Weekend Roundup...

We're going to hit on one specific topic, and one that I'm sure will evoke some emotion.

We're talking about VICTIMOLOGY (101).

Anyone that has ever read ANYTHING by Larry Elder, or heard him speak, already KNOWS where I'm going with this, but if you've missed the ship on this one, allow me to explain.

Victimology is a mindset where a person feels that the world basically owes them a living. This is based totally on their feelings of (unfounded) oppression, and is most commonly found in minority groups, especially those of the inner city.

They are the ones with their hands constantly out, their crocodile tears on the MSM airwaves, saying how they've been "put down" over the years, when all it REALLY is, is their sheer and utter lack of self-motivation. Because they are UNMOTIVATED, everyone else has to take them under their wing, feel sorry for their plight, lift them up, and wind up taking care of multi-generational and dysfunctional welfare "families" (for lack of a more descriptive term) in the process.

Everyone ELSE is to blame for their lot in life. It's NEVER about holding THEM accountable. And I have a real problem with that.

Take this city's recent homicide (#3 for those keeping score in the pool at work).

Contrell Brown, a "typical" young black male (18), described by his family (where IS the father?) as a loyal and respectful young man who showered his family with gifts.

Oh...Really?

Where did he WORK at that he could AFFORD all these gifts?

That's never mentioned.

“He was a good kid,” said Brown's aunt, Shawnte Brown, 30. “He was real close to his family and he was crazy about kids.”

Oh...Really?
Why was an ACTIVE WARRANT out for his arrest? (failure to appear in court)
Why did he run from police last Friday on Buell St.? (he KNEW he was wanted )

Why did he have a " lengthy juvenile record", as cited in the article if he was SUCH a "good kid"? Good kids stay OUT of trouble, right?

Was Contrell a VICTIM?

Depends on what your VALUE system is.

Was he a homicide VICTIM?

Most definitely. He is now a statistic.

And that's part of the REALITY of his legacy.

Was he a SOCIETAL VICTIM?

Perhaps, simply because he EMBRACED the wrong "lifestyle". Six years of Gang activity in Contrell's life was mentioned by family members, althought the FWPD is not saying one way or the other at this point. I alluded to a possible gang connection in my post on this homicide two days ago. Gee, maybe *I* know something others don't?

No...I just have something called "situational awareness".

But the REAL tragedy in this scenario was not perpetrated by or his lifestyle. It wasn't even perpetrated by the shooter that took his life. Contrell was a VICTIM way before he was shot, because he was convinced that he was a victim a long time ago. And he had a lot of help.

The saddest part to all of this is the skewed perception that Contrell's cousin, Tim Brown has on the whole thing.

To quote the News-Sentinel article (my comments in bold):

((Tim Brown partially blamed the death on a society he believes marginalizes black people economically and socially and a media fixated on celebrities.“When somebody gets killed from the 'hood, they air it for about five seconds,” Tim Brown said. “They'd rather talk about Paris Hilton having a corn on her foot. They'd rather talk about that than reality.”

(People want to be entertained these days instead of being informed. It's more profitable)

Tim Brown said he believes racism and economic disparities between blacks and whites contribute to the violence that killed his cousin.

(Blame it on whitey...your people have NOTHING to do with it, right?)

A study commissioned by the Pew Charitable Trusts found a typical black family's income in 2004 was 58 percent of a typical white family's. In 1974, median black incomes were 63 percent of whites, according to the study.

(And we won't even get into the BLACK-ON-WHITE crime stats)

As he stood on the front lawn of a block with several boarded up and foreclosed houses, a frustrated Tim Brown spoke of his cousin being caught up in a culture that fosters a mind-set among black youths that money is everything, life is cheap and gangs are a source of solidarity.

(you don't like what your culture is fostering...CHANGE IT! You can OPEN YOUR MOUTH quick enough for dissing everyone else, try saying SOMETHING to CHANGE the status quo IN YOUR CULTURE)

“We are a product of our environment. We came up from nothing. We don't have nothing,” he said. “If we had more opportunities to get jobs and stuff like that, do something better with ourselves, we wouldn't be out here robbing nobody.”))

(Everyone has the same OPPORTUNITY...some grab for that brass ring and succeed, while others keep on plugging away, but at least they TRY, while still others do little if nothing, as exemplified by your "command" of the ENGLISH language, Mr. Brown. You're not a product of MY environment, but you ARE correct in your admission that you are most certainly a product of YOUR OWN)

Typical victimology...that's it. Blame EVERYTHING and EVERYONE but YOURSELF and YOUR community or culture. Look in the damn mirror if you want to see who to REALLY blame. You let YOURSELVES down...DAILY.

And nothing anyone can say (including many BLACK men and women of SUBSTANCE who have TRIED to tell you as much) will change this mindset of VICTIMOLOGY you're all wallowing in.

The way I see it, you have very FEW choices. You can:

1) Decide that enough is TRULY enough, and DARE to be one of the few that makes a REAL change for the better for your family AND your community.

2) Seek out those that you can LEARN from, and who can HELP you to become a lot more than you're obviously willing to settle for.

3) Sit back down on your lazy ass, watch some B-Ball with da boyz, and let the world revolve (mistakenly) around you. Just don't expect to have a LONG life in the process.

Now since the FIRST TWO are too much like work, I'm betting you're going for # 3. I see it EVERY day in MY neighborhood; The same mindset, with different faces attached to it, that's all. And it's repeated in every major city across America.

But hey, if you want to shoot each other, join gangs, sell and use drugs, terrorize people, rob the elderly and innocent, steal cars, rape, loot, burglarize, and otherwise be a PAIN in the ass (to society), don't bitch a fit when someone comes along with a "salve" to get RID of the PAIN. I sure as hell don't want you OR your friends on MY street. I've got plenty as it is.

You bring all of this totally upon yourselves...and only YOU can break this destructive cycle of death (and despair), because it's SURE not resembling anything close to life...is it?.

And if Larry Elder were here, he would say the same thing:

DON'T BE A VICTICRAT.

Man up and get it in gear.

Like I said the other day:
The only thing worse than doing the WRONG THING...is doing NOTHING.
Now...for my next feat of prestidigitation... ...a second cup of coffee!
Good luck to you parents (it's Spring Break)!

DO have a SAFE weekend.