I finally understand the problem of being Bunny, only because I see the world much like this character. Bunny thinks that just because he knows the real problems and can find real solutions, that this should matter to institutions and institutionalists; it doesn’t. Some cannot see, though they care, others do not care to see. The key is finding that which will make them care, whether it be carrot, stick, threat, promise, risk or reward. Also, exaggeration and telling a story that will satisfy the bs people while actually doing real work is a necessary political and bureaucratic tool of change. In other words, the genius (bunny) has to learn to speak in the language of monsters (institutionalists) and play their reindeer games in order to save the children (corner kids). He already speaks the language of street monsters, it’s just another dialect to learn.
Bunny Colvin was by far my favorite character in this series. I loved how he just saw right through all of the BS, and I could empathize with how often he was unable to change it on a large scale. And I was jealous of his creative ability to change it on that smaller, more localized scale. That's the part of being human that we all want to get to. We imagine it in our heads, but for many of us, excuses and obstacles in real life stop us from doing that hard work.
Public school is still like this. They absolutely will not pull the 1-2 students in a class who ruin the lesson for everyone. No real consequences. Everyone knows who the problem kids are. But administration just keeps throwing them back into the classroom and blaming the teachers. They need an alternative program, one that isn't controlled by standardized testing. Never gonna happen, though, and bad schools will just keep being bad.
“It’s not about you or us”. It’s important and extremely hard for any human to keep things in perspective. Asking yourself why you are doing something is a step towards becoming an adult. Repeating that step is how you stay an adult.
Great scene...except, as it turns out, Bunny was only half-right. Namond wound up leaving the corners and became an upstanding dude. The exact same dude the teacher was saying he could become.
The Wire is probably the most damning portrayal of what happens when you give women any position of power. They don't care about results, efficacy, or actually reaching people on their level, they care about about putting on a good face, being "right," and superficially nice despite every shred of evidence showing that method doesn't work. With men you see the same principles in elite positions of influence (Rawls, Valchek, the politicians), but women make up the lower tiers that socialize and educate the generations of tomorrow
Watch the scene in season 1 where Wallace helps the young kid with math problem, and then watch this scene. The way this series weaves stories together is like no other.
For some reason, calling uptight people obtuse REALLY bothers them. This lady got all riled up, just like the warden in Shawshank. Lucky this dude didn’t get time in the hole.
Bunny's approach was basically Hamsterdam better executed within the schools. It's a continuing theme within this show that previously failed ideas are improved upon and find success as a result. The same thing happened with Marlo and how he combined the individual failures of Stringer Bell and Avon Barksdale to create his drug empire.
We need more bunny’s in the world…. I love how Colvin is all about not being 100% result driven in processes… that is so important in the world we live in… doesn’t hurt to be empathetic and understanding about problems
This was the saddest subplot in the show, the way these schools were purposely knowingly failing these children, in a systemic way, so they could promote themselves and continue up the ladder, and anyone who tried to intervene and help the kids was shut down and shut out.
Anyone who’s ever taught in a non-rich school would know. I taught in a school in a small community where people didn’t know what it was like to not be poor. Most of their families were farmers and the kids also worked the farms on weekends. They didn’t really care about trigonometry or mechanics. They were very aware that they would end up as farmers. Some were in gangs, most were rebellious. Your goals change in that situation. You can’t care about test or exam scores anymore. You just want to help them see that there’s more out there than the life they have so they can want more for themselves.
Bunny tried to change the system as a police, but he realized that crime doesn’t dissappear just by punishing the criminals. Instead he centered his attention in the education system, only to discover that it was as corrupt as the police…
Bunny is the only one in the room who understands the kids and the problem. The so called educators are just posturing and bloviating about their own perspectives. This is the real reason why Malik can't read.
If I ever find myself teamed up with Bunny Colvin with the task of trying to convince someone to do something I want them to do...I'm just going to keep my yapper shut and let him do all the talking.
