Men Need to Stand for Integrity

Why are so many children in America’s cities dying? I’m specifically talking about children in the inner city that are killed by gunfire. Children are being shot at baby showers, in their living rooms while watching TV, at church cookouts, in the back seats of cars and in their sleep at home in bed. It’s because they are surrounded by men that lack integrity and don’t value Black children and families.

I’ve seen numerous online arguments where men’s common response to criticism is that women do it too. Not in this case. Inner city killings are almost always committed by men. So boys and men in America’s big cities are the focus of this post.

https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/crime/50-children-shot-st-louis-2020/63-b7e2b248-5322-4946-9706-904825daddb1

Over the last ten years it has become common for children including toddlers and infants to be killed by gunfire. What’s going on? Why is this happening? Concern for others would dictate that you don’t shoot into a house not knowing who is inside. A reasonable person would understand that that kind of carelessness will lead to harm. And it just seems like a waste of time, effort and ammo to fire a gun in order to settle a score and not be certain that the person you want to shoot is in the cross hairs. It’s as if there are men that simply want to incite terror.

in·teg·ri·ty/inˈteɡrədē/ Learn to pronounce nounnoun: integrity

1. the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness

https://www.kshb.com/news/local-news/legend-taliferros-mother-speaks-out-after-groups-protest-initiative-in-4-year-olds-name

A generation of boys has been raised to be primarily concerned for themselves and to only care about their own survival. They are taught that they are valuable by people that have low expectations for them. These boys are pandered to and treated as if they are pets. Meanwhile they aren’t taught proper boundaries.

It’s a recipe for disaster and we are seeing it play out on the evening news almost daily. There is also a lack of respect for Black womanhood. Any culture or organization that does not respect women and value healthy relationships with women is going to have problems and abuse.

I believe that there are predatory gangs that dominate the streets of America. They take advantage of young men and make them subservient. They demand loyalty as if they are a cult. Predatory gangs strip children from broken homes of their humanity and moral compass in order to use them as tools for chaos. The chaos is a screen for their inadequacies.

Without boundaries, integrity, responsibility or care for others we have communities where babies are becoming collateral damage of street battles between men. Black American children are dying in strollers and car seats before they have the opportunity to start kindergarten. It’s tragic and things are progressively getting worse.

There are several factors to inner city gun violence but I believe in controlling what one can control. Citizens can not regulate gun availability and factors such as unemployment, underemployment and racism. But we need men to lead boys to become productive men and set boundaries of decency. Men need to teach their sons, young cousins and nephews integrity. They also need to recognize it if they don’t have it themselves and develop a stronger character.

Conflicts, armed or otherwise need to stay between men and the conflicts should be dealt with in an honorable fashion. By honorable I mean deal with disagreements and offenses face to face. Men need to try talking or even fist fighting. I’m not unrealistic and I understand that violence occurs from time to time.

There is no reason to involve innocent people particularly children in their rivalries. The behavior that we are seeing on the evening news is that of cold blooded sociopaths. Men in the community need to take a stand against it or it will continue and all efforts to improve the Black community will be futile.

Men that live in the big cities of America need to stand for integrity and set proper boundaries within their own neighborhoods. Cowardly behavior like drive by shootings and groups of men jumping one men need to end. Blaming women for everything needs to stop. If men want to be respected as leaders the buck needs to stop with them and they need to hold themselves accountable for the death and destruction in inner city neighborhoods across America.

That’s where true change will start. Men need to stop the senseless violence that robs children of their chance at life and makes communities unlivable. Men need to take a stand for their families and communities. No one else can do that for them.

https://www.serenitymemorialkc.com/obituary/LeGend-Taliferro

Curtis Granderson: the Great Unifier

Absolutely anything can turn into an argument on social media. The most innocuous comment can draw a sharp tongued response from a fellow social media user with a chip on their shoulder. We can’t agree on anything these days. America is sharply divided by ideology: Democrat, Republican, faithful, Atheist, does pineapple belong on pizza or not, who do you hate more the Patriots or the Cowboys? In this day and age we have a hard time respectfully allowing others to have an opinion without passing judgement on their character. I do it too.

But I’ve noticed that there is one subject everyone agrees on: Curtis Granderson. No one ever says anything bad about him. Like never, ever. All of the social media comments that I’ve seen about Curtis have been admirable. That’s an incredible accomplishment in an environment where a picture of a cupcake or puppy can start an argument.

Curtis is the outfielder Curtis Granderson for the LA Dodgers. I’ve followed his career since he played for my Detroit Tigers around ten years ago. I’ve had a crush on the man since then. He’s tall, athletic, Black, wealthy and absolutely charming with old fashioned manners. You can tell he was raised by adult parents with common sense and morals that instilled good values in their son. That’s rare. The only person that compares is J.J. Watt who is the blonde, blue eyed NFL equivalent.

I think the secret to Curtis’ popularity is that we don’t know much about the man. I’ve looked for information about the man’s personal life because I’ve been in love with him for like a decade but there isn’t much out there. Other than a Wikipedia page, articles about his charity and stats Curtis Granderson is a mystery. He has not given us anything to talk about or judge. Instead of seeking attention he uses discretion. Discretion is not appreciated much in this social media world of ours.

Anyway, God bless Curtis Granderson. I’m still hoping the Royals will win the Wild Card and make it into the Pennant Race and make a good run for another World Series ring. Honesly, it’s not looking great for the Royals so I will jump on the LA Dodgers bandwagon and cheer them on for a World Series ring. Curtis deserves it. He’s had an impressive career and is a more impressive human being. Thank you Curtis Granderson for standing for class, tact and professionalism. The world appreciates you.

The Price of Peace – Shannon in Kansas City

For the world to have peace what would the sacrifice be?

Would we need to humble ourselves and show some humility?

Or should we stop being lead by greed and do more to help those in need?

Should we take a moment to understand a stranger’s point of view?

Or maybe open our hearts to someone different and new?

Be gracious and patient and loving and kind

Try it and you may be surprised to find

The price of peace is easier to pay than the retribution for hate on judgement day.

An original poem by SLF.