Just a matter of time before vigilantes

[Eagledad]

Here is a piece from Forbes that underlines the noble vision of Scouting and values intended to influence in our youth.http://www.forbes.com/sites/billfrezza/2013/11/26/the-knockout-game-goes-viral-the-hunger-games-its-not/

 

“Rather, they appear to be manhood rituals designed to increase the esteem of attackers amongst their peers. Both the hoodlums involved and their laughing companions seem to accord no more moral significance to these violent attacks than they would to pulling the wings off flies.â€Â

 

 

[Eagledad]

It is not my intention to point at inner city black familles, but this article got me thinking about my son who is a high school teacher in a high risk inner city school. Only 80% of his students are hispanic. He says the Hispanics also have manhood rituals that push them into starting fights that prove their worth. Barry

 

[qwazse]

I resent the tone the article takes toward my "at risk" venturers of a particular race and child-rearing situation. Were I to take it to it's conclusion, I would presume that my (fortunately formerly) homeless youth of minority persuasion is doomed to thuggery, while I have nothing to worry about from my supposedly well-parented poor-impulse-control youth.

 

Actually, it seems that the former youth is being forced to work (picking up magician jobs at the last minute) for a living and necessarily has to be courteous to all to keep from the brink of starvation. Meanwhile, the other fellow has free time and sufficient shelter to develop a surly and ill-tempered attitude.

 

Our kids are exposed to innumerable man/womanhood rituals that undermine their proper character development. It's our jobs as caring adults to call their attention to any of it.

 

One of my phrases to ALL of my "gangsta wannabe" youth: "Thuggery does not become you." I really, really hope they all take it to heart.

[Eagledad]

I resent the tone the article takes toward my "at risk" venturers of a particular race and child-rearing situation. Were I to take it to it's conclusion, I would presume that my (fortunately formerly) homeless youth of minority persuasion is doomed to thuggery, while I have nothing to worry about from my supposedly well-parented poor-impulse-control youth.

 

Actually, it seems that the former youth is being forced to work (picking up magician jobs at the last minute) for a living and necessarily has to be courteous to all to keep from the brink of starvation. Meanwhile, the other fellow has free time and sufficient shelter to develop a surly and ill-tempered attitude.

 

Our kids are exposed to innumerable man/womanhood rituals that undermine their proper character development. It's our jobs as caring adults to call their attention to any of it.

 

One of my phrases to ALL of my "gangsta wannabe" youth: "Thuggery does not become you." I really, really hope they all take it to heart.

>>Our kids are exposed to innumerable man/womanhood rituals that undermine their proper character development. It's our jobs as caring adults to call their attention to any of it.

[NeverAnEagle]

Everyone needs manhood/womanhood rituals. The problem is not the rituals, the problem is that society has removed the normal routes for such rituals to occur.

 

Healthy Manhood rituals:

Hunters Education/First Kill

Learning to Drive (in the snow, on a logging road)

First Job

First time to run the Chainsaw/fall 1st tree

 

Rejoicing in manhood and recognizeing and celebrating comming of age rituals will reduce the incidence of unhealthy rituals.

[Cambridgeskip]

Interesting article in how it it brings up coming of age and manhood rituals. Such a pity that the writer used that observation to mount a political attack on the welfare state. The fact is that if welfare was the problem then Scandanavian countries would have the worst crime and poverty rates in the world. They don't. These rituals, often tied in with gangs do of course point to the very basic human need to "belong" to something. Scouting of course recognises this as to many other organisations. In the military you pass out from basic training, in scouts you get invested, at church you get confirmed and so on. ie it's not just about belonging to something it's about that something also acknowledging your membership of it. Which is one of the reasons scouting is so successfull. As NeverAnEagle points out if we, as responsible adults, don't provide a healthy sense and acknowledgement of belonging it's the gangs that will pick up the pieces and put them back together in a very ugly picture.

[Twocubdad]

I can't decide if the article is brutally honest or just mean. Perhaps both.

 

Skip, a pet peeve of mine it the comparison of idyllic socialist democracies of Scandinavia with the US. Arguably one could compare Scandinavia with New England, but not the US as a whole.

