COUNTERPUNCH LETTERS : ‘Kids’: Everyone’s Problem

Regarding Stephen Knight’s Counterpunch, “What ‘Kids’ Leaves Out of the Picture,” Calendar, Sept. 25:

While “Kids” shockingly illustrates a day in the life of street kids who are growing up with current social issues of inner-city poverty, Knight “leaves out” the message director Larry Clark is giving his “uninformed” audience: “Kids” has absolutely nothing to do with the inner-city or poverty. “Kids” has to do with what its title implies-- kids .

The attitude and demeanor of these kids exist on all social and economic levels in America today. Clark gives an accurate portrayal of the moral conduct and behavior of the film’s subjects: American youth in general.

Being the mother of 13-year-old twin daughters, I think “Kids” struck right at the gut level. I left the movie feeling numb. “Kids” left me with a sense of hopelessness. It took days to process its impact.

Clark’s message is a wake-up call to a majority of American parents: Do you know where your kids are? Do you really know who they’re with when you drop them off at a mall or at a friend’s home? Do you really know what they’re doing?

Knight is right: These young people are our future. And, as adults, we have the responsibility to diligently guard, nurture, love and cherish that future. After all, kids just want to have fun, don’t they?

LINDA de MARTINEZ

Pacific Palisades