“In the city of L.A.
In the city of good ol' Watts
In the city, the city of Compton
We keep it rockin', we keep it rockin’"
In the past week, I’ve had a conversation with Charlie, read a meme on Instagram, and seen screenshots on Facebook that really got me thinking – sometimes it’s so much more about “un-learning” old truths versus learning new truths.
Knowing that there is a leak somewhere and mopping up the water continuously is a good thing, but knowing where the water is coming from is even better, because it solves your problem permanently. So we can identify if we have issues within ourselves and sometimes see that there are issues in other people, but instead of going back-and-forth on the issues, we should take some time to figure out the source of what may seem to be sheer stupidity in some cases and misguidance in others.
My conversation with Charlie started off with an implied nude picture of a man. We were discussing the fact that I can be inspired by the nude female body to create art, but I am not so inspired by the male body to do the same. While I would be comfortable in both situations if I’m hired, I know that photographing the male body is not something that I would willingly make a project of. It just doesn’t move me. We ended off the conversation with me admitting to being completely aware that there is some “un-learning” still to be done from growing up as a “Caribbean man.” #MachoIsWeName
On Instagram, I read a meme that stated, “Any male born after 1995 can’t fix sh*t around the house. All they know is Call of Duty, vape, taking creatine, slide in DMs, listen to mumble rappers, cheat and lie about eating a** on the internet.” Initially, I thought it was funny – because I did not fall into that category; and because…well…it was just funny (LOL). However, I got to thinking: “Who’s responsible for raising the young men that fall into that age category? Isn’t it the previous generation of men that should pass down information, be role models and mentors?” So, I guess the problem may not exactly be these young cats – even though some of them are really just airheads.
On Facebook the other night, a young lady shared some screenshots of this ignorant young man, who was basically saying that the victim who got drugged and raped in the middle of the club was to be blamed for that happening to her (see Twitter if you haven’t heard about this). Bro, how ignorant do you have to be to make a comment like that? Because she “shouldn't have been in the club anyway”?! Boy! If you don’t get your clown ass-butt off these social media platforms and read a book!!
What I can gather from these three situations is that “un-learning” needs to take place. Information that was passed down from previous generations seems to have not been the best information that should have been passed down as this information is obviously lacking. And left alone, some of the information that we find for ourselves may prove to not be the best (and we make fools of the male species on social media).
Before any new information is given, before any maturity takes place, before any reformation of minds occur, one must first become aware – aware that they may be misguided, aware that maturity needs to take place and – honestly, in some situations – just plain old aware that we’ve been idiots.
I am still pretty old-school and still believe that men are the head of the home. It’s not in a way that diminishes the power and value of a woman, but if someone has to wake up in the middle of the night to check if there’s a burglar, it’s going to be the man (#Don’tComeForMe). So a lot of these social issues that we’re facing are simply because men need to get their acts in order.
But we will continue this…
[Coordinator: I was really ready to come for you today, but…I got nothing. I agree.]
*Cues California Love by Tupac* just because I wanted to.