[JoeBob]

Is it time to revive that Concealed Carry thread?

http://shark-tank.net/2013/11/22/thug-playing-racially-motivated-knockout-game-gets-shot-twice-by-victim/

 

"One teen playing the Knockout Game ... attacked a concealed carry permit holder. Marvell Weaver attempted to attack a father who was waiting for his daughter at a bus stop. The middle-aged man tried to use a taser on Weaver. When that failed, he pulled out a .40 cal handgun and shot the teen two times. ... After being taken into custody, Weaver admitted that he had previously attacked seven people prior to the father. Maybe he’ll think twice before assaulting random civilians again when he gets out of the slammer. "

 

 

[Cambridgeskip]

Twocubdad I think you misunderstand me, in fact I think we are saying similar things just from different perspectives. Direct comparisons between North America and Scandanavia, indeed between any two countires/cultures are not very helpful simply because it results in massive over simplification of what are often very difficult and complex issues. Which is exactly why the writer pointing the finger at welfare is not helpful. The reasons behind the crime and gang culture will no doubt be complex and diffiicult to resolve. My comment about Scandanavia was simply to point out the absurdity of making simplistic arguments. And no, I don't have the answers to these problems either. I do believe though that anyone that starts waving simple answers around to complex issues is either stupid or has a personal axe to grind and is using the issue as a tool for doing so.

[Twocubdad]

Twocubdad I think you misunderstand me, in fact I think we are saying similar things just from different perspectives. Direct comparisons between North America and Scandanavia, indeed between any two countires/cultures are not very helpful simply because it results in massive over simplification of what are often very difficult and complex issues. Which is exactly why the writer pointing the finger at welfare is not helpful. The reasons behind the crime and gang culture will no doubt be complex and diffiicult to resolve. My comment about Scandanavia was simply to point out the absurdity of making simplistic arguments. And no, I don't have the answers to these problems either. I do believe though that anyone that starts waving simple answers around to complex issues is either stupid or has a personal axe to grind and is using the issue as a tool for doing so.

Agreed.

 

7 8 9 10

[Huzzar]

Twocubdad I think you misunderstand me, in fact I think we are saying similar things just from different perspectives. Direct comparisons between North America and Scandanavia, indeed between any two countires/cultures are not very helpful simply because it results in massive over simplification of what are often very difficult and complex issues. Which is exactly why the writer pointing the finger at welfare is not helpful. The reasons behind the crime and gang culture will no doubt be complex and diffiicult to resolve. My comment about Scandanavia was simply to point out the absurdity of making simplistic arguments. And no, I don't have the answers to these problems either. I do believe though that anyone that starts waving simple answers around to complex issues is either stupid or has a personal axe to grind and is using the issue as a tool for doing so.

The author was talking explicitly about welfare in the USA and its deleterious affect on black family structure in the USA. Pointing the finger in this case is extremely helpful. What to do about it is the complicated part.

[qwazse]

Twocubdad I think you misunderstand me, in fact I think we are saying similar things just from different perspectives. Direct comparisons between North America and Scandanavia, indeed between any two countires/cultures are not very helpful simply because it results in massive over simplification of what are often very difficult and complex issues. Which is exactly why the writer pointing the finger at welfare is not helpful. The reasons behind the crime and gang culture will no doubt be complex and diffiicult to resolve. My comment about Scandanavia was simply to point out the absurdity of making simplistic arguments. And no, I don't have the answers to these problems either. I do believe though that anyone that starts waving simple answers around to complex issues is either stupid or has a personal axe to grind and is using the issue as a tool for doing so.

And that's the problem. The "ward of the welfare state" may be busting hump to be gainfully employed. He can't afford marriage, but needs a companion to make it through the day. So he and a decent young woman situate themselves as best they can. She is to cautious to commit to the fella, but it sure beats agitating in the "mean girl's" world. If they stick with it, they might make it.

 

But, the egotistic white world keeps pointing fingers because a handful of fellas who match his skin color are thugs.

 

Meanwhile some white boy's thuggery goes unnoticed because he's off the rolls. Mom and dad are sweeping problems under the rug. His manhood ritual may very we'll be to come out of nowhere with guns blazing.

 

What to do? Stop thinking that these problems are unique to one race would be a good start.