Guest Columnist
Three seconds seems short, but I have witnessed black men make bad decisions to carry out an act of violence that not only changes their lives but their community. When black males feed off the emotion of anger, they don’t realizes that this triggers an irrational being that seeks to destroy.
You certainly can compare this type of behavior to that of a caged beast, whose thought process is limited. Yet when the black male displays uncontrollable behavior he is put within a different cage which he shares with another young male who has acquired this same type of unruly behavior. This does not benefit them at all, but only those who run the prison-industrial complex.
One bad decision to act on anger has put so many black men behind bars and made prosecuting attorneys aspire to political success stories. It’s all due to black men not listening to the voices of reason and allowing anger to dominate their thought process, leading to acts of violence.
What has happened within our community? We have lost our black men to violence due to some black men’s irrational mindset. Being tough does not always constitute black men putting on their violent behavior armor. Being smart means walking away from conflict and living to see another day.
Black men are descendents of scientists, kings and generals. So how did black men go from that greatness to boys in the ‘hood? I am still attempting to find that one out for myself.
So many times you have heard it before: blaming outside entities for the conditions within the black community. And I subscribe to this theory myself. But when it comes to the black man behaving very badly, there are some internal issues that must be discussed within the black community if there is going to be a change among black men who display this criminal behavior.
For starters, the family structure within the black community has been missing a strong, yet moral, male figure within the household. The black female has done a wonderful job of keeping the family structure together, but it just makes it so much easier if the black female has her natural soulmate to aid her in the process of raising the young black male, especially in today’s world.
The media often display the black man as some form of wild animal in our walk, talk and just the way we conduct ourselves around others. This gets instilled in younger – and, may I add, older – black men’s heads as the way of the black man. But it’s not so.
I would encourage all of you to question your male family members or friends. Ask them why black men have taken on this caged beast type of attitude toward life and what can be done to change this negative behavior. Let’s be proactive in combating violent behavior within black men, instead reactive. The time has come to stop the hellbound train that so many black men have chosen to board through the years.