Glad to happen upon this post.
The span of time it'll take (14 years or less, hopefully) until I ship my son off to college has me consumed with the potential hazards awaiting him if I don't steer him clear.
I don't discount the Bell incidet either. Cops need to be kept in check, or check themselves. My own dad was uniformed and undercover police for 20 years and never shot anyone. This i spite of the fact that perps assaulted him repeatedly.
A high school
kid once broke his jaw: he jammed the reprobate up against a locker, understandably but otherwise turned the other cheek.
But back to that "education" question.
I'm guessing the departed Mr. Bell wasn't hip to Frank Sinatra's "Get Me to the Church (On Time)" on his ill-fated lated night out with the fellas just before he was supposed to get married.
It goes something like, 'I'm gettin' married in the mornin'. Ding Dong. The bells are gonna chime. Girls, come and kiss me. Say that you'll miss me. Get me to the church on time."
I'm hummed it often when I was engaged and looking forward to the nuptual party.
There may or may not have been a stripper involved in my last night as a single man. I frankly don't recall. If there was, it bore no real impact on my mindset regarding marriage.
All I had in mind was the thought that "it's all good from now on."
Almost all of my groomsmen bunked at my house that night before, and none of us woke up hungover. We delivered the booze to the venue and then went to play golf.
We got to the chapel ahead of schedule and met up with our girlfriends, fiances and wives. They all held college degrees equal or more advanced than ours. Coincidentally, we all have kids in the kindergarten or pre-K age range at this point in our lives.
And we grooming our kids not to ever put themselves in the sort of situation where they're about to be married in a matter of hours and find themselve caught in a godforsaken standout with trigger-happy police outside of a seedy strip club.
The soundtrack to this post is the swingin' ditty, "No Thing", off Van Morrision's soon-coming "Keep it Simple" CD.
That said only because it seems like our most complex thinkers realy do know how to handle the elementary do's and don'ts.
http://goaskyourdaddy.com/
This sounds like the classic class vs. race discussion, but the article makes no mention of how premature deaths rates compare across racial lines, just if they rose or fell for specific groups. What were the premature death rates amonst college-educated whites and blacks in 1983 and 1999? What were the rates for white and black high-school dropouts in 1983 and 1999? Is the decrease amongst blacks due to improved access to healthcare and neighborhoods? These are the kind of questions that need to be explored.
As for Sean Bell, I'm only familiar with the basic details, so I don't know how this applies to his case.
I’m not sure about your race vs class assertion because our alleged “leaders” are always making claims that a Black life irrespective of class is still subject to certain dangers-i.e. police malfeasance. No one has formally made the education-violence level connection but I am speaking anecdotally…..it appears that one just doesn’t see the type of mishaps (like in the case of Sean Bell) occurring with folks that have more to lose-the middle class, the educated or the business person. I’m thinking of a recent radio caller (referencing Afronerd Radio) who admitted that he just doesn’t live the life that some in the underclass neighborhood live.
Hello there...
I am going to share an unpopular view...but it MUST be said...
I hope this is not taken the wrong way by men who are reading though...
I don't want my words to seem condescending or insensitive...
Okay with that disclaimer on the table...I will proceed with my response...
There is blatant intent lynching of black men occurring throughout our nation at the hands of city-paid employees in police departments in nearly EVERY MAJOR city.
When black men were not being gunned down UNARMED, they were being hung from trees. The difference between now and then is that black men NOW seem to walk around with a lot of unchecked naivety - as if they are not targeted for annihilation.
I am not defending ANY racism in police departments throughout the country. Please understand me.
However, help me understand this...if black men REALLY DO understand that there is open season to murder black men...then WHY would you and your homies be out drinking at 2:00 AM and 3:00 AM at a club? Yes, you want to have fun...I get that...yes you feel entitled to go wherever you please...I get that too...
And when your blood ends up on the ground and your family is crying on television MAYBE it would have been best for you and your homies to keep your behinds in the house ...or do you LIKE the gamble? Am I saying that black men must HIDE OUT from the police?? NO...I am saying that you need to recognize the clear patterns that you are being targeted for death.
Get ONE MILLION black men to storm Washington, DC again ...and this time...have a well-thought out political agenda...have an agenda for the Black Caucus...build a coherent national strategy to address the city-financed lynching of black men in police uniforms...
Newsflash to my brothers:
The harsh reality is that you don't get to walk through life in this country and do all that the white boys do and STILL come home alive.
I know this is not the popular view but it is true.
The naivety that black men exhibit by hanging out all hours of the night seeking entertainment MUST CEASE! This is VERY OFTEN the time when rogue cops are looking for a black man to shoot. Am I the only one that notices the times that the MAJORITY these murders are occurring?
Peace, blessings and DUNAMIS!
Lisa
I think the issue, in some situations, like the Bell case boils down to avoidance of high risk situations. For example, if Bell had not gone to that bachelor party at that strip club. What if instead he and his friends went fishing? What if instead they all met at someone's house to talk about life and progress into marriage? I am not judging their actions, but I think that one has to be aware of the issues that arise in certain locals. Just my random thoughts.
Ehav you are making some extremely valid points but trying to convey them to some of our people is akin to pulling teeth. Folks want to do and say want they want without repercussions and unfortunately young men of color will continue to die at the hands of the PC police in addition to the "actual" police.
Commenting by HaloScan
