WE Need to Do Better!

First there was this little boy who stole his grandmothers vehicle because "it's fun to do bad things." It has been stated that charges will not be filed. Then there was Soulja Girl flipping on the train in ATL. She's bipolar and locked up on a $300 bond. Finally, there was Miss Ghetto Faboulous USA 2008; who decided that prom night was the perfect occasion to show off her new line of stripper wear. She's all over the news complaining that she was treated unfairly. All three of these are examples of why WE as African Americans need to do a better job of supporting and raising our children. They say it takes a village to raise a child, so when will we step up and step in?

We have to be proactive and give thses kids positive role models and set an example worth following. I belive that it starts with family. If you see your little nephew Cornbread is 11 and playing his playstation 24/7 but you know his grades are horrible and he can't tell you what a noun is; step in and ask him about his homework, then step up and help him with it. If you know that your cousin Lil Nay Nay at 3 can "sweep the floor with it" but cannot sing the Alphabet Song, take it upon yourself to teach it to her, and sing it with her every time you see her. Basically, if you see that a child in your family does not have the proper influence it is up to you to provide that influence, take Cornbread to the museum, the bookstore, or volunteer in his classroom, reward him for changing that C to a B. Get Nay Nay a few Dr. Seuss books, some colored blocks, or crayons and a coloring book. Stimulate their minds, show them how much fun and how rewarding learning can be. If you know that their parents are exhausted and don't have time to help them with homework, set aside some time to do so yourself.

If we don't do it who will? Is it the teacher's responsibility to see to it that our children get all of the knowledge they need? We tend to see these things but keep quiet about them, in essence sitting around watching it happen but saying nothing. I know you can't tell other people what to do with their kids but if they see that you are trying to help them, they won't object- unless of course they are determined to be ignorant, in which case, your best bet is to show up in the classroom and help the teacher. The longer we sit in silence the more situations like those mentioned above will continue to occur.

ETA this pretty much sums it up!

Define Cruel and Unusual!

ABC News has done a story on the last words of inmates as the stay on all executions by lethal injection has been lifted. So here's my question, why do we keep running hot and cold on this one? The death penalty gets so much flack every few years and I think it's somewhat silly to keep debating over an issue that is a sure fire guarantee that the perps won't re- offend. Is there a such thing as cruel and unusual punishment to a convict who rapes 20 little girls scarring them for the rest of their lives? What is too cruel for a person who erases entire families because they got dumped? How can we justify not punishing to the fullest extent of the law a man who has been creating havoc and despair for upwards of 20 years, destroying one life after another?

There are many things that make me question patriotism and the tendency of Americans to feel sympathy for monsters who deserve none is pretty high on that list. If we are to keep out society an orderly one and not have people reverting to Marshall law; taking the authority from the government and putting it into their own hands, it is required that the government find a satisfactory legal process for dealing with the worst of our element.

"Life" is not a life sentence in most states, (I would be stupid to try to ascertain what a life sentence consists of in every state)

There are also many states where a convict can be
released on parole after a decade or more has passed. For example, sentences of
"15 years to life" or "25 years to life" may be given; this is called an
"indeterminate life sentence", while a sentence of "life without the possibility
of parole" is called a "determinate life sentence". Even when a sentence
specifically denies the possibility of parole, government officials may have the
power to grant amnesty or reprieves, or commute a sentence to time served.

Taking this into consideration, even repeat offenders can have a sentence that began as life commuted into time served and be released only having served a fraction of the time they were sentenced to, only to go out and offend again that same day. Now do you want these predators walking down the street in your nice suberban neighborhood, maybe offering to mow your lawn for you?

Opponents of the death penalty claim that it is not our place to judge what the life of a human is worth, but I ask if not us then who? Further we take it upon ourselves to sit in judgement of these people in court, how is that different from sentencing them to death and carrying that sentence out? We judge each other every day based upon the simplest characteristics, how can we be afraid to protect ourselves and those around us by ridding the world of someone who refuses to live by the rules of it? The Bible says "an eye for an eye," at the time there was a literal interpretation. We are more enlightened as a people now, but are we better for it? In Middle Eastern countries the punishments for crime are so severe that people are very cautious about breaking the law. Now while there are many other issues occurring in the middle east that are less than worth of modeling, this appears to be working like gang busters.

The only other solution I could get behind would be putting all of these violent, serial criminals on an island together (Survivor-style) and letting them fight it out amongst themselves. Seriously, there are so many unincorporated little patches of sand floating on the ocean, we could buy a few, and start sending them down in parachutes, dropping off food and new inmates every couple of weeks. Eventually we'd have a society of law abiding citizens afraid to commit crimes for fear of being banished to an island with not enough food and no shelter.

It's just a thought.