Shoot-em-up Lifestyle Claims Another Small Child

**Meddle** · February-26-12, 03:31 PM

Who's to say the kid isn't going to mug the 'mentor'?

**DetroitTeacher** · February-26-12, 03:34 PM

I am taking 4 kids to participate in YouthSpeak in Ann Arbor on March 24. Perhaps some of those folks who want to know what the kids have to say should stop by and listen. I'm not taking the cream of the crop kids, either. I am taking the kids with something to say, my outspoken kids. My angry at their environment kids. I can only take 4 because that's all I can fit into my vehicle. I also take them out to eat in A2 and it gets very expensive feeding more than 4 teens. I've done this for years and it's always produced some really deep conversation. I work with a professor at UM who brings his students into urban schools, detention facilities, and prisons for creative writing, art, and drama workshops. Most of his students are white and I've [[meaning my classes) NEVER had a negative experience. He's the same guy who coordinates the YouthSpeak. Just throwing the open invite out there. There will also be kids from Boysville and some other schools and facilities there...

**DetroitTeacher** · February-26-12, 03:36 PM

Meddle says:

Who's to say the kid isn't going to mug the 'mentor'?

Really? I mean come on...

**DetroitTeacher** · February-26-12, 03:42 PM

I have to admit that a few parents have told me to take my white ass home and stop trying to be a do-gooder with their kids. It hurts more than anyone can know to come to the realization that this is how they genuinely feel. I brush it off and carry on. I am not trying to be a do-gooder. I really do care about my kids, oftentimes more than their own parents do. That is the sad part.

Originally Posted by Buy American

Misleading? So where do you start if not in the home?
Wherever these kids lay their heads at night is home. If mom, grandma, auntie or sissy is there to raise these kids then so be it. It has to start somewhere. I can't imagine me, white as white, going into one of these homes and try to tell parents or relatives how to raise their kids....can you imagine??? There would be such an uproar about "race" and I sure wouldn't want to be in the middle of it. Exactly where do you do the mentoring and volunteering? At some church, at my house, at the school? You can't get the kids to participate in school, you can't get the parents to participate in the kids, so just how do you go about helping people who do not want to be helped except to find out where to get the gun, the drug or the $200 shoes?

Clowncil has echoed this so many times it makes me sick...."leave us alone, we can handle our own problems, we don't need any outside help, Detroit is ours, blah, blah, blah" Seems to me as though the black population in Detroit feels like they OWN Detroit, that no one else can help, especially the State or suburbanites. Well, they have their hands full now and I wonder what their solution will be.

**PlymouthRes** · February-26-12, 03:45 PM

Meddle must have been joking, as that comment, although valid, shows how little involvement he or she has in doing any type of mentoring.

Since I am 6'-3" and over 210 lbs., that has never been a problem for me.......if I worried about things like that, I'd be holed-up in my house forever and be as ineffective as the crooks want us all to be.

I also try not to put my opinions out there without thinking about how it will affect the kids I'm working with. I consider myself there to be a teacher and an example.

If it does happen, I knew what I was getting myself into BEFORE becoming a mentor. Getting mugged can happen anywhere now, not just in Detroit.

**antongast** · February-26-12, 03:56 PM

Originally Posted by Buy American

I can't imagine me, white as white, going into one of these homes and try to tell parents or relatives how to raise their kids....can you imagine??? There would be such an uproar about "race" and I sure wouldn't want to be in the middle of it.

Frankly, in your posts on here you come off as a very angry, unpleasant person. Maybe instead of chewing out hypothetical black people for being insufficiently receptive to your condescending, contempt-filled screeds, you should think carefully about the words that come out of your mouth and/or keyboard and try to figure out what about them causes people of all races to react to you so poorly.

Buy American · February-26-12, 04:38 PM

Originally Posted by antongast

Frankly, in your posts on here you come off as a very angry, unpleasant person. Maybe instead of chewing out hypothetical black people for being insufficiently receptive to your condescending, contempt-filled screeds, you should think carefully about the words that come out of your mouth and/or keyboard and try to figure out what about them causes people of all races to react to you so poorly.

