The dream has been abandoned. The youth have been abandoned. Responsibility has been abandoned.
Where the FUCK do people get off celebrating Obama's victory, while letting the struggle stay alive? How do we unite for all of 30 minutes and then fall apart when our relentless hunger for change is briefly satiated by a mere morsel? Why is it that we WAIT and WANT more than what we are WILLING TO WORK FOR? I see this happen everyday. If it's not people walking around with their children yards ahead of them, while gossiping on the newest cell phone, it's the grown men who stand outside of their apartment buildings until well past the street lights coming on. Is this FAILURE IN PROGRESS that we accept?
How critical have I been of MY people in recent months? Hell, since I learned that there is a difference in between what WE accept and what is ACCEPTABLE, I have been critical. That "right or wrong" motif, that so many of us live by, is WRONG! I tell the world that I don't seek their validation. Not in my music, and damn sure not in my addressing a huge fucking problem. The problem is still the open, almost invitational, acceptance of ignorance. When are we going to teach each other that wrong is wrong? When are we going to learn that our definition of "okay" doesn't mirror what "okay" actually is? This is not to say that words we do not define should be the words that we accept either. But when we object to the status quot simply because we are not its creators, we look like fools.
I'm a black woman who is not a weave rockin', gum poppin', ass shakin' when my song comes on type of girl. I'm single, I'm angry, I'm extremely long winded, I listen to huge amounts of rap music. I cuss a lot, I listen to Prince like he's the only musician worthy of my appreciation, I don't drink, I don't smoke. I was raised in a two parent home along with 4 other siblings. I wasn't the greatest student, but I sure do impress folks when they hear me speak. (LOL) The point of this paragraph: NOTHING ABOUT ME IS TYPICAL. I didn't get "lost" even though I wasn't a fucking Cosby kid. (That show annoys me, A Different World was better.) So what's the difference between me and you? (*Cues Dr. Dre* LOL) Or me and them? Did I do something so different from other young black boys and girls?
Honestly, I didn't do anything more than what I chose to do. See, I wasn't chosen out of a huge group of children to be special or different. Ask my brothers and sisters and I'm sure they'll tell you I'm different, but far from special. I just have a different vibe altogether. Even with my not being brought up in the church, I still manage to be "okay". I'm a pretty straight and narrow lass, if you will. (LMAO @ my using lass.) Perhaps it's because I wasn't abandoned. Don't get me wrong, I've never been coddled by anyone other than my grandmother. (Which isn't coddling, it's called being a grandparent. Ha! ) And even though I did things that she didn't approve of, and caused her to worry, she knew that I was still not a bad kid.
That same thing cannot be said about those children who don't have that same infrastructure. Who is leading them, or rather, who isn't? Where the hell are their grandmothers? Where are their mothers? Where are their fathers? Where is the fucking village? How can there be a surrounding community that really only serves as a backdrop? Because the painful truth is they simply don't have a HOME. They've been left out in the cold. They were first failed by their parents. How can you bring a life into this world and not strive to do better for them? My childhood wasn't terrible, but I still want my future children to have a better one than mine. It's only right that anybody would want to make that possible. So who are the guilty parties?
Everyone that let's a child get out of line is to blame. Any teacher that doesn't try to reach these kids it to blame. Every parent who doesn't give a damn about their own welfare AND still brings a life into this world is to blame. Whether you are temporarily or completely responsible for the upbringing of these kids, you have failed. Don't say you haven't, because if you allow a child to leave your presence without learning SOMETHING from you, you've fucked up. I don't care if you don't have a sense of responsibility about yourself, that still constitutes failure. It's no surprise that many people dislike the next generation. They hardly care about themselves, yet they have to raise themselves. They're less than concerned about their lives, because no one gave a damn about theirs. (That's called paying it backward.)
Whether they admit it or not, they all have abandonment issues. That's part of why young girls become teenage mothers. That's part of why young boys join gangs. They don't have something in their lives and they're trying to replace it with ANYTHING. Be it drugs, sex, or other influences, they are trying to replace that missing/broken element. I wasn't involved with any after school activities, and I don't really ever hang out with anyone, but I'm still in a different zone than many of today's youth. (Note: If you read my tweets, you know all of the shit I voice my frustrations about. Far from perfect, and I would actually like to be better off.) Does it matter that people refuse to address the increasing number of broken homes? When will someone say there is a problem? You can't pass legislation to prevent unplanned pregnancy, but certainly you can say that it's not fair.
There is a line that has to be drawn. I don't get how people can say it's fair to celebrate a "success" in a big ass sea of wrong. WE ARE FAILING! There is a huge education gap. Separated by class and other determining factors, we are behind. Don't forget that having a noticably Black president doesn't mean the fight is over. Young black males don't all have that drive, determination, or a goal anywhere close to it. These kids were never told "they can never be president". But they also don't give a damn about it. They're not underachievers because they were told to be. They are underachievers because that is what they are surrounded by. It's important to speak on it because they are going to do the same thing to their children. (This Just In: It's already happening.) They are setting their children up to take the same fall. "No child left behind" is just a meaningless phrase. EVERY ONE OF THESE CHILDREN HAVE BEEN LEFT BEHIND.
Actually, they have been PLACED behind. They were assigned a seat in the back of the bus, in the back of the class (they prefer sitting there). And now they're on the proverbial backburner of their own parents' lives. It's a damn shame. With little to no consideration or regard for their future, the adults in their lives have failed to push them ahead. Partially due to their being unprepared to have them, but their failure can be blamed on ignorance. So the sword cuts both ways. It's trickling down to the next generation. It's no wonder why those kids are often left wondering what the future will hold. It just so happens, their future looks like a bucket with a big ass hole in the bottom, so not very much. Reclaim your role in their lives. Be a mentor, be a parent, just be SOMETHING. When you leave people in the cold, it does no good to look confused when those same people get sick.
Despite my flaws, I still see a pretty good kid in the mirror. And though I don't have everything I want, it's been helpful thus far. I'm not sure if I'll take my own advice, but I also know that I attempt. At least I started in the home. I tell my younger brother and sister, "I'm no role model". They don't get mad at me, but I don't use that as an excuse to turn around and do terrible things. While I don't know if they look up to me or not, I spend enough time with them to know they aren't knuckleheads. (LOL) We have no choice, we have the same parents. What got my ass whooped laid the path for what not to do. I suppose it was for the best, but don't tell my mom. (I'm glad she doesn't read my blog. Ha!) Without Sam and Pam, I know Sheena wouldn't be anything she is. I'm pretty awesome right now, but I'm striving to be more. Don't abandon these kids. Don't attempt a grand feat, but even if you save one, you've done more than others. My soapbox is a tad uncomfortable now. I'll step down now.
Peace, Hip Hop & Purple Rain
Goddess Cru... The Ranter
