To Sir, with Love II Page #4

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Now it's your turn.

Think about that for tomorrow,

how you're going | to help yourselves survive.

That's a bunch of crap, man. | This is Class H.

If they put you in Class H, they got | a good idea you ain't gonna survive.

H means you're going to hell.

They made their minds up about us. | Then change them.

Yeah, right. Maybe that would work | where you're from or where you went.

You went off to England and you teach in | some school. You think you're something.

I am something. Everyone is. | In this country, you're nothing.

No matter how many schools you | teach in, all people see is black skin.

What do you want them to see? | Me.

Who are you? Do you see you | the way you want to be seen?

Then you must see character | in yourself, discipline in yourself,

determination in yourself, | to survive with dignity,

no matter how tough | the world around you is.

Is that who you are? If not, | is that who you want to be?

If so, come.

Let's go walk down a street

and see what we can get them to see.

Well, aren't you coming?

Are we going shopping?

We're conducting an experiment. | I need a volunteer.

How about you, Mr. Davanon?

We want to see what we can learn | about how people react to us.

You see that woman | over there by the bus stop?

Walk up to her. Ask what she thought | when she saw you walking up to her.

That's it? | Then come and tell us what she said.

All right, Frankie. | He's white. It don't prove a thing.

When you conduct an experiment, you | need what scientists call a control.

Mr. Davanon is our control.

Yo!

Go, Frankie, go!

Way to go, Frankie!

Hey, Frankie, give it up, bro!

Now I need another volunteer. Arch.

I want to talk to you about it first.

Hey, what are you talking about?

Excuse me, ma'am. | Can I talk to you?

My name is Archie Carrouthers. | I'm a student at John Adams.

I'm working on a school project. | Can you help me out?

What we saw out there yesterday | is that, to a considerable extent,

we control how we are perceived.

"Yo!" gets you one response,

" Excuse me, sir," another.

When we address someone with respect, | we are more likely to get respect.

Not always, | but more often than you think.

If you're smart, | that ought to be enough.

Common courtesy. " Please. " "Thank | you. " " Excuse me. " Magical words.

Yo, Mr. Thackeray. | Miss Torrado. How are you doing?

I was wondering if we could talk. | Of course. What's on your mind?

I've been thinking about some | of that stuff we're talking about,

like the way Evie says that sometimes | we really don't know who we are.

Sometimes it's very hard.

Yeah, okay. But I was thinking, | what if we know who we are,

and that's not who we want | to be anymore?

People can change.

I get up in the morning, and I gotta | think about what I'm going to put on,

and my hair and my makeup.

It drives me crazy. I want to cry. | You wonder why you do it.

I mean, I know why I do it.

Nobody likes a girl, you know, | that doesn't take care of herself.

I know I'm kind of good-looking | and they like that.

And that's important to you?

I mean, you've gotta have | some self-respect.

I don't know. If nobody likes you...

You've got to like | yourself first, isn't that right?

Rebecca, | where the hell are you going?

I gotta go, Mr. Thackeray, | thanks for listening.

I just ran into Mr. Thackeray- | Yeah, well, I was waiting.

Mr. Thackeray. | See you, Mr. Thackeray.

You kept me waiting. | That don't cut it, b*tch.

I'm sorry. I said I was sorry.

Look at you. Your face is messed | up. You look like a cheap whore.

I just need a minute. | I can get it together.

Forget it. Nobody gives a damn | what your face looks like anyway.

Hey! She's a little late, | but she's here. Party time.

Frankie, I don't know | if I want to do this anymore.

Come on. Here she comes. | I'm sorry she's late, guys.

Say you're sorry. " I'm sorry!" | Come on, say it. She's sorry, guys.

Come on, give me the money | before we do anything.

They're beautiful. | Hi, Mr. Thackeray.

Do you do this often? | Whenever I get the chance.

I like... growing stuff.

They're beautiful. I had a garden | in the back of my flat in London.

I'll let you get back to your work. | See you in class tomorrow.

Mr. Thackeray, maybe you'd better not mention | this in class. Kids give me a hard enough time.

There's nothing wrong with flowers, | or making the neighbourhood prettier.

Don't worry. If you don't want me to, | I won't say anything.

Excuse me, miss. | Yes, sir. Can I help you?

Yes. Yes, I think you can.

Get off me, man. Get off me! | Shh! Don't worry, little bro.

I ain't gonna cut you too bad.

As a favour, would you be so kind as | to deliver a message to your brother?

Ask him, " How does it feel | to be a dead man?"

Mr. Thackeray, that's so great. | Thanks. That's nice.

You will go to see him? | Yeah, I will.

All right. Okay. | I have an announcement to make.

I will be talking to business people | in the community,

from contractors to computer stores | to the gas company.

Anyone interested | in after-school work-

Is this help for the disadvantaged? | I didn't see your hand, Mr. Davanon.

I am sick and tired of everybody | taking care of everybody else.

What about us for a change? | Who's " us"?

It don't include you. | If you have a point, Mr. Davanon...

I got a point. Everybody's falling | all over themselves

to help out blacks and Puerto Ricans | and fruits and women.

Only I'm a white guy, | so I'm not on anybody's list.

That's dumb. Let me tell you why.

In the first place, | ain't nobody giving nobody nothing.

If the old boy wanna get you a job, | you gotta keep that job.

Second, these favours where they're | " letting" black people into jobs,

those jobs never had | no black people in them.

All this time, all them jobs | is going to white people.

I don't hear you complain about that.

You ain't never in your lazy life | looked for no damn job,

so you don't know | what you're talking about.

My dad always has to hire a black guy | because his boss says-

Is your father a foreman? | You bet he is.

Why don't you tell me how many | black foremen they got?

That was very impressive. | It was the simple truth.

Wait. Simple truth is the best kind. | You don't speak up in class often.

When I got something | to say, I just say it.

People listen. Did you ever notice? | No.

You have more important concerns? | Yeah. Like keeping my ass alive.

I don't need no brother | in no fancy suit

giving me lessons that got nothing | to do with where I'm coming from.

If you've got a point, why don't | you make it and get out of my face?

You have a gang, don't you?

That's cop talk. "Gang leader," | they put that on your record.

So you're not a leader.

I must be talking to the wrong person. | You must be.

When are you going to grow up?

Leadership is in short supply.

It's born in a person. You didn't | ask for it, but you've got it.

You've got people to follow you, | but you've got no place to take them.

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