In the world that we currently live in, it makes me wonder if real men are standing up and making other males live up to the standards of being a man. And I am not talking about the football coaches who take care of just the guys on their team, or the few men who start the anti-violence and gang programs to keep the kids from hanging with the bad crowd, but I mean the every day gentlemen who would stop a young brother on the street and tell him to pull his pants up. Where are the men from the Civil Rights days who demanded respect just by walking into a room? There was a certain respect and responsibility that came along with being a man in those days, a responsibility that made everyone around you behave in the proper manner so that you all would be taken seriously. I think that somewhere along the line those types of men have gone into retirement and they forgot to train the next generation how to continue the tradition. These men forgot to teach them the purpose behind why being your brother’s keep is so important, not just in the black community, but in all communities. So who can I blame? Where are these men who were supposed to teach these upcoming men how to behave so that I could continue to be proud of my brothers? Because now….its become the job of the single mothers and women dating these guys to teach them how to behave….and I don’t think it is our job to do so.
They say that a woman cannot raise a man. If this is true, then where are the men who are supposed to make these boys and other males listen? As a woman I do not have access to the sacred Man Code book, but I do know how to behave in a manner to make a male understand what his boundaries are when he is in my presence. But is that enough? Are the actions of a woman grounded in her morals enough to make a male correct his actions and behave as a man? Personally, I don’t think that women alone can make a male behave as a man. It will take a man living as a man to set a visual and physical example for the male to believe that a woman isn’t living in her own imagination. A male would need a tangible representation standing before him as a cheat sheet on how to be a man in order to become one. I don’t know why it works that way, but it does.
So, 200 men were asked the question:
Are you your brother’s keeper? If NOT, why? Is it your responsibility? Have you ever corrected a male stranger when he was acting like less than a man?What’s your age & State?
I really wanted to hear the responses from this question. I asked their age and location just to see if the answers would be the same amongst people in the same region of the country or males of the same age bracket. And out of those 200 I posted the responses of the males who responded back to me the fastest.
- ”DUKE” BANNER: IM A MASON, BUT OF COURSE I’M MY BROTHER’S KEEPER ,MY QUEEN. [I] TRY TO GUIDE THEM IN THE RIGHT WAY. (40yrs old/Lousianna)
- Horace J: Yes, I am my brother’s keeper. If not me [there to] love him, then who will be? I have corrected males and been corrected. I have had ugliness pointed at me for my attempts. I won’t say they were acting less than a man but too aggressive. (39yrs old/New Jersey)
- Aries Brotha: I’m not my brother’s keeper. I’m the younger brother and he is the one that should lead by example. But in all due honest he and I are complete opposites in every way. (33yrs old/Maryland)
- ……. : No! I don’t put my nose in other people’s business. (26yrs old/Maryland)
- Ddouble R: (1) yes i am (2)again yes i have, ( 38yrs old/Maryland)
- H.O. R: I AM A KEEPER BUT NOT NECESSARILY MY BROTHERS. ITS NOT REALLY MY RESPONSIBILITY TO KEEP HIM/HER BUT IT IS ON ME IF I NO INFO AND DON’T REPORT IT. SURE I’VE CORRECTED A MAN FOR BEING LESS THAN ONE. I SHOULD HAVE TAKEN MY BUT TO SCHOOL FOR PSYCHOLOGY (39yrs old/Georgia)
- Code Name Bigsexy: sometimes.it has to be something unreal then i would school the young dude. (30yrs old/Maryland)
- big slim: Yes I am..if the next man is out of line around me then it’s only right for me too step in and put him in his place…I do this almost everyday ( 35yrs old/DC)
And my FAVORITE response came from :
- DJ Urban Cowboy: I feel like its our duty to correct our fellow-man… cause they represent your sex to the human population and when man acts the fool… women and even men think less of the male population as a whole.. (27yrs old/New York)
INTERESTING!!! I find it amazing how majority of the men who responding thought that I was speaking of their literal brothers, as in a sibling and not the metaphorical Biblical Cane & Abel sense. So far age is not really a factor in whether or not these guys would check another male for not behaving properly and neither is location. Interesting. I would have thought that the younger generation would have been the first to say that they are not their brothers’ keeper. But it is across the board that my older gentlemen did not hesitate to put someone in their place. And just like DJ Urban Cowboy said, we tend to think of the male population as a whole based off of the actions of one individual acting an ass. Sad, yet so true.
And I have to comment on Aries Brother’s comment. He said that he doesn’t have to be because he is the younger and his older brother should set the example. WOW!!! This form of thinking is why we are where we are. There is ALWAYS someone younger than you who is watching your every move. You may be the younger sibling, but even then, sometimes we older siblings lose our way and if our younger siblings respectfully remind us of who we are supposed to be we can get back on the right track. It works both ways. You’re not just his brother, but you are his brother too. That’s like getting into a marriage and saying what you will and wont do because your spouse is supposed to do something. ALL relationships require equal respect, communication, and responsibility. I know, I have brother who I feel I have been a sister to but don’t feel that they have been a brother back to me. That feeling SUCKS ASS! So, having learned that first hand, it is everyone’s responsibility to make sure that our actions are reciprocated and equal.
So, since we know that one clown can disturb the class, how can we get these men to become their brothers’ keeper more often? I could write until my fingers fall off or talk until my chocolate behind turns blue in the face, but what are some literal steps/actions that we could take to get them to look out for one another? Maybe we can try to work on the concept of brother. I think if we got people to think of the man sitting next to them as a brother we can get this family feeling back into the communities. And this should go across the race lines as well. Code Name Big Sexy, from above, is white and he gives some excellent feedback. If we all, women included, helped to promote the frame of mind that we could be more productive as the human race if we all helped guide the person next to us in the right direction , maybe…just maybe, we could actually get something accomplished. But….this blog means nothing until others believe it and start acting on it. I am my brothers’ keeper…..I just hope that he keeps listening to me.
Sincerely,
~*My Mother’s Daughter & My Brothers’ Big Sister*~
~*2Deep*~ Uncensored! 