[yorkietalkjilly]

Your heart goes out to young black men who are born into a gang, drug or poverty lifestyle, having to grow up in a culture with little hope of getting out of that life unless they possess some truly exceptional drive or ability to withstand all the things going against you every single day from the day you are born. As an outsider looking in, it breaks your heart to just imagine what these kids deal with from birth - the lack of inclusion, the grinding poverty, the little chance of finding work that lasts and advances you. If you want to learn to read, speak well, you could be shamed, shunned or worse. Just trying to walk to school could be scary and life-threatening. School on an empty stomach has got to be agonizing. Who can learn when you haven't had dinner or breakfast, maybe just some potato chips. If you won't joint a gang, your mother's or sister's life could be at risk. Seems most government programs are not working to help the most of these kids and young men, even those want to break out and leave that lifestyle behind, when all their celebrity and entertainment idols seem to glorify a dangerous culture of hiphop violence, sexism and excess. Have you seen some of their appalling videos, many of them partly filmed in their luxurious homes and manicured grounds? It's got to grind in the gut of the kid who needs a decent meal or just a change of clothes. And apparently with far too little to no fatherly nurturing or help, these kids grow up basically depending on the one stable adult in the life, usually their mom or grandmother. These poor kids don't seem to have a chance in the 21st century unless they are gifted athletes or entertainers. And I'd be angry, too, if I had to live like that, with trouble, danger and frustration every way I turned. But if I just had an adult who could show me the way while my mom or grandmother worked, another person or two who cared, spent significant time with me, leading and teaching me, showing me how to read, how to actually study, showed me what employers are looking for, need to hear and expect out of an employee, nurturing me, never giving up on me, occasionally bringing me a present, I might give it a go to break out of that lifestyle. If some of our wealthier citizens, celebrities, literary elites could forego some of their luxuries, travels and help some of these kids, there could be more of them who could break out to a life and in turn, maybe help another kid.

I can also imagine what it must feel like to be a young cop on the job, called to the scene of a shooting where the shooter is on the loose, little kids are out playing down the block and the crowd at the scene is growing restless, unruly, some of them calling you and your family ugly names, lunging at you, trying to bait you into growing angry, over-reacting, just because they or a family member have a bad history with cops. I can imagine the fear that young man must feel, the loneliness right then, the responsibility he feels to keep the public and those kids down the block safe but still can't blame the cops for waiting until two cars can respond. It's not a safe atmosphere for cops these days with people chanting in the streets that they need to be fried and killed.

People wanted softer policing and now they are getting it but the trouble is, the criminal, the true thug who is only out for himself with a cold heart and no feelings for others, are given a longer, wider berth to hurt anyone who enters their pathway. And far too many poor black kids who could have a chance to escape that hellish lifestyle are being left behind, with far too little love or help out of it. Maybe some of the hiphop artists and moviemakers could produce less media of protest and rage and more of bettering oneself through schooling and learning some practical ways out of poverty.