Thursday, February 01, 2007

Lil' Stevie's Question on Crime

[Stevie arrives home from school. His mother is in the kitchen making dinner.]
Stevie: “Hey, momma!”

Momma: “Hey Stevie! How was school today?”

Stevie: “It was okay.”

[Stevie slumps into the chair at the kitchen table]

Momma: “What’s wrong baby? Is everything all right in school?”

Stevie: “Momma, didn’t you always tell me that if somebody put their hands on me that I should make sure that they don’t do it again?”

Momma: [Mother rushes to look at Stevie closely] “Yes. Why, did somebody put their hands on you today?”

Stevie: “No, but
Officer Friendly was at our school today.”

Momma: “Oh, that’s nice. I used to love it when Officer Friendly came to visit our school when I was a little girl. What did he share with the kids today?”

Stevie: “Momma, he said that more and more young black men are dying by the hands of another black man every day in America before they reach the age of 21. Officer friendly said that kids are dying by the thousands!”

Momma: “Yes child…it’s a mess out there. A young boy was just killed over on 4th Street just the other day, but what does that have to do with what I told you?”

Stevie: “Well, I was thinking. There must be a lot of mothers out there telling their sons the same thing that you told me.”

Momma: “Hmmm…what makes you say that?”

Stevie: “Well, I was thinking...there are thousands of young black men who will never get a chance to put their hands on anybody ever again.”


Fabrizio said...

I love your son, man!

He's very intelligent, maybe more than a lot of adult people.
I the south of Italy the problem is similar and in Naples people is living awful days because of mafia.
Yes, the too well known and ashaming italian mafia.

But there are children like Stevie and I hope that grown-ups won't kill this instinctive wisdom they have.
So things'll be better... ;-D

What's your Stevie's favourite comic/cartoon character?

Stephen A. Bess said...

lol! Hey fab! Actually, Lil' Stevie is based on me as a child. I had a lot of questions as a child so I thought that I would bring some of it to the blog. Wow, I didn't know that the Mafia was still a force in Italy. They are a bit glamourized here in the US as you well know. As for comic book characters I'll have to go with Batman! He was always my favorite. My favorite cartoon was Snaggle Puss. Did they have him in Italy? His line was, "Exit...stage right!" :)

Dance_Soul said...

Deep, Sad and True

Rethabile said...

Thoughtful. I like how it extends the wisdom from yesterday to now. Very good.

chez bez said...

Thank you for sharing that.

Cergie said...

Hi Stephen, I dont understand that post
Is that boy saying to his momma that even bad boys must remain alive ?
Or does he mean that all of these black young men would put their hand on him without exeption ?
Does he say that all black men are bad ?
Or something else ?

Anonymous said...

I love reading things that bring me back to reality and puts my thoughts into overdrive. This makes me think about the plight of Black America. Not only the men, but our people are as whole.

Stephen A. Bess said...

Allow me to explain. :)
If someone "puts their hands on you" it means that they've violated you or assaulted you physically. So, many parents in the inner city/ghetto would teach their children to defend themselves from attackers. They would tell their children, "if he hits you I want you to try to hurt him to the point that he would never try to hurt you again." My feelings are that some of our black youth have taken this action to the extreme. They are killing each other over very minor things. The extreme will ususally bring about catastrophic retaliation and utimately death. It makes me very sad. So, Lil' Stevie is also very sad over the thousands of lives that are taken every day because of senseless acts of violence. Hence, these young men will never be able to put there hands on anyone ever again.

Stephen A. Bess said...

Yes, I try to keep it in mind even though It makes me sad and sometimes depressed. Good to see you!

Stephen A. Bess said...

Yes indeed.

Thank you sir.

and thank you for stopping by.

Anonymous said...

Peace, Steven: What a profound thinker you are...blessings from the most high. God bless you for sharing...

credo said...

thanks for breaking the cycle.

Shai said...

I am speechless. Very profound post and so sad and true.

NML/Natalie said...

That was a sad post that illustrated how sensitive you were, even as a litte boy.

fizzio brown said...

Thought provoking...

Stephen A. Bess said...

I accept those high blessings with humility. Thank you! :)

Thank you for stopping by and hello!

Thank you. Yes, we all have to take responsibilty don't we.

Thanks. Yes, my mother said that I asked a lot of questions. :)

Thank you and hello!

African girl, American world said...

That lil Stevie was a deep thinker :=)
Adult Stephen is the same way.

Stephen A. Bess said...

Thank you dear lady. :)

Cergie said...

Thank you Stephen for explaining, I can understand now

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