Sunday, December 7, 2014

being African- American/ New Yorkers for Children



Nov. 23 Being African- American: I found this on Yahoo news “7 Things I Can Do That My Black Son Can't” by Calvin Hennick on Oct. 27, 2014.  This is a really good article about being African- American and being white.  Here it is.  It’s a short article if you want to read it:

In the days after the Michael Brown shooting, I wrote an essay titled “I Hope My Son Stays White,” detailing my fears about what might happen to my biracial three-year-old son if he grows up to have dark skin. The upshot: America, to its shame, is still a place where black males are feared, and I don’t want that fear to turn itself on my son in a way that leads to his arrest or death.

  1. I Can Walk Through a Store Without Being Followed
  2. I Can Succeed Without It Being Attributed to My Race 
  3. I Learned About My Ancestors’ History in School 
  4. I Can Lose My Temper in Traffic 
  5. I Can Loiter in Wealthy Neighborhoods 
  6.  I Can Complain About Racism 
  7. I Can Count on Being Met on My Own Terms
Here are some comments:

Person: Why doesn't this man do what I did.  I adopted five babies (all adults now) two of them are black.  I brought up my children not seeing, or remarking on the color of their skin.  To me they were my children.  I did not look to the future and see what could happen.  I lived day by day and if racism came into the picture, which of course it did, I ignored it and pointed out to my children that "people who hate like that are very unhappy people.  Feel sorry for them".  That is exactly what my children did.  They grew up without a "complex" and dealt with day by day comments in a strong, loving way. 

They never felt "hurt" because they knew how much they were loved by those who new them, especially their parents and siblings.  My children certainly "jumped over them" and are now strong, successful, loving adults bringing up their own children in the same way.
 
Patrick: You have done your children -- and all of us -- a great service. Thank you.

My opinion: I have to agree with that Person and Patrick.  I support adoption.


School shooting: I found this on Yahoo on Oct. 24, 2014: “Two dead, including gunman, in shooting at Washington high school.”

Here is a CBC article:

“A student recently crowned freshman class homecoming prince walked into his Seattle-area high school cafeteria on Friday and opened fire without shouting or arguing, killing one person and shooting several others in the head before turning the gun on himself, officials and witnesses said.

The gunman was identified as student Jaylen Fryberg, a government official with direct knowledge of the shooting told The Associated Press. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.”

Yahoo comments:

Real Woman: Lots of angry people who feel like nothing they do or say matters.  Lots of bullying with kids and adults.  With the internet allowing everyone to speak it makes it hard to filter through all the trash and not take what is said to heart.  People need to learn ways to deal with problems and stress.  Interpersonal skills should be taught in high school along with conflict resolution.  It would be a much better world if schools and parents did this.

Laurene: Real Woman, I agree. People are so ready to criticize others. Blaming others for your problems or unhappiness seems to be rampant.  It is time to relax and take a deep breath before opening our mouths.  Words hurt.


My opinion: The kid Fryberg seems to be accepted in school if he was homecoming prince.  I don’t know why he shot up the school.  Depression, anger, mental illness, etc.  I don’t know.  If you feel depressed and angry, get help by calling a suicide hotline and don’t hurt people.

Sexual assault: I found this in Metro about 2 brothers in Calgary assaulted a teen girl.  She was waiting for the bus at 11:30pm.  This is terrible news, but at least they caught the rapists.


Kenya Miniskirt protest: A woman in Kenya was beaten up by a group of men because she was “indecently dressed.”


My opinion: That’s good there’s a protest about stop violence against women.

Nov. 24 Slender Man victim: This was back in Sept. 4, 2014.  Here is an excerpt:

“The 12-year-old Wisconsin girl stabbed 19 times by her friends in a twisted plot to honor the fictional character Slender Man was "excited" and "ready to learn" as she went back to school, a family spokesman says.

The pre-teen started seventh grade at Horning Middle School in Waukesha, Wisconsin, on Tuesday after a summer that included as many as eight doctor's appointments a week and physical and emotional therapy – but also leisurely joys like cookouts, fishing, playing with her pets and hunting the mall for the latest fashions, spokesman Steve Lyons tells PEOPLE.”

My opinion: When I first read about the stabbing, I was disturbed by it.  Those 2 friends of hers were mentally disturbed.  The recent Criminal Minds episode “Hashtag” discussed Slender Man.


Nov. 28 India suicides: I was reading in the Metro today: “India.  Girls killed selves, not raped: Investigators.”  6 months ago, it was believed that two teen girls were raped and then hanged from a tree in their village Katra in Utter Pradesh.  5 men were arrested and then released on bail.  Kanchan Prasad, spokeswoman of Central Bureau of Investigation (India’s FBI) then said the girls committed suicide because of shame over a relationship with a boyfriend.  They looked at the medical reports and there was no rape.

My opinion: I want to clarify the news here.  There wasn’t any rape so that’s good, but there is suicide.  It’s one of those news where there is something good, but still kind of hard.

New Yorkers for Children: I was reading in the newspaper and I found this.

 Here it is:

New Yorkers For Children (NYFC) was founded in 1996 by former Commissioner of the Administration for Children’s Services Nicholas Scoppetta, as the non-profit partner to Children’s Services. Over the past seventeen years, donations from individuals, corporations, and foundations have enabled us to support the child welfare community as a whole, as well as those programs that focus on the individual needs of young people in foster care. NYFC has developed programs that make a difference in the lives of young people including college scholarships, tutoring programs, job training, and networking opportunities.

You can donate to them here:

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