The long hot summer is about to begin and if this past warm Saturday is any indication, it’s going to be one hell of a ride! From shootings, to carjackings, to just bad behavior in general, I do not look forward to the warm summer days that are approaching.
Sadly, there is no one speaking out to the segment of the population that believes chaos is the norm, to tell them otherwise. We have become a society of excuse-makers. And worse, we have folks believing in their pathetic reasoning. My favorite that I can’t stand to hear is when folks claim you can no longer whip your children. If there’s one group within this entire country that continues to believe in spankings, it is black folks. The same with the ones who complain about prayer being taken out of the classroom. I went to school in the 1960s, and we never had to formally pray in class. What has changed, though, is the quality of parents who are raising children.
Truth be told, far too many folks are raising children who do not have any concept of limits. Those children feel entitled and free to do whatever they please. All one has to do is watch the news reports from this past weekend of young black teens hanging around Millennium Park to see “Bad Behavior In Action 101.”
If I had my way, when those teens get picked up for curfew violations, or creating whatever havoc, they would be obligated to spend at least 72 hours in a cell with their responsible adult. Within that cell, there would be one cot and one chair. It would be very interesting to see which one of them got to lie down to go to sleep. It might be the first time in years that the two of them really spent time together. It would be a wake-up call for both the child and the responsible adult (and, truthfully, the term “adult” is used quite loosely. Many who are parents are still in a childish mindset themselves).
We also need psychiatric service for both the parent and the child, and it should not be free because people’s pocketbooks always seem to purchase what they want while they beg for what they need. Since we know the majority of those kids do not live around Millennium Park, and are wearing the latest fashion, money is available within that household. So no excuses will be accepted.
My idea would be a huge undertaking, but because we don’t have a reset button to stop this bad behavior that is becoming the norm, then something has to be done that is a wake-up call to everyone involved.
I truly believe that those causing havoc need to see a physical reminder that their freedom is not free. And the price of that freedom will have to be paid, if not monetarily, then by time.
