This is a long one, but fascinating to read. http://www.miaminewtimes.com/Issues/1997-06-05/news/feature_print.html
Wow! It's funny how much of this I acctually believe, or seem to remember. I think that sometimes it's not just homeless children who get wrapped in these kind of myths. Being born in a cult that competely cut itself off from the world and abused thier children something awful, I know that for us, there was a secret 'undergroung' story. Fundamental truths, that we knew our parents couldn't or wouldn't know.
... That's even odder, Om! Those kids might have picked similar-sounding stories from what they see on TV or hear around them, but you guys were isolated from both TV and street-folklore.
Heavy story... I can't shake the feeling that it would make for a good Graphic novel, though. With Neil Gaiman writing it.
[quote:e804227445="Garner"]archetypes.[/quote:e804227445] Yeah, and it's all in the bible really. War in Heaven, angels and demons. The stories were different, but had all the same charachters, really. The Blue Lady was the Holy Spirit and Bloody Mary was the Whore of Babylon, but it's all pretty much the same.
I find things of this nature interesting. Definitely raises questions about the common philosophy that is inherent in the child's mind - right and wrong - protected versus vulnerable - and how we define them. It also reminds me starkly of the day I stopped believing in the fantasies induced by the 'good fight'. That happened when I realised that Pegasus (the winged horse) as illustrated in books could not physically fly. An understanding of wingspan to bodyweight aerodynamics and the energy ratios needed for flight from a nine-and-a-half year old armed with an encyclopedia came as a bit of a shock to my dad, but I remember he spent the rest of the afternoon explaining how legends start and become cultural myth. As he was well versed in Celtic, Norse and Highland tales he did a good job. I've been fascinated by the propogation of myths ever since.
[quote:87193368e9="Tephlon"]I can't shake the feeling that it would make for a good Graphic novel, though. With Neil Gaiman writing it.[/quote:87193368e9] That would be awesome.
That sent shivers down my spine. And to realize how naturally it seems to be that there are so many homeless and shelter children that they are developing traits of a unique and seperate culture...
Yeah... this is going to sound really horrible and callous, but I was surprised at the notion that children are allowed to stay with severely messed-up parents (those who put both themselves and their family in danger on a regular basis). Granted, it's not just the kids of insane parents who end up on the streets and in shelters, but still... Not that I can think of any better solution than to forcibly take kids away and put them in orphanages
