Obama’s Success Will Give Hope to Today’s At-Risk Youth

This coming November I’ll celebrate the election of the 13th U.S. President since I was born in 1944.* I was only an infant when FDR began serving his fourth term, and I barely remember Truman, but besides those two, I have an vivid memory of the remaining ten, and the impact they had on generations before and after mine.

Historically speaking, until now—besides the hard-line politically ambitious or diehards from the left or the right—the only presidential hopeful that excited and united all generations, especially the youth, was John F. Kennedy.

America’s youth embraced the Kennedy family like folks hugged their Teddy Bears a hundred years ago, during the presidency of Teddy Roosevelt. At the dawning of the Industrial Revolution and mass migrations, it was little wonder that the Teddy Bear became everyone’s best friend.

Today history is repeating itself in the presence of Barack Obama, the young and charismatic Illinois junior Senator who, defying all odds and obstacles, would be President in 2009, just 143 years after slavery was abolished by President Abraham Lincoln.

An Obama presidency will be good news to many disenfranchised groups—the shrinking middle class, service workers and organized labor—but he’ll also make an instant positive impact on our nation’s worst case at-risk kids. You can read about his stand on issues here:

Skeptical and cynical children who’ve lived most of their young lives at war—watching it on TV, playing video war games and living it in their homes and neighborhoods—will most certainly be impressed with Barack Obama’s underdog story.

Barack isn’t the first African-American to run for president and he’s not the first presidential candidate who was raised by a single parent. He’s certainly not the first to come from a less-than-wealthy family, and not the first to admit that he smoked a little pot as a youth. What makes Barack Obama different from any other presidential candidate in my memory is that he doesn’t run from his background: he embraces it. Young folks like that type of honesty.

Barack isn’t an O.G., of course, but in his community work, he traveled the mean streets of Chicago and learned how to become conversant with even the hardest of the hard-line Gs.

His youthful appearance and pristine family life are factors in the attraction, but from our kids’ point of view, he’s almost one of ‘em. He can speak in slang and he understands it. He doesn’t shy away from questions, nor stutter in his answers. [When confronted by the po-lice, every G knows that you can’t stutter and you got’ta answer the questions.]

Just a year ago, Barack Obama was a dark horse in the race to become President. Today he’s the frontrunner. Don’t you think that every young person, no matter how low they feel about themselves, can draw inspiration from that turn of events? Many young people today who’ve given up on the system showing any empathy for them can surely draw inspiration from Barack Obama. For the first time in their lives, they feel that their votes count and their voices matter.

And for the entire Hip Hop Generation, many just reaching voting age, there’s one more attraction to an Obama presidency: His name! Just think of all the tracks they’ll lay down for Ba-rack, because his name rhymes with their generation’s biggest icon, Tu-pac.
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*http://www.paralumun.com/prestimeline.htm
Franklin Roosevelt [1933-1945], Harry Truman [1945-1953], Dwight Eisenhower [1953-1961], John Kennedy [1961-1963], Richard Nixon [1969-1974], Gerald Ford [1974-1977], Jimmy Carter [1977-1981] , Ronald Reagan [1981-1989], George Bush [1989-1993], Bill Clinton [1993-2001], George W. Bush [2001- ].

Domestic Violence 1-0-1: Lessons For Today’s Youth

She called him a loser. He called her a lazy ‘ho. And then it was on!!!

It took me over an hour to break up a fight between a young friend and his lady, and I ain’t young. As their voices rang out over the traffic—hers in shrill shrieks and sobs, his in booming baritone—I wondered what I could do to convince the unhappy couple that separation was better than incarceration.

“But he’s got my car,” she sobbed, “and he left me stranded without any money.”

“We’ve been going through this for six years,” he yelled. “I love her but I can’t take her constantly up under me.”

So they both had issues! I am neither a marriage counselor nor psychologist, but I could see no good end to this squabble if someone didn’t intervene. That’s when it occurred to me that besides money and drugs, domestic violence is a major cause of arrest, trial and incarceration for our nation’s young folks.

According to California’s SafeState:

• California law enforcement received 176,299 domestic violence calls in 2006; 80,946 calls involved weapons, including firearms, knives, hands, fists or feet.
• In a national study of college students, 27.5% of the women surveyed said that they had suffered rape or attempted rape at least once since age 14. Only 5% of those experiences were reported to the police. The term "hidden rape" has emerged because this survey and many other studies found that sexual assaults are seldom reported to the police.
• Nearly 5.3 million intimate partner victimizations occur among U.S. women ages 18 and older each year. This violence results in nearly 2 million injuries and nearly 1,300 deaths.
• In 2002 approximately 30% of women on welfare reported currently being in an abusive relationship.

Raised on gangsta’ rap and family dysfunction, many of our young people don’t have a clue about the consequences of domestic violence. “I didn’t hit her; I just pushed her,” is the common male defense. “She made me do it.”

No, homey, she didn’t make you do anything. You did it on your own and ignorance is no excuse for not knowing the law. And it’s the Law what we’re talkin’ about here.

Besides smacking someone you love, there are a number of crimes covered under Domestic Abuse laws that you should be aware of. Attempting, threatening or intimidating are also covered by these laws. But don’t take my word for it. Visit the L.A. Superior Court website.

