Beating Sons, Beaten Sons & We Still Ain't Overcome
Violence kills a young Black man. Black youth rebel and use violence to express their anger. Angry mom uses violence to "control" son who used violence to express his anger. If she's comfortable hitting her big teen son, you knoooooowww she's been comfortable hitting him from who knows what age up to now.
What's really happening here? Low skills on every level. Here's an issue he's working to defend, yet he doesn't have the skills to handle the issue effectively. These are the skills that come from parents. We have the responsibility to DISCIPLINE our children...yes. But the Latin root of the word discipline, "disciplina," means to teach. The TEACHING is where we fall short. Not arming our children with critical thinking skills, or negotiation skills or problem-solving skills is leaving them UNARMED. As a result of being unarmed they are left to throw rocks, trying to express their need to be heard...validated...defended.
So instead of GUIDING this young man toward a more proactive path, this mama beats. LOW SKILLS! What I am proposing is NOT rocket science. It's care. It's foresight. It's wise. Remember??? Parents of the Civil Rights movement protestors were upset with their children for their choices to protest. Now 40+ years later, our children are standing up for similar injustices. The problem??? We are not properly arming them with what they need, or when they need it. Arming them with wisdom and care has to be a part of our daily. Before tragedy strikes, our children should be well equipped to lead a movement that gets results, because they have the skill to do so.
Non-violence does not have to mean being submissive. Non-violent just means you solve the problem using a whole host of other skills in your arsenal. Those skills exercise your thinking muscles, sort through effective solutions, and foster calculated outcomes.
So does this mom get "mom of the year?" Hell to the NAW! No applause for killing this young man's courage and willingness to stand for something. We have to handle young people being misguided in an entirely more productive way. Time to RAISE OUR SKILLS AND NOT OUR HANDS to discipline our children...lest they throw rocks to express themselves for yet another 40 years.
