Parents, Raise Your Kids
*walks in opposite direction*
I’m not sure if you saw this article in the New York Times last week about “flash mobs” in Philly. In case you don’t know, a flash mob is basically a big group of kids who gather in a public place to run, yell, hoop, holler, or cause some degree of trouble. When I say group of kids, I don’t mean 10 kids. I’m talking about dozens of kids that range from pre-teens all the way up through 18. At first, that doesn’t sound like something to be alarmed about. They’re just a bunch of kids, right?
Wrong.
These kids aren’t out just taking friendly shopping trips or going out for a bite to eat. They are going to cause trouble. I have seen two flash mobs; the first time was last summer. I was having dinner at restaurant and heard these loud and distance voices. When I looked outside, there had to be 30 or 40 kids walking up the block. Then out of nowhere, the kids just took off running. They lapped the block, only to be met by cops with billy clubs, cops in patrol cars, cops with mega phones, and cops on motorcycles chasing behind them. A bunch of rowdy Black kids and a bunch of anxious cops: imagine my concern. Eventually, the cops were able to break up the crowd with no visible damage to my car to any of the children or property. While there had been little to no damage done by the flash mob to date, apparently the kids are getting brand new. Now they are fighting each other, beating up elderly and homeless people, and rolling through stores and malls. Basically, they are getting out of control.
When I was growing up (damn I feel old) I know kids did mischievous things. We snuck out of our houses, maybe did some joy riding, stole a thing or two. And yeah, there were gangs who beat people up. But they were gangs. Not groups of kids who linked up via text messages to wreak random havoc. Then again, maybe I missed that part of growing up.
What the hell is going on at home?
Of course, race is playing some role in the discussion because, after all, it is a bunch of young Black kids running loose. However, I don’t think race anything to do with this per se. I blame it on inadequate parenting. Why are parents letting kids as young as 10 years old out beyond the street corner, after the street lights come on at that? Unless I was going somewhere with an older cousin, I couldn’t even leave the block.
More important than where these kids are going, is what they are learning in their homes. Yeah, I tested boundaries and did things my mother or grandma wouldn’t approve of just to look “cool.” But there was never a time when I went so far as to think it was okay in any way, shape, or form to break up stuff or beat people up. Granted, I’m sure some of the kids didn’t intend for folks to get hurt. Maybe they didn’t even know what was going to happen. Chances are the damage that resulted wasn’t planned too far in advance. But why are they getting into these crowds in the first place? Should we just chalk it up to immaturity?
Read this excerpt from the article:
The flash mobs have raised questions about race and class. Most of the teenagers who have taken part in them are black and from poor neighborhoods. Most of the areas hit have been predominantly white business districts. . . .
Mayor Nutter, who is black, rejected the notion that race or the city cut in services was a factor.
“I don’t think people should be finding excuses for inappropriate behavior,” Mr. Nutter said. “There is no racial component to stupid behavior, and parents should not be looking to the government to provide entertainment for their children.”
At first I wanted to disagree with Mayor Nutter, considering that Philadelphia’s budget for violence prevention programs has dropped by 53 percent. And yes, after school programs and such help some, but whose job is it to raise these kids? Have you noticed a difference in the way children behave today compared to when you were growing up? What do you think has made the difference? Personally, I blame the internets and technology. Do parents care less? Are parenting values and concerns different now? Are these kids just being kids? Share your thoughts.
As long as they don’t bust the windows out my car, I’m good,
47 Responses to “Parents, Raise Your Kids”
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This reminds me of the classic Charles Barkley “Im not a role model” commercial.
Parents might act more lenient in 2010. There was technology back when I was a kid too, parenting remains constant feel me?
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Miss Jenkins Reply:
March 29th, 2010 at 12:18 am
Yeah, but not exactly. What do you mean?
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Streetztalk Reply:
March 29th, 2010 at 12:24 am
cmon Jenkins im tyrna goto bed… lol
I mean that no matter whether its 2010 or 2210, the principles of parenting are fundamental. Ppl will use societal avancement in technology as a crutch, when parents suck. Sometimes parents dont have time,sometimes they just let shyt slide. Parents gotta lookin in the mirror and make thigns right.
