I guess living in one of the most poorest districts in North America (not counting Mexico) can affect the mind of people in various ways. I know it has influenced mine in more than one. I have a better understanding of how economies work, for example. My son, however, has no recollection of what was life on the Plateau Mont-Royal, since he was born a mere 24 days after the move was finalized. He has been to a lot of places though, and I never tried to hide what a former industrial city gutted to the marrow has to offer, never tried to sugar-coat the grim reality of a collapsing metropolis -- i contend though that the situation is less dramatic than if we would be living in Detroit MI or Johannesburg, SA.

This has paid off, in a way. Because during the week-end he has stated, quite straightfowardly, of the possibility that intelligent homeless people exist, as much as he knows about the fact that being rich does not mean you are more intelligent than the rest. There is no endoctrination involved here. He has come to the deduction through his own reasoning. He found out, just by watching his environment, that it takes intelligence to survive without your own money, that your strategies have to be well-thought out, and that a lot of rich people do really stupid things, like throwing stuff away that is still in perfect shape.

Knowing that my son has come to understand this simple truth by himself at the age of 7 makes me happy. He's not able to play the violin like a pro or hit a home run, but his radar is pretty sharp. Now if I could wean him off of tv a little bit more...