What Is Making Me Mad Today? (Part four in a series)

Today I am mad because--

Wait.  This story has history.

So this summer, I got a horrifying text that said, paraphrased, that a student's mother had died.

A parent's death is awful, no doubt.  But I knew this mother, and I knew my student's awesome relationship with his mother, so that just compounded the awfulness. 

It got worse.

She'd been beaten to death in the woods behind their house. 

A person has been arrested, and it is alleged that he murdered her over a matter of fifty dollars. 

I don't even know.  People suck.

I should say here that the student in question is one of my favorites.  Smart, funny, mostly well-behaved, a dedicated theater nerd, and just plain great.  I'm not saying that I wouldn't have felt bad if this had happened to another student; I'm just saying that my heart broke twice as hard because it happened to him.

So that is the history.

My student (hereafter referred to as X, because that is not his name) texted me today to say he wouldn't be in class tomorrow.  He said, "Don't ask.  Well, ask [his cousin]."

Oh, yeah.  I forgot to say that I'd taught his cousin before him, and all the things I said above would also apply to the cousin (I will call him Y).  Y has graduated, and we keep in touch through Facebook and various school events that he attends when he can.

So I did ask Y what had happened, and if X was okay, and no, it turns out that is not exactly the case.

See, X lived with his mom and stepdad, and after his mother's murder, he and his brother and sister went to live with his dad, who is a grade A, number 1 jerkface, and I am only using that word because my mother will read this. 

Today, Y told me, X's dad beat him up. 

I don't even know.  People suck.

So X's dad has been in jail all day, but got out at midnight, I guess.  I don't know what kind of effed up laws make it possible for a man to serve a few hours behind bars for whaling on his fifteen-year-old child, but I do know that X's dad had better HOPE I never lay eyes on him, because I will not be able to control myself if I see his stupid jerkface: I will DESTROY him.

On a more positive note, X and his siblings are meeting tomorrow with someone about removing themselves from their dad's custody; they are staying with family members who are not afraid of their dad and who, in addition, are good friends with the local sheriff. 

I don't know why I am always shocked at other people's behavior.  You'd think, by now, that I would now that everybody doesn't have the life I do, or the family I do, or the advantages I do. 

But it is.  It's a constant surprise to discover that my students don't have the Brady-style happy home life that I did. 

And every time I ask myself why that is, I come up with the same answer:  I don't even know.  People suck.