Reaching Up For Manhood

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from what the novel describes as an African-American male. Considering I am a Caucasian female, I was not raised with the attitude that I need to fend for myself. I did not need to learn self-defense in order to stay safe on the playground. My mother did not coach me on which ways to walk home from school. I didn't have to worry about it since the schools were well equipped with buses and money was not a problem for any of the school districts in the area I call home. I could not imagine telling a child not to go to the playground and play after school because it wasn't safe. If put in this type of culture, I would feel like I'd have to shield my child from everything when the reality of it would be that I am not the educator. The "tough" boys on that playground are the educators in a younger boy's eyes and the older boys come from homes that are either struggling or non-existing. Canada tells an eye-opening story about a little boy, Ronaldo, who was constantly told by his ...

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This child had already learned, at age 7, that there is always a chance for someone to get shot at any moment. It happens all the time and this boy has been trained to take it and stride. He feels as though he is not allowed to take time to think about it, not allowed to talk about it, and definitely not allowed to get upset about it. This child has already been programmed to not show emotion. If this happens at such a young age, then why are we shocked when this boy shows no emotion when a loved one is hurt. This story was mind boggling to me. I could never imagine having to not only learn, but accept the fact that all my loved ones and myself are in danger at all times. There is no way ...

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