Also theres a LOT of ppl ecomming parents who aren’t ready, and it shows in their kids developement
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ASmith Reply:
March 29th, 2010 at 9:08 am
You’re right about parents who aren’t ready to be parents. More and more children are born into homes that just weren’t ready for them and it shows as the child grows up.
I’m sure 3 Ways will produce a commenter to the contrary, but I argue said person is awesome and an anomaly.
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Parents are getting younger. We are missing values. I was raised my my grandmother. I was taught to say no ma’am and yes sir. She put values us that I think alot of kids are missing these days because we got kids raising kids!
A lot of parents are letting the media raised their kids. I don’t blame the media because it is up to the parents to influence their children. Growing up, I couldn’t watch certain things on TV until I was old enough for my granny to talk to me so I would understand.
My cousin for instance who is 15 lives a big house with a jacuzzin and pool. He always has his friends over and gets whatever he wants whether it be money or new game systems. But this boy doesn’t do a thing! He drop out school. He doesn’t even do chores and curses his parents out! And yet they still cater to him!
I wouldn’t dream of talking back to my granny let alone curse her out! Kids these days need to learn respect. That is missing.
http://myfingersarentbroken.com/
http://twitter.com/GinaMarie314
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ASmith Reply:
March 29th, 2010 at 9:09 am
I’m sorry. He’s 15 and dropped out of school and gets what he wants?!?!
#iRefuse.
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CHeeKZ Money Reply:
March 29th, 2010 at 9:25 am
I don’t care how much money I make… I will not raise spoiled children….
you have to earn everything you get.
And the momment they act up, I’m sending them to Haiti. Yeah, Eff that Wii go outside and play with the goat! That will teach you….
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Smiley Face Reply:
March 29th, 2010 at 10:04 am
“Eff that Wii go outside and play with the goat! That will teach you….”
lol..in my case, it would be go ‘run ‘cross de trench!”
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R.A.G Reply:
March 29th, 2010 at 10:52 am
my thoughts exactly
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Nik Reply:
March 29th, 2010 at 6:27 pm
***co-sign CHeeKZ***
If ever I have a question on parenting my hypothetical children, I refer to my good old stand-by…The Cosby Show
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rO35dhxNjYI
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As Streetztalk stated, there are a lot of ppl becoming parents who weren’t/aren’t ready. That’s major.
Also major, like GinaMarie said, is the really young who become parents when they themselves aren’t finished being parented.
It is 100% the parents responsibility to raise proper kids and I really don’t believe there’s any excuse not to raise well behaved children.
My father being military, in a way, left my mother to do the majority of the raising of my sibilings and myself alone and she did it… VERY WELL.
When I was 6 yrs old, I witnessed my 17 year old brother get hemmed up by mother for coming in late and then getting smart with her. Mother is all of 5’2 and maybe 135 lbs and my brother, 6ft 190-200 but my mother didn’t give a damn. She was not to be disrespected and she never was, ever again after that night.
Parents are too busy trying to be their kids friends are trying to date and/or gain materialistic wealth and kids are sufferring and acting out. There’s just no excuse, I think.
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I think the key phrase is what N Aimee said: parents are too concerned with being their child’s friend, and not their parent. As my parents said to me constantly growing up, “mi an yuh nah size!” As a matter of fact, scratch that “growing up,” my mother said that to me two days ago, and I’m 26 years old. Parents are way too concerned with being liked, and not enough on raising productive members of society.
Similarly, we are too concerned in general with the opinions of children in our lives. THEY ARE CHILDREN! They are meant to be shaped and groomed into adults who will do great things in the world, not our little plaything friends. I spent two years working with 5-10 year olds, and the thing I most consistently told them was that I didn’t need them to be my friends. If they didn’t like me when they were given the consequences of their behaviour, it was fine. I have grown folk to be my friends. My goal was for them to respect me and become positive people who had an impact on society and changed stereotypes in regards to their lives. And once they knew that, once they saw that I was there for them and not a selfish desire for a 6year old to be my BFF, they respected me, and yeah we bonded.
