2005-01-18 - 1:10 a.m.
I don't know what to make of this:
The following is a recent interchange between Robin and the grandmother of a teenage boy charged with murder; Robin's words speak for themselves.
The intensity of meetings with new families the "contract" which is created leaves me with a sense of meaning that for reasons knowable and distant, their lives and mine have crossed and that all of ours will be forever changed.
As Arturo's grandmother was leaving she tucked my hair behind my ear in a gesture much like my own mother and said, "One of the reasons we hired you is because we know having Arturo's life in your hands frightens you. Don't pretend not to be afraid. For that we could have hired anyone."
In that moment, I knew that all that was good and kind and decent lived in the space between us and if nothing else that would be enough. Integrity, when it is real, is for me, very warm and very comforting. For me it is not the loud clash of lawyers doing battle, but the silent gesture of a stranger brushing the hair out of my eyes. I am blessed that people trust me with the people they love. Every now and then and never publicly, I realize that one of the incalculable differences I bring to the representation of young kids charged with murder, is love.
(Since 1994, thirty of her clients have been murdered or killed themselves.)
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one of the things that horrify me the most is the way students at BU describe the power that they are gaining. there was a student who interned with the district attorney and spoke nonchalantly about how cool it was to help writen prison sentences for people- i overheard a conversation where two students joked about making loads of money from corporations that exploit people-
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right now I'm emailing different organizations and asking them if it would be harder to get a job there if I got my degree from new college rather than BU- I'm also emailing new college to see how a transfer would work
