This whole issues seriously troubles me.

I keep reading responses saying in one way or another that "a woman can't raise a boy to be a man". I've heard this all my life and accepted it as fact and I really don't know why. One of the main problems with this line of thinking is the definition of what is and what isn't "a man". Here in the US our definition or example of being a man comes from the patriachal slant perpetuated by the white male ruling class (a class that oppresses the entire world on a regular basis).

In the African American community we are continuosly talking about the plight of the Black male as if the Black male is the saviour of the race. Why do we think that if all of our men weren't in jail, on drugs, etc, we will finally overcome? This also implies that the strength of the Black woman who has carried us and still is carrying us thus far was merely an accident or soley a result of oppression rather than the manifestation of her strength and force as a human being. The logic that demeans and undermines a woman's ability to raise a man is filled with the ideologies of the white male ruling class.

I believe that in the African American community we need to redefine what it actually means to be a man and that the only role we play is that of a human being not male/female. While we have continually tried to preach the good news of the man being the head of the house, history shows us that en masse Black men have never been the head of the household or at least never been able to. Since the times of slavery families were torn apart and strong Black men were sold for higher prices or loaned out for various forms of labor. The Black man has always been seen as a threat to the white man so he suppresses him on every angle. This way of life of course spilled into familial relations after emancipation and has become a sickening way of life following the same chain of events even into this century. Because we know this to be true why don't we find ways to encourage Black women to raise Black men into whole persons? Whether we like it or not Black women will continue to be the ones raising our boys. I also urge everyone in the Black community to re-think the concept of sex roles and redefine them for yourselves. Please don't swallow then regurgitate the propaganda of the ruling class and call it your own. We need our boys and girls to be raised into whole human beings not "men" or "women".

think on this.

-soundz

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The revolution is upon us!

"But Moses said to him...Would that all the Lord's people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit on them!"
Numbers 11:29

"It's imagery. They use their ability to create images, and then use these images that they've created to mislead people. To confuse the people and make the people accept wrong as right and reject right as wrong. Make the people actually think that the criminal is the victim and the victim is the criminal"

Malcolm X on the American Media and Propaganda
Feb, 16 1965 Rochester, NY

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"much obliged" - Bubs

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