.5 months in two phases. The first is residential consisting of the most comprehensive 2 week evaluation of candidates for the program included with the remaining 20 weeks of immersion into a quasi-military environment. The second phase is the ChalleNGe post-residential phase continuing  the year of aftercare.  During the residential phase the adult mentor visits the Cadet, writes letters, attends special events, tutors and takes the Cadet on pass. This caring, responsible adult friendship increases the Cadet's chance for continued success.
During the one year of aftercare (which follows the graduation from the residential phase) the Mentor and Cadet continue regular weekly contact by face-to-face visits, telephone, letter and email.  Both the Cadet and the Mentor send reports monthly to the aftercare office reporting the Cadet's placement on the job or in school."

Think about it.  Mentoring makes a difference.

In one of the largest studies in the field (Tierney & Grossman, 1995), 959 youth who asked to be matched with a Big Brother/Big Sister during 1992-1993 were randomly assigned to one of two groups: a mentoring group or a control group (the latter youth were put on the 18-month waiting list). Both groups were interviewed when they applied for the program and 18 months later, and completed self-report indices. The study examined several broad areas that mentoring might affect: antisocial activities, academic performance, attitudes and behaviors, relationships with family, relationships with friends, self-concept, and social and cultural enrichment. The results indicated that "littles" (mentees) who met with their "bigs" (mentors) regularly for about a year were 46% less likely than the control group to start using illegal drugs, 27% less likely to start drinking, 52% less likely to skip a day ...

[The preview of the article ended there, sorry.]

"I was going to pull a Columbine"

When I did the skype interview with Brent Scarpo, almost two weeks ago, I asked what was the best experience he had doing his transformational work.  He gives two in the video below.

UPDATE:  Brent in the studio with Shannyn Moore

Listen and talk to Brent on the Shannyn Moore Show at 11:15am today (Monday) on 1020  on the AM dial.  95.5 FM.  Call 907-522-1020  Not in Anchorage?  Listen online.

Then tonight he'll talk at the East High Auditorium in his main public appearance while he's in town.  7pm.  It's free.

The title of the post? Ya gotta watch the video.



There's also a workshop Tuesday from 5:30pm to 9pm at the Mt. View Credit Union 1. To reserve  a spot in the workshop email Healing Racism in Anchorage or go to the HRA website.

UPDATE: I added the pictures of Brent in the studio with Shannyn Moore. David Linck, the publicist for Frozen Ground being filmed now in Anchorage (and many other movies including American Beauty) was also there.

On The Air with Tom Anderson - Where Can Bullies Get Help?

Last year, when Healing Racism in Anchorage brought Tim Wise to Anchorage he spoke on two conservative talk radio shows.  His topic was racism, which a lot of people still don't believe exists, and he was treated pretty shabbily by the hosts and some of the callers - and one of the hosts, right after he left, did a whole homophobic riff that was truly disgusting.

Tom Anderson on air

So when I put up the previous post, I was thinking of that experience.  In hindsight, I was overreacting.  Friday I knew that Tom Anderson would treat us with respect - he was a graduate student of mine long ago and I've kept in contact with him after his trial.   (There's too much stuff to write about the whole political corruption trial and aftermath to fit in here, to fit in any blog post.  The facts are out - at least in terms of trial results and prison sentences - but the best interpretations of what it all means are yet to be written. )  But I wasn't sure about the callers.

Tom now has a talk radio show and Brent Scarpo needs to get the word out about his talk next Monday at East High at 7pm.  So he called in from California and Tom asked if I'd come to the studio.  But I was just Brent's backup here.  This was about Brent and his work against hate and bullying and he was the main focus.

Chris, the technician who did all the work

I thought Brent was an interesting guest and he clearly knows a lot about the topic of hate and bullying.  Tom was a gracious host, but also conscious of trying to make things more interesting by being provocative in his questions.  There were no calls.  Because it was drive time?  (5-6pm)  Because it was boring for this audience?  Because people are shy about bullying an anti-bully expert?  Because no one was listening?  Because Tom wasn't antagonistic toward his guest?  Or maybe it's just because it's hard to stand up for bullies and hate.  At one point, Brent said he'd come to realize that bullies essentially were people who didn't like something about themselves and took it out on others.  And some take it out on themselves.  I asked where someone like that, who hears this and realizes Brent was talking about him or her, could go to get help.




