tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6803135128442396638.post6749997044402930711..comments2023-10-31T06:20:45.622-05:00Comments on Raving Black Lunatic: Second ChildhoodBig Manhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02510881583909431416noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6803135128442396638.post-51279178467373066782008-12-18T18:09:00.000-06:002008-12-18T18:09:00.000-06:00You know its interesting, as boys/men there is a n...You know its interesting, as boys/men there is a need to know that we can defend ourselves and our loved ones. If there is doubt in that regard usually insecurity is soon to follow. I believe it important to know how to fight and be strong enough to endure the pain. In the end I believe that knowledge allows you to be "nice" and indirectly informs others not to f... with you.<BR/><BR/>There are 2 motivating factors in life. The pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain. Take a guess which one is the better motivator. ;)Tit for Tathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09454132514796693591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6803135128442396638.post-42973011791314017772008-12-18T13:33:00.001-06:002008-12-18T13:33:00.001-06:00Oh, dear Lord, the kicking...Yes.Popular tactic he...Oh, dear Lord, the kicking...<BR/><BR/>Yes.<BR/><BR/>Popular tactic here as well. As my already effed-up knees can attest...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6803135128442396638.post-38301753399240169972008-12-18T13:33:00.000-06:002008-12-18T13:33:00.000-06:00Oh, dear Lord, the kicking...Yes.Popular tactic he...Oh, dear Lord, the kicking...<BR/><BR/>Yes.<BR/><BR/>Popular tactic here as well. As my already effed-up knees can attest...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6803135128442396638.post-66907427531452140092008-12-18T09:44:00.000-06:002008-12-18T09:44:00.000-06:00DeacThe Little Big Man is going through a tough ph...Deac<BR/><BR/>The Little Big Man is going through a tough phase as well. I just learned from my wife that he's started trying to hit her when he's angry and kick as well when she picks him up. Of course, she's pregnant, so that's a dangerous situation as well as being unacceptable defiance. He doesn't go that far with me, in fact he's typically pretty well behaved. But, I have noticed signs that he is testing limits.Big Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02510881583909431416noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6803135128442396638.post-69193247330078681642008-12-18T09:34:00.000-06:002008-12-18T09:34:00.000-06:00I kept debating whether to post a comment, and I t...I kept debating whether to post a comment, and I think in the end I don't have much to say. Going through an interesting and rough phase with Little Girl Blue.<BR/><BR/>She's great at daycare with the kids and the teachers. She's usually great with people we run into in the outside world. She seems able to take care of herself, even though she does complain to us indignantly about slights she experience in preschool daycare...etc.<BR/><BR/>But she's really working the nerves on me and Mrs. Blue with "in the house behavior" so I don't know that I have much wisdom to pass on until I can get things tied down myself.<BR/>;-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6803135128442396638.post-58559423923420119772008-12-17T12:34:00.000-06:002008-12-17T12:34:00.000-06:00RobYour story, like the one on Racialicious, is th...Rob<BR/><BR/>Your story, like the one on Racialicious, is the kind of thing that is scary.<BR/><BR/>I understand that children will deal with teasing, but sometimes I'm shocked at how it affects them and how unwilling they are to talk about it.<BR/><BR/>Looking back, I realize that I was targeted for teasing quite a bit, but thanks be to God that it didn't seem to really take root. Sure, I was hurt, and I cried and fought, but I don't know if I have those lasting scars that some people have. When I really think about it, I'd have to say that's probably because while I was an outcast in some ways, I also had a lot of skills that allowed me to fit in to a certain degree. Plus, when things got too heavy, I could just retreat into the fantasy world of books and be fine. Books are amazing like that.Big Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02510881583909431416noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6803135128442396638.post-71116826482731017142008-12-17T12:16:00.000-06:002008-12-17T12:16:00.000-06:00My wife and I are both teachers. Two years ago, my...My wife and I are both teachers. Two years ago, my wife was Teacher of the Year at the #1 elementary school in our county, which is one of the top ranked school systems in the state of FL. The school is located in one of the most affluent areas in the county, and although we didn't live in that area (I don't golf, so I couldn't justify spending $100,000 more on a house just to pay $1800 a year in HOA fees), our children attended that school (school employees can enroll their kids in any school, no matter the zoning) and were certainly receiving excellent academic instruction, but were both the only Black kids in their classes. My son was 7 at the time (2nd grade) and not only a top student, but also a great athlete. Boys have a tendency to respect that-- talking trash can get your butt beat. My daughter was 5 and in kindergarten. She was also a top student and great athlete, but little girls don't care about that. Instead, first they began questioning why she wore something this week that she wore last week (yep, 5 years old), then why she didn't live in Eagle Harbor like them, and finally, when nothing else bothered her, one particularly annoying little snot told my daughter that her best friend had formed a club, but my daughter couldn't be in it because she was Black. My daughter didn't tell us or the teacher, but instead told my son. To his credit, he didn't threaten to beat the little brats (I wouldn't have minded), but in wisdom well beyond his years, told her "If that's what they say, then they're not really your friends." The next year, my wife transferred to another school, and we're all happier for it. <BR/><BR/>I can't shield my kids from all the ugliness of the world, but my kids shouldn't have to deal with that kind of pettiness so early in life.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6803135128442396638.post-73068679372906644582008-12-17T11:21:00.003-06:002008-12-17T11:21:00.003-06:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6803135128442396638.post-3493967687907518522008-12-17T11:21:00.002-06:002008-12-17T11:21:00.002-06:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6803135128442396638.post-10970086421067699652008-12-17T11:21:00.001-06:002008-12-17T11:21:00.001-06:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6803135128442396638.post-51039606327398470572008-12-17T11:21:00.000-06:002008-12-17T11:21:00.000-06:00Plant the best seeds in your children and eventual...Plant the best seeds in your children and eventually those seeds will germinate and take root and grow strong. And learn to relax there is something greater than ourselves that help us along.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6803135128442396638.post-18379128903734142852008-12-17T10:19:00.000-06:002008-12-17T10:19:00.000-06:00Natural kindness is the first thing kids learn to ...Natural kindness is the first thing kids learn to despise.<BR/><BR/>Seriously, there is really no benefit to be nice in most public schools. I don't know about private schools because I never attended one. That's my biggest concern. I want my son to be tough enough to survive, but I don't want to turn him into a little monster that torments other kids and makes them dread their lives.Big Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02510881583909431416noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6803135128442396638.post-87303574341257339162008-12-17T09:34:00.000-06:002008-12-17T09:34:00.000-06:00It's a sometimes terrifying feat to send your chil...It's a sometimes terrifying feat to send your children out into the world of other peoples' children. To entrust their safety and wellbeing to other adults is an exercise in denial, at times.<BR/><BR/>I know, overly dramatic but that piece yanked me straight back to my childhood and reminded me of the ongoing challenges of parenthood. My son is 14 and even now I learn of things that happened to him in elementary school that make me cringe and tear up.<BR/><BR/>He's a compassionate and intuitive child and yet he's learned to try and be invisible whenever possible. When that isn't an option he's learned to deliver the bigger verbal beatdown or to take a punch without crying and then to deliver his own. I do my best to help him hang on to his natural kindness for the years ahead but good lord, it's tough.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com