Angry, you bet I'm angry. If the slaughter of these children didn't matter to me, what the hell am I doing posting here? You'd think if I'm so unpleasant and racist that I'd say "have at it....kill each other, I don't give a damn". Am I saying those words, NO. I am angry at the parents, grandparents, young men and women out there who are procreating at a record pace with no idea of the consequences, no idea on how to raise children, no idea what it means to get an education...then some young innocent baby gets a bullet that explodes inside their tiny body and all of a sudden you see some 17, 18 or 19 year old mother crying about retaliation and a 37 year old grandmother calling the killers scum when she knew what the shooting was all about in the first place.
You say I'm chewing out hypothetical black people...lets face it...this is black on black genocide. If it were hispanic on hispanic I would be chewing them out as well. You are making this racial, not me. Because this is about blacks, all of a sudden I'm racist...that's old and getting older every day.
I can see that some want to do nothing but make excuses for what's going on in Detroit and want to blame others for their terrible situations, but responsibility lies with the parents and or relatives to teach civility within the home.

**antongast** · February-26-12, 04:45 PM

Originally Posted by Buy American

You are making this racial, not me.

Excuse me, you said this:

Originally Posted by Buy American

I can't imagine me, white as white, going into one of these homes and try to tell parents or relatives how to raise their kids....can you imagine??? There would be such an uproar about "race" and I sure wouldn't want to be in the middle of it.

That implies that you think your advice would be discounted because you're white. I'm saying no, your advice would be discounted because you would probably come off the same way in person as you do on DetroitYes, and if you want people to react to you differently you should try behaving differently. Any further motives you might try to ascribe to me are entirely in your own head.

Buy American · February-26-12, 04:50 PM

Originally Posted by PlymouthRes

BA-

I thought I was pretty clear in my first sentence. Mis-leading in the fact that they have no home in some cases, and are pretty transient in their movements, never really have the stability that we all know is key to a child's development. While I realize your frustration with the adults at the table, abandoning the children in need is not the answer, either.

I am sure that you having worked for DFD was one of the reasons you make the statements you do, but come on, man. I worked for EMS in the late 70's and early 80's and saw some things, too, but I have always felt that being there and trying to help was better than bitching about it.

I can assure you that I personally know that I have been very well received in the black community that I have served in. I have volunteered extensively at the Georgia Street Community Garden, Fort Wayne, Detroit Historical Society, Focus Hope and currently with Preservation Detroit, and I know that I have made a small, but useful impact in those places just by doing exacttly what you are talking about. Sometimes just being there hepls to beak down those stereotypes that you always throw out there about the black community.

If you were there, you would see it as well.

I am often asked why I do this and my answer always is that it needs to be done, 'cause it ain't happining in the "homes" that exist in most of their worlds.

You can only bitch and moan so long before you get off your ass and do something. Perhaps that time is now for you?

What "statements" are you talking about? Why would working for the DFD have anything to do with what I'm talking about now? How long did you work for EMS, 10, 15, 20 years?
Do you know me? Did you hear me bitching when I worked for DFD? I don't think so.
I'm glad to hear that you're well received in the black community, or the hispanic community or the chinese community...it doesn't matter what the race is because this isn't about race...it's about people taking responsibility for their actions, the children they produce, getting an education. As far as being there and seeing it....been there, done that. How many children do you see? How many parents participate? I would venture to guess it's minimal compared to all those dysfunctional families out there that need simple life lessons to be able to live with one another without violence.

Yes, now I bitch about the situation that I see happening before my eyes, it makes me sick to know that with each generation that is born, the situation perpetuates itself over and over again with not much hope to change things. Educate the men and women, boys and girls to want to learn how to live in this world then maybe there will be a change.

Buy American · February-26-12, 04:59 PM

Originally Posted by antongast

Excuse me, you said this:

That implies that you think your advice would be discounted because you're white. I'm saying no, your advice would be discounted because you would probably come off the same way in person as you do on DetroitYes, and if you want people to react to you differently you should try behaving differently. Any further motives you might try to ascribe to me are entirely in your own head.

You've got to be kidding me. In your own mind it implies that. It wouldn't matter if it were a black family, a hispanic family or a chinese family, but we are talking about families in Detroit and I know that the majority of these kids are black, that doesn't make me racist. Take my statement for what it is, nothing more, nothing less. Do you really expect me to not feel that I would not be welcome? When clowncil talks about not wanting help from the State [[white) or suburbanites [[white), who makes it racial? Is this a double standard here? Some Detroiters can say whatever they want about whites but if a white person says something about blacks, all of a sudden it racial? Give me an effen break!
I don't need anyones approval for what I feel and for what my opinions are, least of all your approval.
You want to continue to make excuses for the behavior of some people in Detroit then you go right ahead, but I'm angry and I don't care who knows it.

