Life and Pain

It saddens and angers me to watch someone suffer at the hands of another. Especially someone close to me who has lived through, as a child, horrible decisions that the adults around them have made. Adults have the responsibility to shape the lives of their children in a positive manner. Problem is, some of them are either insane or just don't care. I've watched as my friend continues to suffer as an adult from bizarre decisions that were made when she was a kid.

I wish I could fix it for her and others. Some of us, me included, start out in this world with less than optimal situations and the residual affect sticks with us unless we do something about it. My friend is trying as am I but I hate to see the pain and angst she has as she moves to change what she sees in the mirror. It's weird but that mirror can fool you. You project an image that others see yet that image is different when you look at your self in the mirror. The difficult task is making the two match.

That's All I Got!
I'm Out!
44Black

The Death of America's Kids

More and more kids continue to day in the streets of America with a great number of them dying right here at home in Chicago. I am troubled by the death of our children. Usually over nothing or something so trivial you could not imagine someone losing their life over it.

Last week, an honor student was beat to death by a group of kids with a railroad tie and it was caught on tape. The no snitching rule was in full effect. No one would talk to authorities. At least the video allowed for arrests. The no snitching rule was meant for the part of the streets that police themselves, in other words, gangster on gangster. The rule was not meant for the death of innocents, which are kids just trying to get back and forth to school.

This week in Florida 4 kids set another kid on fire over a bike!?!?!?!? I truly don't understand the mentality that would allow anyone to set someone on fire. The four kids had tried to steal the bike from the kid (the bike actually belonged to his father) and the kid told on the four kids. So they set him on fire as retaliation. Absolutely Crazy!!

I am troubled because I care and I am confused as to what to do. Is it not my job or my responsibility because I live outside of the areas most affected by this plight? Some would say, most say actually, based on their lack of action that it is not their job. I say that it is all of our jobs. In fact, even those that live in the neighborhoods have shown they don't care.

So how do I help? I volunteer coach and mentor kids but the kids I work with don't really need it or at least they think they don't.

I've thought of creating some type of mentoring program but that does not keep the streets from reaching out to kill kids on the way to school. How do you make sure every kid has safe passage to school? Is it even possible? The bigger questions are 'How do you get people to care?' and 'How do you get kids to value their own and others lives?' and 'How do we create an an environment that kids think and actually have opportunities to make something of their lives?'

I don't have answers to these questions and I feel guilty that I don't. All I know is my guilt grows with every death. Our country pours money out to every country in the world to help them with their problems. When are we truly going to address our own problems. I guess we won't until we can have a truly open and honest conversation regarding race. Just like the health care debate. I will let you know when I figure out what my actions may be.

That's All I Got!
I'm Out!
44Black