Simply put, it is more important that parents are respected by their children than LIKED by their children. Once this is put back in focus, I feel like the majority of the problems with kids wylin out and not listening to their parents will begin to dissipate.
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I agree with everything said so far. But people also forget:
CHILDREN NEED TO BE LEAD BY EXAMPLE!
If Mommy and/or Daddy are cursing each other out, cursing the teacher out, or cursing their boss or pastor out directly or indirectly kids are gonna think they can do it too.
“Do what I say, not what I do” is BS and it sends mixed signals. If parents don’t want their kids to grow up to be wild and crazy, then they need to show positive behavior.
Another reason kids act any kind of way is that they aren’t given responsibility and boundaries as soon as they begin to walk and talk.
Work values/ethic and morality should be taught as a person matures in development. Most parents today (and as a 90′s baby, I can testify) don’t do this. Kids are allowed to be lax have as much fun as possible, then once Mommy and Daddy realize that Little Precious is no longer playing with Barbies/Bratz (for those 2000 babies) and is dressing up like them with heels and low riders and boys are looking their way, the kid is suddenly given responsibility out of nowhere and is looking at his/her parents like they got a screw loose. Then those same parents that bombard them with chores as soon as they reach high school age yell at the kids for doing a shoddy job at cooking; cleaning; etc. cause the parents think that they should just know and not need to be taught.
I won’t blame technology cause technology can be used as a teaching experience. Parents don’t monitor what their kids watch and listen to, then act clueless as to where 5 year old Junior learned ‘that swear word’. If parents don’t take time to learn about what their kids are watching/playing on their games and t.v and talk to their kids explaining that the guy who (insert an action that the parent doesn’t want imitated) shouldn’t have done that and why, then the kid will learn to not do (bad action).
If parents (young and older) stopped letting everything else teach their kids instead of teaching them themselves through communication and positive actions maybe my generation and the 2000′s generation(s) wouldn’t act like little heathens. Parents don’t take time out their *sarcasm* oh so busy schedule *end sarcasm* to get to know their kids any more. Do parents have more on their plate with the economy, and single parenthood? Yes. But that’s still no excuse to not parent.
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Peyso Reply:
March 29th, 2010 at 11:03 am
““Do what I say, not what I do” is BS and it sends mixed signals. If parents don’t want their kids to grow up to be wild and crazy, then they need to show positive behavior.”
I disagree. My mom used to cuss like a sailor when I was younger. I tried it once, I didnt even say the word. I spelled it at some one. (I literally said “F – U – C – K – You!!”). My mom heard me and asked me why I said that. I said “because you do”. She laughed and all it took was one punch in the mouth to fix that situation.
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Miss Jenkins Reply:
March 29th, 2010 at 12:45 pm
but see, you got punched in the mouth. Parents hear their kids cuss and giggle like it’s cute. We’ve all seen it. if you haven’t, I’m sure there’s video on youtube of it.
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ASmith Reply:
March 29th, 2010 at 12:49 pm
My BFF was in the car with his dad and 4 yr old brother…
Dad says, “Where’d all this f*cking traffic come from?”
4 yr old says, “That’s not f*cking traffic, dad. That’s moving traffic.”
BFF cracks up — as he ALWAYS does when his little brother cusses.
I’ve been telling him for 2 yrs now — that’s funny right this minute, but in 10 yrs when he’s cussing YOU (his mama, his daddy and his sisters) out, it won’t be so funny.
Folks just don’t think ahead…
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name Reply:
March 29th, 2010 at 11:41 am
I think you’re partly right about the whole “do as I say, not as I do” mantra that parents lean on. A lot of parents don’t realize that this way only requires them to work harder in raising a child with the values they want to instill; a lot of parents would make it easier for themselves if they reinforced the behavior they expected from their children through modeling. After all, the purpose of raising a child is so they can become an adult, and you are their first lesson on what it means to be an adult.
But at the same time, children don’t always have an understanding of the responsibility that comes with what they perceive to be adult freedom.
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ASmith Reply:
March 29th, 2010 at 11:43 am
Can we teach kids “Do as I say, not as I do” AND “Actions speak louder than words?”