**antongast** · February-26-12, 05:21 PM

Originally Posted by Buy American

You've got to be kidding me. In your own mind it implies that. It wouldn't matter if it were a black family, a hispanic family or a chinese family, but we are talking about families in Detroit and I know that the majority of these kids are black, that doesn't make me racist. Take my statement for what it is, nothing more, nothing less. Do you really expect me to not feel that I would not be welcome? When clowncil talks about not wanting help from the State [[white) or suburbanites [[white), who makes it racial? Is this a double standard here? Some Detroiters can say whatever they want about whites but if a white person says something about blacks, all of a sudden it racial? Give me an effen break!
I don't need anyones approval for what I feel and for what my opinions are, least of all your approval.
You want to continue to make excuses for the behavior of some people in Detroit then you go right ahead, but I'm angry and I don't care who knows it.

I know, I know, you're a flawless, perfect person, and everybody else is persecuting you because you're white, or because you buy American, or because you were a firefighter, or whatever, I can't keep track. It clearly has nothing at all to do with you. Nothing is your fault! Keep on being excellent.

Buy American · February-26-12, 05:29 PM

Right, right, right, right.
Not my fault, right.
Excellent, right....first correct words you've spoken all day!

Ravine · February-26-12, 05:55 PM

Whether we agree with Buy American or not, and no matter how we see what BA writes, BA is speaking BA's mind sans political correctness or various encodings.
The first step toward a meaningful, constructive discussion is honesty. Somebody's got to start telling the truth about how they really feel, or we can dance around this shit forever and get nofuckingwhere.

**Zacha341** · February-26-12, 05:55 PM

Detroit 300 Taking a Stand after Nine-Month-Old Murdered

http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/news...ed-20120222-ms

**antongast** · February-26-12, 06:15 PM

Originally Posted by Ravine

Somebody's got to start telling the truth about how they really feel, or we can dance around this shit forever and get nofuckingwhere.

I thought that was what I was doing.

Ravine · February-26-12, 06:40 PM

[QUOTE=antongast;306095]I thought that was what I was doing.[/QUOTE

And I assume that you are. My remark was not meant to imply anything about you. [[I don't imply.)
I made the comment about BA because BA stuck his/her neck out, rather far, in a forum as effetely liberal and pasteurized as is this one.

**detroitsgwenivere** · February-26-12, 07:07 PM

I've lived with black families before that on paper I have very little in common with [[I am of German heritage with a nazi-like Catholic school upbringing). But I know that when all was said and done, I had a huge impact on their lives as they had on mine. Sometimes looking for the similarities first is a good way to bridge the perceived gap between cultures [[or races, whatever) of people. Shutting up to listen to others for a change helps as well.

One family I lived with had all the sterotypes being brought up here. Young single mother, 4 kids of which 2 fathers were dead, one in prison, and one MIA. Mother was the product of drug and alcohol addicted mother and pimp mentality father, who became addicted to painkillers after she just couldnt take facing reality anymore.

I did the best I could for those kids, they are so awesome. Smart and funny, entertaining, loving, crazy, energetic, and full of potential. It was really hard watching some of the ridiculous dramatic BS that consumed this family's life, the going's on that I KNEW was going to compromise the way these children turned out in the end. Did race become an issue between us? Maybe a few times in the cultural sense [[They made fun of me and I made fun of em back). The biggest issue was me losing my patience when mom kept the oldest home at least two days a week to baby-sit the kids while I was at work and she was out doing God knows what. But they weren't my kids, and therefore all I could do was be there for them, answer their questions, provide an alternative safehaven, and help mom out when her eigth grade education failed to help her with the basics.

She became a grandma at 37. None of us were happy about this. But the baby having babies became the first to graduate high school in her family, the next oldest boy I am taking in a few weeks to fill out college entrance exams, and the two youngest have definitely become the brain trust in the pack. The next big step is to get mom to commit to inpatient drug rehabilitation, and prepare for the kids to come and stay with us until she's ready to face responsibiliy with a sober mind. We're almost there.

I'm not looking for a pat on the back, cuz there's no way I could've done it alone. My point is, people can make an impact on other peoples lives. You can make an impact on another person's child. Good people in the city of D do it everyday, but we just can't do it all by ourselves. Stop making excuses. Sign up with one of a myriad of organizations that will get you right into the nitty gritty, even if it's only reading to children an hour a week or gift-adopting at x-mas.

Or you can do what I did. Go out into your neighborhood and get to know these street kids. Try being nice to em, that works sometimes.

Shit or get off the pot.