Help for Bullies?

As I look online now, there's lots of stuff for victims of bullies, but it's hard to find stuff for bullies who want help.

Here's part of an article by Charles R. McAdams, III and Christopher D. Schmidt from the Journal of School Counseling on how to help bullies, but this is aimed at counselors, not at bullies:

Bullying is one of the most widely practiced forms of aggression in American schools. It is broadly defined as the actual or attempted infliction of injury or discomfort by one student on another student that is intentional, abusive, and based on an imbalance of power between bully and victim (Olweus, 1994; Sullivan, Cleary, & Sullivan, 2004). According to the National Center for Education Statistics--2002, almost one third of public schools have reported daily to weekly occurrences of student bullying (Hall, 2006). Research suggests that nearly half of today's students will experience some form of bullying during their education; however, rates of bullying as high as 81% for school-aged males and 72% for school-aged females have been reported in some studies (Casey-Cannon, Hayward, & Gowen, 2001; Charach, Pepler, & Ziegler, 1995; Farrington, 1993, as cited in Sanders, 2004). In a survey by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 1.7 million children (one in five) in grades 6 through 10 admitted bullying their classmates (Cole, Cornell, & Sheras, 2006). On the basis of current statistics, Hall has concluded that school climates nationwide have been dramatically altered by the actions of bullies.

It goes on to distinguish between reactive aggression and proactive aggression.  

Reactive aggression is characterized as a "hot-blooded," automatic, defensive response to immediate and often misperceived threat (Hubbard, Dodge, Cillessen, Coie, & Schwartz, 2001; Wood & Gross, 2002). Youth exhibiting reactive aggression are characterized as seeking but lacking close interpersonal relationships with significant adults such as parents--relationships they need to learn how to effectively attend to, understand, and take into account others' intentions (Dodge, 1991).  .  .

Unlike reactive aggression, proactive aggression does not characteristically occur as an emotion-laden, defensive response to immediate threat. Instead, it is described as organized, purposeful, and often premeditated rather than automatic (Galezewski, 2005). Aggression for proactive aggressors has, over an extended time, become an internalized means of achieving personal security, competence, and control in their lives (Cottle, 2004; McAdams & Lambie, 2003). In the real or perceived absence of affirmation from significant others (parents, in particular), they have come to derive a sense of self-efficacy from their ability to succeed without, and often at the expense of, others. The propensity of proactive aggressors toward generalized hostility and antisocial behavior appears to have two origins: one being an overt manifestation of internalized resentment and anger over frustrated needs for security, and another being a mechanism by which they keep others far enough at bay so as not to endanger their desired autonomy and self-sufficiency (Arsenio & Lemerise, 2004; McAdams, 2002).   [emphasis added]

Here's an article titled "Help for Bullies and Victims"  but I didn't see where it offered help for bullies.

Here's a piece by a clinical psychologist, Karen Cairns, who, after giving a list of statistics (ie 160,000 kids who stay home from school due to bullying every day!) and programs being set up for victims of bullies, goes on to say that bullies are usually victims of bullies themselves.

But, I would like to see this issue treated at the root of the problem: Bullies are bullied. With the exception of mental illness, bullies are usually victims of bullying. The cycle of violence usually goes back generations. If you were beaten or verbally abused, it becomes an option for you to become the aggressor. I’ve worked with offenders who think there are only 2 choices: be the victim, or be the bully. They feel strong and in control while bullying others. They hate the abuse they have suffered, but feel no compassion for their own victims. I would like to see programs that address the reason they became bullies. Anger management is effective, but it doesn’t protect the bully from the abuse they may be receiving at home or elsewhere. Bullies are abused, and sometimes they become abusers. Then they get punished for their behavior. We need to intervene at the beginning of this cycle. I would like to suggest that if a student is accused and proven to be a bully, he or she should be referred for a psychological evaluation to determine the root of the cause. Bullies need help. Without help, without intervention, the cycle will continue.