At some point, a kid’s gotta learn to wade through the b.s. in life, but is this where they learn that?
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name Reply:
March 29th, 2010 at 12:03 pm
“Can we teach kids “Do as I say, not as I do” AND “Actions speak louder than words?”
At some point, a kid’s gotta learn to wade through the b.s. in life, but is this where they learn that?”
Haha, as I got older, i realized the contradictions in those statements. Another part that had me confused was”
“don’t worry, you have the rest of your life to.. [insert desired wish here]”
but then I would always hear people say:
“life is short, you should live it while you can.”
???
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I got smart with my mama once…ONCE!! I’ll be 31 in a few weeks and I still have a healthy respect (read: fear) of my mama. Her philosophy growing up was “Me and you eye betta neva tek race!!” in other words “…try me..!” My mom was 30 and my dad 41 when they had me and when I was born they be d@mned if they were trying to be my friend.
Disrespect isn’t tolerated. I don’t blame technology or folk trying to make a living…my siblings and I were latchkey kids and didn’t get home until 2-3 hours after we did, but we had to call them when we got home, that house had better be clean, homework done, morning dishes washed and put away and we had better be in the house, on the porch or on the block were they could see us, there were no questions about it.
I see kids all the time that I want to snatch up and shake…until I think “where the hell are their parents?!” I know folk are struggling, I know there are some that are scrambling trying to make ends meet but there are some that just don’t giddadamb (copyright luvvie)…none of it is an excuse to not do right by your children…you chose to have them, take care of them.
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Miss Jenkins Reply:
March 29th, 2010 at 8:19 am
If disrespect even seemed to be approaching from my lips, my grandmother would ask me if I thought me and her were “size.” At age 9, I was taller than her, so (in my head) I was like No, I’m bigger than you. Thankfully I was smart enough not to say that out loud, just struggled with the meaning on my own and ending up being respectful in the process.
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What’s real messed up about how this is being branded as a race thing is white college kids started doing this.
Flash mobs at libraries during finals was a pretty regular occurance at some schools — they even videotape (and then youtube) this stuff…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtYqLPQcppE
Obviously, black folks gotta go above and beyond in all the wrong ways so we want to add some violence in there. O_o.
All that being said, I have noticed a difference in kids. They’re just bad. Bad for no reason — but then I stopped and pondered a few things…
In my hometown, you can’t be in the mall past 6pm without a parent/guardian if you’re under 18 (and said parent/guardian has to be 21+). You can’t go to the local amusement park if you’re under 18 without a 21+ parent/guardian. If you want to go to the bowling alley, you have to actually bowl (ok, I know — that’s obvious — but when options are limited, bowling every weekend is not exactly one’s idea of fun). Just recently there was a shooting (4 injured) at the local park and I’m sure the response there will be to put an age lockdown on the park as well (they already have some rules about “after dark” so…) So what’s a 15-17 yr old to do in a town where there’s not too many more options for things to do?
When I was 15-17 I could go to the mall, the local amusement park and the bowling alley turned into a slick little club after aboout 9pm on the weekends and we spent a LOT of time at the park. The other thing I thought about was how my high school required an after school activity. For many of us, this meant a sport. Either way, you were tied up doing stuff until about 6-7pm every night. At the time I hated that requirement, but now I understand why. It kept us out of trouble — it was like it’s own after school activity. Kids NEED that kind of constructive environment, even though they’ll hate it off GP.
Parents do need to reign in their kids more, but I think many of us had access to constructive outlets that kids today just don’t have. Parents work longer hours and they stay cutting stuff for the kids (a school district in IL recently approved a move to 4-day school weeks). That “takes a village” thing isn’t an old school idea, no matter how much we think it is
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Miss Jenkins Reply:
March 29th, 2010 at 10:16 am
I support the adage. The problem with the “its a village” thing is that these same young parents having these kids don’t believe it in anymore. I used to get snatched up by neighbors, and play aunties and uncles for acting up. If people saw a kid acting up in the street, it wasn’t unheard of for them to check the kid. Now you do that, and the parents are ready to fight you for doing what they should be doing.
