Published:
02/22/2011 07:48pm
Work on the solution and not the Problem
Comradd commentary
Work on the solution and not the problem
A group of teenagers jumped on a young man and beat him down. They used a large wooden plank and hammered him on the head repeatedly. One person videoed the whole incident, but no one stopped to help. The whole world saw it on YouTube. The incident happened in Chicago, but it could have been any city. After the young man was beaten and unconscious, some kids picked up his frail body and carried him to safety. By this time, it was too late.
Some people say that the street kids or gang members are vicious because there are no positive male influences in their lives. Most of the young men are from fatherless homes. This may be true, to a certain extent, but what about the single mothers whose children went on to become doctors and lawyers? We as parents have to raise our children and not allow our children to raise us. We can’t wait until they are fourteen or fifteen to start being their parents. When I was in Atlanta visiting my sister, I saw nine and ten-year-old children in the streets at ten and eleven o’clock at night. Where were their parents? The parents are very young, which makes it more difficult. The parents are trying to grow up themselves, so what can they do?
Statistics confirm that crime is always higher in uneducated, poverty-stricken areas. How many jobs are available for the teens? Are there any supervised recreational activity centers? I have empathy for the young men and women who have a desire to succeed, but their lives are being shortened due to violence. There are only two alternatives: change the environment or leave the environment. I know not everybody can leave, so the community has to come together and stop the violence.
When I was growing up in the country, I wanted to live in the big city. I thought living in the country was a punishment. I didn’t understand that living in the country probably saved my life. I’d rather fight the snakes and mosquitoes than fight my friends whom I went to school with every day.
If we don’t stop killing each other, we will eventually annihilate ourselves. Our ancestors died so that we could live. Our parents cleaned toilets and dumped garbage so that we could get an education and prosper. Either fix the problem or find a way out. I believe that if we help each other get up, then we can all stand up. The real enemy that is holding you down is the man in the mirror. Work on the solution and not the problem.
