Skip to main content

We've Got to Begin Somewhere

This month, I’m taking the NaBloPoMo Challenge.  The challenge is to write every day for the month of January in your personal blog, which is a great exercise for me as someone who’s new to personal blogging.  Each day writing prompts are provided, and you post something in your blog.
Today’s prompt is: What is the hardest part about a beginning?  As the reigning queen of procrastination, my first inkling is to write a post long enough to rival War and Peace…tomorrow, of course.
Today’s local newspaper featured an article about Milwaukee’s fifth homicide in the first five days of the year. 5 people in 5 days: that’s one family per day suddenly, violently losing someone they love.  Today’s casualty was a sixteen year old boy.  I looked at his picture and my stomach churned, because I thought of how horrific it will be for his family and his friends to see him lifeless on the day of the funeral.  I don’t know whether he had history of problems, trouble at home or school; all I know is that his picture showed a chubby-faced kid who wouldn’t get the chance to “fill out” during his twenties.
Judging by some of the article’s reader comments, some people believe this tragedy is The Old – just the norm that happens everyday in “the hood.” Try and tell this young man’s family that.
So as the idea of “…the hardest part about a beginning” ping-pongs around in my mind, I can’t help but wonder – especially as a mom – Where do we begin, how do we begin to help these kids understand that a life is worth so much more than Facebook barbs or high school romances (supposedly at the root of the incident)?
As a community, as individuals, we can’t let beginning something be so hard that we do nothing at all.
I have no idea about what needs to happen or where to even start.  Do you think these kids can be helped, and if so, how do you think they can be helped? Or is this a parental, school, church, nonprofit or "other" issue?
Labels:

Comments

  1. AnonymousJanuary 6, 2012 at 6:33 AM

    i think about this too rochelle.....

    could it be.....

    education which encompasses all of the above.....home, school, community, church?

    education which brings options......a way out.....a hope.....something to hang onto?

    keep writing rochelle.....hmmm, i wonder what she'll blog about today?

    vm

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mike CollinsJanuary 6, 2012 at 9:50 AM

    I fret about this subject too, but haven't a clue what to do about it. It is sad.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Rochelle FritschJanuary 6, 2012 at 12:17 PM

    It is sad and scary, Mike. But I think "vm" may have it upon something which is at the root of it -- at least I think so: a lack of hope. If people are hopeless, they don't have anything to lose, so risky behavior doesn't seem risky to them at all...

    Now, if we could only figure out how to give people hope.

    Thanks for reading, you two. :)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What 6 Christmas Songs Got Wrong

After Thanksgiving, a birthday party last week, another birthday party this week and Christmas coming up next week, I am officially overwhelmed. It'd take more time than I have to explain what yet needs to be done and if you're like me, you're probably overwhelmed and don't have the time nor inclination to read it all anyway. But even with an overflowing plate, I still love the Christmas season -- from setting up the Christmas tree that we got two weeks ago and decorated only yesterday, to lighting bayberry scented candles, to every Rankin & Bass Christmas Special, and the music. Oh, the music. Songs have a way of putting you in the Christmas spirit, warming your heart and next thing you know, you're hugging a stranger in the elevator. Okay, um...maybe that's just me. But alas, all songs are not created equal; and the following Christmas songs inspire and awaken anything but peace on earth and goodwill to men. 1. Christmas Shoes : This song makes my
21 comments
Read more

Racism & Prejudice: Brothas from a Different Mother

Next week I’m attending  a seminar on defining racism. Should be interesting because: 1) I’ve been living in the skin I’m in for nearly 43 years and I’d like to hear about any advancements on the topic; and 2) back in college, some class I took defined racism as movement, advancement or otherwise being prevented and/or restricted based upon race .  Embedded in the definition was that racism took two parties – someone in power (the racist) and someone whose rights were being violated. So according to that definition, racism is an action , not an attitude . One is a disabling trespass while the other is prejudice . I tend to agree. It’s my belief that Martin Luther King and the thousands of civil rights fighters stood up against racism . They stood up against actions that prevented people from the pursuit of happiness – whether that meant voting, drinking from a common bubbler, or not ending up as Strange Fruit on a Poplar tree when all they wanted to do was get from P
15 comments
Read more

The Occasional Car

There's nothing special about our neighborhood. No quaint cul de sacs. Just streets that run north to south, sandwiched in between two busy avenues. It's a throwback place -- a hub of post-WWII homes and tree-lined streets whose limbs form a sort of cathedral ceiling. It's a silent night neighborhood . After dark, outside of a few who power-walk dogs begging them to go potty or poop and the occasional car slowly driving north or south, everyone's inside at nighttime. At midnight, Jamie and I were driving that occasional car, returning from a date night while Georgia was at a sleepover. The sky was clear, snowflakes sprinkled past the streetlamps and the streets and sidewalks were empty. Modern Love came on the radio as we began making the slight ascent to our block. We sang along and I knew we'd have to abandon it and our singing by the time we parked. We reached a stop sign at the top of the hill, and Jamie checked for any occasional westbound or eastbo
18 comments
Read more