Categories of crimes, which may be heard in a specialized Domestic Violence Court, include, but are not limited to:

• Section 273.5 of the California Penal Code: willful infliction of corporal injury on a spouse, former spouse, cohabitant, former cohabitant etc.
• Section 242 of the California Penal Code: Battery - any willful or unlawful use of force or violence upon the person of another.
• Section 243 (e) of the California Penal Code: battery against a spouse, cohabitant, parent of the defendant's children etc.
• Section 240 of the California Penal Code: Assault - an unlawful attempt, coupled with a present ability to commit a violent injury etc.
• Section 136.1 of the California Penal Code: intimidation of victims and witnesses.

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I tried to explain these legal nuances to my young friends, but they wouldn’t have it, as they continued to brawl curbside and in the streets. With tears streaking down her smooth brown face, she seemed determined to cause a scene. “I know you hate me,” she cried. “Just give me my shit back.”

He paced, circling her slowly, like a mountain lion moving in on a wounded deer. “I ain’t giving you shit,” he spat! “Call one of the other men you’re sleeping with. You can use them, bitch, but you can’t use me.”

I stood between them, breathing erratically, thinking of something that would distract them…praying for a miracle that would allow them to hear me…The only difference I made on the scene was stopping them from jumping on one another.

The standoff lasted the better part of an hour and ended only when the young couple’s energies were totally spent. I later learned that the fight began at 6 a.m. It was now almost noon.

Carrying several bags of stuff, she sulked away, down the block and around the corner. He stood by the car, nostrils flaring, clenched fists, starring at his feet, as I calmly explained to him that he was one step from prison. “ Prison, son! P-R-I-S-O-N!!! I wanted to just shake him.

"No sunshine, no freedom. Washed. Forgotten. No street clothes. Asking permission. Calling collect. Don’t you know that, son?”

No, he never thought about it. Prison never crossed his mind. Not for some little lover’s quarrel; not for this little incident. To him it was just a little incident. But to the police, to the courts, it’s a bad case of domestic violence.

In the public interest and as a service to anyone you know who's in a toxic relationship that could benefit from this story; I’d like offer some practical little suggestions on how to avoid any domestic confrontation.

The Top 10 Ways NOT To Catch A Domestic Violence Case

10) If you see punched holes in the walls and/or broken furniture in the home of your new boyfriend or girlfriend, ask questions.

9) If you ask him/her if he/she’s insanely jealous and he/she says “yes,” believe it!

8) If you get into an argument and tempers are flaring, learn to walk away.

7) Be especially on guard if your partner has nothing to lose.

6) Don’t call her a bitch and expect her to respond positively.

5) If your woman hits/attacks you, throw up your arms, declare yourself “non-violent,” and leave the scene quietly.

4) Just because he/she hit you once, don’t think it won’t happen again.

3) If your man hits/attacks you, never think you can match him with your mouth.

2) Cut your losses! If confronted with possible domestic violence it’s better to protect your person and forget your property.

1) Recognize that if the police are called, someone will probably go to jail.

2 Late 4 Time Out In Winnetka

After settling down at my computer, morning tea in hand, the first thing I do is quickly scan my e-mail. Then I go to the L.A. Times Homicide Blog.

Like everyone, I was struck by the tragic February 7th homicide of an L.A.P.D. SWAT member as well as an entire family in Winnetka, California. I read "According to police, Edwin (age 20) has been identified as the suspected shooter in the killing of his father, Gerardo Rivera, 54, and two brothers, Endi Rivera, 25, and Edgar Rivera, 21."

"Winnetka," I thought aloud. I'm a Los Angeles native but, "Where in the heck is Winnetka?" So I Wikipediad "Winnetka" and learned that Winnetka is a 4.2-mile city in the San Fernando Valley, bordered by Canoga Park on the west, Woodland Hills on the south, Chatsworth to the north and Reseda to the east. Winnetka is pretty much a working class community where the median income is a little over $49,000 and the racial split is fairly even between Latinos and Caucasian, with a smattering of Asians, Blacks and Others.

The Winnetka website didn't reveal anything about the city, but I did learn that Winnetka used to be Weeks Poultry Farm before the San Fernando Valley sprawled after World War II.

Winnetka, a sleepy, middle class suburb, is now on the map by a horrific tragedy of unspeakable proportions. But we've got to speak about it; not in whispers, but we've got to scream!

Edwin Rivera, age 20, killed his father, his two brothers and a L.A.P.D. officer, before L.A.P.D. snipers took him out. I am convinced that it didn't need to happen!

Edwin, you see, could have been any body's child. Winnetka could have been any town across America. Edwin, you see, had problems in school, problems at home after his mom died eight years ago, and problems with dad's live-in girlfriend. I'm pretty sure that he had other problems, maybe with his other siblings, but by all accounts, even according to Law Enforcement, Edwin wasn't violent. Here's the background:

We'll never know the roots of Edwin's violent behavior, but we can all agree that Edwin was violent. Can we also agree that surely there were warning signs that Edwin had the potential for violence?

Far too many parents, family members, friends and colleagues don't want to interfere or get involved. Far too many of us--from whatever social class, race or educational background--ignore the signs until it's too late.

If you know a family that needs help, help them get the help they need. Get advice from renown educator, Millicent Hill, of Mama Hill's Help, Inc., expert gang intervention specialists, and help us build 2 Late 4 Time Out into the premiere resource for all things Juvenile Justice that will save families and save lives.