SLIPPIN INTO DARKNESS

They've become the subject of dozens of films - those lazy ass young Black men and boys who spend most of their time playing video games, smoking Kush, and refusing to get a job. Hey, you know and I know it’s a very unsettling trend. Black America is now producing a generation of 'lost boys' who lack the drive to go to school, get a job, respect their elders, and end up languishing on the street corners, and their mommas couch in the living room. Talk about stuck in adolescence! Damn! They are struggling with not feeling passionate about anything. Committing to any damn thing is a waste of time to them. They're almost saying it's cool to be rude, stupid, dumb, oafish, destructive, and not very productive. It’s an epidemic. I've spoken with many boys in Grades 1 to 5 here in Indianapolis, and they've told me that school is a stupid waste of time. Wow! When I ask them why, they say, "I don’t like reading," or "because I wouldn't sit still," or "on account of I drew a picture of me shooting my daddy.” Real stuff people! Part of the problem is that our young Black boys feel bored at school, and about the only thing momma can do is encourage them to set themselves small, achievable goals. I said small…This means they take on small challenges to begin with, then; maybe they will see that happiness comes from a sense that you're making progress toward goals. Hum? You young Black mothers and sometimes fathers have to understand that parenting is not about being best friends with your son. Black parents coddle these wayward souls too much, and spare the rod too often. They coddle them. They lie for them. They co-sign for them. Parents cover for their kids, even when their kids are dead wrong. And that's where the problems come in. These young Black mothers always say they want to give their kids more than what they had. But sometimes more is not always better. Hell, teachers quit because they can't teach these bad ass kids. Police officers that patrol the streets damn near have to be a child psychologist. We've dropped the ball, me included. One thing we had when I was a kid was respect for our elders. No matter what we did, we respected our elders, and we told the truth, or tried (smile at that). Black parenting has now become warfare. I mean guerrilla warfare! It's adult versus kid, old school versus young, wise versus naive. Who wins the battle many times boils down to who's the craziest, who scares whom, who waves the white flag first, or in some instances, who dies first. When I say I want to kill kids, you know what I mean. I don't have to explain. I just say what frustrated Black parents want to say, but can't. That's all right. I'm the bad guy. I'll be the bad guy. Remember, I am the Angry Black Man! I got my ass whooped, not whipped, every day when I was growing up. I was disciplined not so much for being disrespectful, but for doing crazy things around the house. Sometimes I got two or three in one day, some from my sisters. I got whipped so much that I became immune to the pain. I cried my ass off, but I could take the pain. Mothers, get in your sons ear. Always ask them about their day. And always make them look in your eyes. They might think it’s hard and cold, but….oh well. Be a fan of the truth. Tell it like it is! Young Black men should have control of their lives by the age of 25. By then they should have came to the realization that there ain’t anything in the streets for them but death! The one thing that missing fathers teach their sons, that they don’t even know that they teach them, is that the sons don’t want to be like them. Now that’s real talk…..meanwhile, did you know that we now have grandmothers who are 33, and have more drama in their lives than their grandkids……..another story for another day.