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ASmith Reply:
March 29th, 2010 at 10:21 am
You’re absolutely right about that. None of the right people believe the adage anymore, it seems.
A few weeks ago, my friend, who is student teaching right now, had two of her cell phones stolen. As did a friend of her’s who she’d invited to talk to those bad ass kids…
Anyway, kids are dumb so it wasn’t that hard to figure out who had the phone. The principal of the school called the kid’s parents in. My friend said as soon as she saw them she knew it was gonna be a problem. First question the mother asks…
“Do you have a receipt?”
I told my friend I woulda asked her if SHE had a receipt, cause unless she bought that phone for her son, he shouldn’t have it, PERIOD.
I don’t get people these days…
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N.I.A. naturally Reply:
March 29th, 2010 at 10:59 am
A receipt? lol. These young parents are a trip. My mother is back in the classroomm, and she is teaching my classmates children. It’s surreal. And whe says they come up their switching their hips, and rolling their necks, ready to defend their child to the end. Thing is, these parents know their children are little terrors.
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ASmith Reply:
March 29th, 2010 at 11:01 am
And that’s what trips me out. You know your kid needs to be taken out back but you wanna defend him.
No ma’am… no sir… your kid is a hellion and that’s on YOU. Quit playing.
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Keeping in really real… Some of these kids need to not exist. Kids are the biggest influence on kids. If we cut out on the bad ones we have a better chance with these kids.
I support death camps. Nazi style prisons for these bad ass kids, and if they don’t show improvement, they can hit the oven.
If these kids aren’t going to play by rules, why should we as adults? Hit em where it hurts… Also we need more social workers with higher pay. That way we can expand child protective services. Instead of protecting children, they should be protecting society by taking away kids from parents that can’t control their kids.
I have other ideas to control the population that violate every civil liberty you can name… I just don’t have much faith in man.
#canublameme?
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Slim Jackson Reply:
March 29th, 2010 at 9:50 am
Death camps? Really dog? I can’t.lol. I agree with the higher paid social workers, but this death camp business…smh.
I just stopped and thought for 2 minutes. I still can’t.lol.
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N.I.A. naturally Reply:
March 29th, 2010 at 10:11 am
Wow! Death camps?! lol.
I suggest we round them up, put them in a hardcore military school. Teach these little knuckleheads some discipline, since it’s obvious they aren’t getting it at home.
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LCD Reply:
March 29th, 2010 at 10:32 am
Depends on the personality of said ‘knuckleheads’. Some will shape up. Others won’t. Death camps? Really? That’s a little extreme! lol. What my high school does is the boys sometimes take trips to the local prisons. Some of them get scared s***less lol. Like I said depends on the personality. Just like you can’t bible thump someone into believing in a higher power, some people just can’t behave themselves.
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SaneN85 Reply:
March 29th, 2010 at 11:55 am
That’s just wrong CheekZ, besides if death camps are the way of the future, it needs to be the parents who aren’t doing their jobs correctly. Just my .02.
I still think people should have to apply for a license to have children.
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No only are the kids of today bad as all hell, they’re HUMONGOUS! I don’t know what they’re on, but I look at elementary and middle schoolers of today, and they remind me of my high school peers. This is also the parents’ fault.
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Miss Jenkins Reply:
March 29th, 2010 at 11:07 am
It’s the hormones in the chicken.
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In general PARENTS ARE ATROCIOUS THESE DAYS!!! Young parents, stupid parents, complacent parents, busy parents… whatever u want to call them – they aren’t doing their jobs & expect the government/schools to raise their kids for them. Yeah, I think YouTube & television has done a number on the youngins too, but that is no excuse. I wasn’t allowed to watch tv or get on the computer but for a specific, miniscule period of time during the week. Parents, figure it out yo. Y’all r eff’n up & ur kids are getting stupider, & society is trailing pretty closely behind. There just aren’t enough of the good ones to go around.
As for the “village”… ppl don’t see past themselves these days.
As for constructive outlets… my parents made us clean the house.
It starts in the home.