"If the young are not initiated into the village, they will burn it down to feel it's warmth." - African proverb

Buy American · February-26-12, 07:16 PM

http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/news...ip-20120222-ms

More with the Detroit 300.

**stromberg2** · February-26-12, 09:00 PM

I will say this,then I will jump out, Buy American is far from a racist.

Stromberg2

**black gold man** · February-26-12, 11:16 PM

Another kid takes a bullet. Six year old shot carjacking warren and alter.

**Blueidone** · February-26-12, 11:55 PM

There is no "one answer" to all of what is happening in our society today. Yes, some of the kids need better parenting. Some of the kids have great parents yet they turn to gangs and violence anyway. Some kids have parents who are uneducated and poor and can't find work, so the easiest fastest way to get money to feed the family is to deal drugs. Some kids have parents who are drug addicts who care about nothing but getting their next fix. Some kids have educated, hard-working parents who still can't feed their families. Some kids grow up in families with no religious affiliation..maybe that's the problem. Some kids grow up in very religious families, yet choose not to follow in their parents' footsteps. Some kids yearn for a good education. Some kids could care less.

Changing adult mindset and behavior is difficult at best. But changing the attitude, or outlook, or mindset or behavior of a child is easier. Not EASY...but easier. They are more open to change. I think we all need to show those who may be straying from the best paths in life, that there is a better path. A path where people care about them. A path where education just might get them to a better place in life. A path were being kind and caring to other people can perhaps lead you to being treated with more kindness and caring.

I wish I had started many years ago doing what I can to help. My work with Cub and Georgia Street has shown me that it DOES take a village. It's hard work and at my age and physical status, it's getting more and more difficult. But I will keep doing what I can. I believe there is hope when I see the look in the childrens' eyes when we show them how to do something new...something as simple as making a christmas tree from a pinecone....or decorating cookies.

Love is the answer...love of life, love of family, love for your fellow human beings and love of God...no matter which God you worship. We all need to work to make it better...one house, one street...one neighborhood at a time [[to quote a wise man I know

) And a little bit of prayer for the souls who have lost their way wouldn't hurt either.

Buy American · February-27-12, 12:00 AM

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/B...q/-/index.html

Bring back S.T.R.E.S.S., forget about the "rights" of these thugs, keep the ACLU out of Detroit, capital punishment, let the police stop whomever, whenever, however, if they have any, and I mean any reason to stop them. Get the guns no matter what it takes. Those thugs on Let It Rip are telling people to stay off their turf....WTF!

Ravine · February-27-12, 12:18 AM

Originally Posted by Buy American

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/B...q/-/index.html

Bring back S.T.R.E.S.S., forget about the "rights" of these thugs, keep the ACLU out of Detroit, capital punishment, let the police stop whomever, whenever, however, if they have any, and I mean any reason to stop them. Get the guns no matter what it takes. Those thugs on Let It Rip are telling people to stay off their turf....WTF!

Here's a pitiful thing:

I can forcefully argue against most of those points, but the situation has become so desperately tragic that I just can't summon up the spirit to do so.
I'm not saying, "Maybe you're right." I'm saying, "I don't have a better idea."

bartock · February-27-12, 12:31 AM

[

QUOTE=detroitsgwenivere;306102]I've lived with black families before that on paper I have very little in common with [[I am of German heritage with a nazi-like Catholic school upbringing).

like those nazi-like Jewish school upbringings? Funny you attribute an apparent racist upbringing to a religion the nazis hated.

I

'm not looking for a pat on the back, cuz there's no way I could've done it alone.

Yes you are. Don't disguise it. Good for you. Pat, pat.

Or you can do what I did.

Back to above.

"If the young are not initiated into the village, they will burn it down to feel it's warmth." - African proverb[/QUOTE]

Back to above again.

**Blueidone** · February-27-12, 08:58 AM

I do agree with you, BA, that there is not enough punishment for those who commit these horrendous crimes. There are not enough cops on the street. And the cops and prosecutors have trouble with the system who lets these trouble makers go. But then again, there's no room in the jails...they are closing some of what we have...and no one wants a new jail built in their backyard.

My son is just finishing his degree in criminal justice. All his life he has wanted to be a cop or a corrections officer or probation officer. But he can't get a job in Michigan. He has to go to Texas or New Mexico.

Again, the answers are not simple. In a perfect world where tax money was plentiful and all the right systems were in place, the world would be very different. But you can't institute a program like STRESS when you don't have enough officers or enough jails to put the criminals in. Let's face is, the City of Detroit [[and even the surrounding areas) are running out of money to give their citizens the very basic services.