Emotional and Unprepared...

I was asked what did I think was plaguing the young men in our community…
Causing so much violence, unprotected sex and high school dropout rates,
My answer was simple,
These kids are emotional and unprepared…
Many looked at me with questions in their eyes,
They understood unprepared to a great extent,
But emotional?
Yes, emotional.
So many see emotional as crying,
Well just because someone isn’t crying on the outside,
Doesn’t mean they aren’t bawling on the inside,
And when someone lashes out,
With their fists, their penises or a gun,
That’s an emotional response in textbook form,
It means when they don’t know what else to do,
They allow their emotions to lead them to life-defining decisions,
We will all admit that women are often more emotional than men,
And with great reason,
So if most boys in our communities are being raised by women,
Especially disenfranchised women who are in emotional turmoil themselves,
By default they get to be more emotional, because we mirror what we see,
So they aren’t crying tears because the world frowns on that,
But perpetrating, ‘Hard’…
Causes emotional turmoil which manifests itself in violent acts,
And one can’t become prepared to do anything,
When from day one the response has been emotional,
And society has immediately placed a nametag on your chest,
So young people, African American boys mostly are sitting in classrooms,
Unable to compete because they have been led to believe that they have to personify Manhood even when they are children, when in fact very few have role models to mirror,
Which define true manhood…
Anytime anyone asks what made the difference in my boys,
I immediately say their dad,
They got to see a MAN,
Someone who loved and honored their mother,
And was able to guide them on the path to being men,
Letting them know that the lack of tears doesn’t make a man,
But how one prepares to face life does,
Showing them that the best battles are won with their minds,
And with education, hard work, honoring women and staying the course when it would be easier to stop and do nothing…
So until boys are raised to be men in this manner,
We will continue to be plagued by generations who are,
Emotional and Unprepared….to compete,
Or be complete…

Love and Blessings…
angelia