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Smiley Face Reply:
March 29th, 2010 at 11:26 am
“As for constructive outlets….”
basically!! there was no such thing as “I’m bored” in my house…da hell, that wasn’t an option. if you were still bored after cleaning the shower or mowing the lawn or helping my dad build steps, then you were short
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I think we should also realize that the period of adolescence is getting wider and wider as time goes by. At one time in this country, it was common and expected by society for a 16 year old to be married, starting a family, and supporting that family. The time of adolescence was very short and lasted only a few years (ages 12- 16). But now, most children are not able to be financially independent and stand on their own, until their mid 20′s (you don’t even have to leave your parents insurance until then). And then after achieving this independence, there are some who don’t want to start having families until they are in their 30′s. With all of the needs, demands and attractions of today’s society, it has been made virtually impossible for any 17 year old to completely support themselves.
Now, society paints a different expectation for this age group, which is primarily based on how fly your ride is, how stylish clothes are, how good you are in bed and whether you can get into the hottest nightclubs/parties. The general lack of responsibility that young people have in taking care of themselves or others in comparison with generations past is ridiculous.
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I’m a middle school teacher. I teach in the “hood”, in a school with a high failure rate, high truancy rate, high level of violence, etc. Our school is located at the dead end of a dilapidated street – literally.
Through working there I have learned:
1) “The apple don’t fall far from the tree.” Truer words were never spoken. When you have a child who is poorly performing academically, ridiculously disrespectful, rude, and violent you can bet your bottom dollar his/her primary parent (or grandparent) behaves the very same way. It is futile in some cases to even call the parent about poor behavior and academics. Either they aren’t concerned or they just don’t know what to do.
2) Our children value nothing. *shivers* They just don’t. Everything they have they’ve been given regardless of their behavior or achievements. Name brands run the land. C’s and D’s are acceptable on the report cards. N’s and U’s in conduct are tolerated. And they still show up to school without ANY supplies, but wearing brand new Jordan’s, etc. 6th grade girls wear RED acrylic nails and braids to their butts. 8th grade girls wear lewdly colored weaves and clothes so tight its irritating to MY skin. There are no real consequences to misbehavior.
3) The value of education, in general, is waning. Our children live in a land where their immediate feeds to the world (tv, radio – they don’t really read much) portray unrealistic images of success. Our young black men, regardless of their academic performance, all want to be professional athletes and rappers. That’s it. Deferred gratification is a myth. They want it all now, and they don’t want to have to put forth any real effort to obtain it. Our very young children have learned to use violence both as a means of defense as well as to gain success. Sadly, our very young children are also learning to use “sexuality” in order to gain success and manipulate their way through life.
It’s sad.
There’s hope.
The blessing is this doesn’t describe ALL of our children and ALL of the parents. I am encouraged by the fact that there are still Honors students and ambitious students who have tangible plans for the future. I am supported by parents who really are invested in their child’s future and who believe that discipline helps forge the path to success. Sadly, though, the negativity that pervades often overshadows the efforts of these people. It is honestly hard for students to be successful and confident in the environment in which I teach. I tutor, I sponsor a majorette squad, I stay after school 5 days per week to help in whatever way I can. I come on the weekends for Saturday school when we have that.
My pledge is to stay dedicated, but there is so much more that needs to be done. *sigh*
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I constantly find myself looking at kids nowadays and shaking my head feeling like some old lady. I just don’t think there is any excuse. Being a product of the cracked out 80′s I can’t feel bad for these kids complaining that they don’t get enough attention or they are bored or any other bs. I was a latch key kid. I had to be home at a certain time and if I didn’t answer the phone at check in, that was my behind. My parents, grandparents, older cousins, siblings, neighbors and anyone else who caught me acting up would beat me or at least tell to insure I got beat later.
I think the problem is totally technology. Kids do not know how to really interact with people unless its via FB or Twitter. They don’t see what the real world is unless its on youtube. Hell kids don’t even play anymore. The girls I mentor looked at me like I was crazy when I mentioned double dutch. These kids need to be kicked out the house and off the wii and everything else. Go outside and play like children should with other children and maybe then they will start to act like children again instead of houligans. These crazy kids stay locked away on computers and video games and when they go out and get together they don’t even know what to do other than act an a**. Just makes me sick.