Near the end of page 2 of my google search, I found this, apparently new (oldest entry is Oct. 29, most recent is Oct. 31) website offering Help for Bullies.  But there isn't too much there yet.  The header says:

This is a site for bullies! I am a school counselor. There are hundreds of websites and resources for victims of bullies. That's a good thing. But there are few resources for bullies. That's NOT a good thing! Bullies ae human too–bullies need help, just as their victims need help. If you are a bully, or if you sometimes find yourself engaged in bullying behaviors, then this site is for YOU! If you are a victim of bullying, this site will help you understand your offender.

Bully Free Kids is aimed at parents, teachers, and employers.   But not at kids.


I went through google page seven with the search words "Help For Bullies".  I'm sure there must be more out there than the two - Karen Cairns' piece and Help For Bullies.  But if I were a bully looking for a way out, I'd have to work pretty hard to find it on line.

J and I watched the Shawshank Redemption Friday night.  Brent Scarpo was one of the casting directors on the film and there's plenty of bullying in there.  I can see how it got Brent's wheels spinning on this topic.  

I hope readers will get a chance to see or hear Brent at one of his events.  The main public event is Monday Nov. 7 at 7pm at the East High Auditorium.  It's free.

There's a workshop for trainers, teachers, supervisors and others who want more detailed work on how to stop bullying in their sphere of influence.  That's Tuesday, 5:30-9 at Credit Union 1 in Mt. View.  It's limited to 30, so reserve a space by emailing Healing Racism in Anchorage. 

Brent and Me Brave Fox - 5pm Anchorage Today 1020 on am

Brent Scarpo's still south, but he's calling in to Tom Anderson's Ironically Speaking show at FOX.  Here's the info: 

Call in at 907 522-1020 or listen online at www.1020koan.com

We're going to need some of you watching our backs.

 Brent will be here next week meeting with a variety of organizations.  A public talk is Monday 7pm at East High Auditorium.  It's free. 

Why Don't Kids Tell Their Parents They're Being Bullied?

On this video clip, Brent Scarpo explains what people should  expect when they come to his presentation Monday night.  It's brief, but he mentions 20 signs that your child is being bullied - one of which is why they don't tell their parents.  He also talks about how he interacts with the kids.  He says he's gives them permission to say what's really on their minds and then he listens. He'll also cover cyber-bullying.




So listen to the video [the synch at the end got messed up when I uploaded it to YouTube, sorry]and come see him in person with your questions Monday night at 7pm at East High School auditorium.  It's FREE. 

There's also still room in the Tuesday night workshop - it's $50.  See more at the Healing Racism website. 

The video is from a skype interview I did with Brent October 25.  There's a previous video on why he went from being a casting director for films like the Shawshank Redemption to making his own anti-hate movie and making personal appearances like he's going to do next week in Anchorage.

Why Brent Scarpo Switched From Casting to Inspiring

Brent Scarpo was a casting director for The Shawshank Redemption and other Hollywood films, but switched to what he calls 'transformational' engagements on the topic of hate and how to end it.

He's coming to Anchorage Nov. 7-11.  I talked to him via Skype last Monday and video taped our conversation and intend to post excerpts from that conversation this week.  Note: I've never tried to record from Skype before and this time I did it by taping the screen with my camera.  The picture on the screen wasn't that good to start with, so I played with the special effects to make it not as obvious.  A friend who saw this said the original would have been better.  Sorry.  We learn by experimenting and I found out there's software out there to record directly from Skype and that is probably part of my future.

In the meantime, find out why Brent took a year off.  And the chance phone call he got from a college student that changed the direction of his life.  

Monday, Nov. 7, 2011  (You have a week left, put it on your calendar)

East High Auditorium 7pm

Free Public Presentation

I've said in a previous post about Brent that I'm on the Healing Racism in Anchorage Steering Committee, so, yes, this is a blatant plug for people to come when he's here. But I wouldn't post this if I didn't think it was a good thing to do. There's also a smaller workshop on Tuesday night from 5:30 - 9:00 for $50 for people who want more time with him and tips for working with other people on combating hate and racism.

And, as you'll hear in the video, he still has his fingers in a lot of pies.