Father Time

"Why Can't Black Men Be Committed?"

This is the second most asked question that I have received from African-American women, no matter where I go(parks,dinner tables,clubs,Sunday service,grocery stores, EVERYWHERE!!!). And this is the answer that I give them.... In my opinion, black men can be committed. It is to my belief and understanding that we have no knowledge as to how we should go about doing so. When participating in a sport or anything where there is a person who has achieved great amounts of success in their field of interest, someone who is aspiring to have that same success will model themselves as if they are that person, until they reach the point where they have found themselves and have established their own sense of individuality.(Sidebar)This is why we buy products that have been endorsed by celebrities and this is also why every rapper that is trying to make a name for themselves sounds like Lil Wayne. (Back to regularly scheduled programming) If you haven't guessed by now I'm talking about a father figure. Most of the families today are without a father figure for various reason. Having that type of figure is essential to the development of the male(and the female, but we will get to that at a later time).The lack of a father figure exposes the young African-American male to continuous break ups, abusive behavior,gives them no knowledge of a woman's worth, a lack of respect for women, but worst than anything, it teaches them that if one relationship isn't working out you can start over elsewhere. Which makes the capability of working through problems unknown to the young African-American male. Being raised by a woman is not always a proper form of upbringing and can actually be damaging to a males development. OKAY! I know I just gave you the super analytical, politically correct version of what I mean, but!! (Let's take it to the barbershop!!!) Being raised by a woman could be the reason why a lot of dudes today are feminine and on the D.L.(Down Low.. in lame man terms. What we have to understand is that psychologically you begin to develop into and learn your role as a male or female at a young age. Mostly by identifying with the parent of your gender. When this process is not possible due to the lack of the fathers presence, a boy can begin to adopt some of female characteristics.(Does that ring a bell?)'Cause is it me or are we as men more emotional? more territorial? and more insecure than we have ever been? I know I got sidetracked but, think about it!!. To truly know the answer to this question you have to first ask, What is it that makes a man, a man?!! no matter his ethnicity because everybody is becoming a victim of this plague. But we just happen to be the ones suffering from it in massive numbers...fade...To Black..