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i find this EXACTLY the same sentiment i was talkin to the fellas about on the b-ball court.. i think there’s a general lack of parenting happening.. i can’t blame any one thing.. but i WILL say that i think it has to do with the age at which these people are having children.. Bernie Mac joked about it, but when the mothers are in their teens, and grandmothers are still clubbin too.. then who does look after the children?? tv, Wii, internet.. all these things just to get the children “out of the way”.. i’m not saying we sat at the kichen table every evening, but i DID get school lessons during summer break.. and i DID have my behind whupped if the teacher called the house..
it’s a lack of interest on the parents’ part.. and no one believes that “you are a direct reflection of me so act right..” when did we get so lazy.. i’m a product of the 80′s.. and was around when Mtv first came on.. but that didn’t mean that all of a sudden my mother didn’t go to parent’s night.. not only that, but how can we act like we’re so offended when other races look at blacks and shake their heads too..
i feel like an old a** woman when i see the children around today.. it’s like no one cares.. no one takes pride in themselves, or in their home.. OH but everyone is ready to fight and have excuses when you try to tell them so..
the problem is so deep that the surface isn’t even scratched.. it’s one of those things that didn’t get nipped in the bud.. and now a majority of the people are scared of the work that it’ll take to get back on track.. i’ve experienced this firsthand, as my mother raised my brother totally different from me…
i told my mother one of the best things she taught me was several ways i’m not going to raise my children.. (she had to hear the truth..)
even if she can’t handle it..
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Oooo this was good – mainly cause I always feel like the old lady. Anywho. Once I was on a date with this guy in DC -Chinatown or Penn Quarter as the new folks like to call it. And it’s a rack of youngins just monopolizing the sidewalk. Everywhere you turned. Boys chasin after lil girls. Sittin on folks cars. Hormones just pumping up and down the street. I say to him, “this is unacceptable and it’s too late for them to be out and they need to be in the house.” He was all, “what’s wrong with it?” Um is you crazy? What’s wrong with it is that dozens of children should not be out in the streets- nowhere close to where they stay- without supervision. Fenty better put up some rec centers or something. It’s a dangerous situation all around. And nowadays you can’t tell these kids anything. Say excuse me and you’re liable to get knocked out.
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ASmith Reply:
March 29th, 2010 at 2:56 pm
I absolutely CANNOT with Chinatown.
I fundamentally refuse to go there, especially on a weekend. You can’t go anywhere because that’s where all the kids go.
“Hormones pumping” is EXACTLY what’s going on. A daggone shame, man… daggone shame.
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Rum Punch Reply:
March 29th, 2010 at 3:11 pm
Yesss! I distinctly remember thinking, “this ain’t right.” And since that incident, I have only been down to Chinatown on a weekend a couple of times. Now granted I came up during a time when Fridays and Saturday nights were spent at the go-go – which sometimes wasn’t the best place to be – but um er we definitely weren’t on 7th Street terroizing people with our mere presence. Someone open up a safe(r) version of the Black Hole for these babies. Heh.
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N.I.A. naturally Reply:
March 29th, 2010 at 3:22 pm
I don’t even like going to the mall on Friday and Saturday nights b/c of all the teens running around. I can’t even imagine what it must be like in Chinatown.
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Slim Jackson Reply:
March 29th, 2010 at 3:05 pm
When you say hormones pumping, do you mean the boys are pumping the girls or that there’s just a lot of attitude all around? Both perhaps?
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Rum Punch Reply:
March 29th, 2010 at 3:16 pm
Lmao. Well I do feel like I saw some kids making out in the alley as I walked to my car. But I also just meant there’s that teen energy in the air – you know when they’re horny and hollerin’ and trying to get at everything that’s movin. And we won’t even talk about the gay teens in skinny jeans and heels who are doing catwalks up and down the sidewalk. And bay-bay, yes there’s plenty of a-tti-tude and growness. It’s a mess. Really.
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Miss Jenkins Reply:
March 29th, 2010 at 5:21 pm
ugh.
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