Another Look

More Cos and Effect

While I think Prof. Eric Dyson does make some valid points in his criticism of Cosby, most notably on the Cos's previous lack of involvement in matters of race, I think if he came down to the trenches, he'd see far less criticism and far more corroboration of the Cos. I work with social workers daily who work with children at their worst. As one sista who's long been involved with our children and a leader in our community said to me yesterday, what some of these kids need is for a parent to take them out to the woodshed and lay the law down. A brotha I work with was pissed off big time recently because one of his teenage charges had been arrested for a major crime. He explained this youngster grew up in the projects, in an environment where hope was as scarce as non-drug dealing BMW drivers. This young man didn't have to grow up in that moral wilderness. The brotha said the parents both had very good jobs, and he'd pleaded with them to take their kids out of that environment. However, the parents chose cheap rent and lots of the best material stuff for their apartment over their children, and now we have another young man with no future. We had a 10 or 11 year old future gangsta at the office a couple days ago, demanding we give him one of the toys we distribute to needy children. His aunt drove him to the office in a new Audi.
We cannot and should not diminish the barriers facing young black men in this society, but we have to stop pretending some of the largest ones are solely the fault of society and that we are blameless. Until we eliminate the pathology that we have allowed to infect us and return to the wisdom of our ancestors, we send our children out into this world of cruelty and opportunity sadly unprepared. That is our failure, and it's time to address it.

posted by Andy Mais @ 6:35 AM