It’s rather amusing how so many black men today seem to be caught up in a perpetual state of childhood, yet are so intent to call themselves men.
It’s even more interesting to see a growing number of these men walk onto college campuses and maintain this same childish mentality.
The reality is that too many black men are claiming to be “thugs” without understanding the word’s social ramifications.
First of all, it must be made clear that you cannot be an educated “thug.” It’s as simple as that. You’re either educated or you embody the essence of being uneducated and “real” to the “mean streets of the city”.
Surprisingly, many of the people claiming to be thugs aren’t from the rough streets of a big city. You can’t be a thug coming from a town with a population of 1,000!
You truly need to stop perpetuating the stereotype of what you believe a man should be.
Why would anyone want to uphold and glorify an image of a person that in theory is unable to deal with his problems without resorting to violence and harassing others until they get their way?
That sounds an awful lot like a two-year-old kicking and screaming and tugging on their parent’s clothes because they really want that candy bar.
I don’t know if your memory serves you well, but that two-year-old often gets a spanking. Unfortunately, it’s not feasible to take a belt and snap some sense into these men.
The empowerment that comes from being a thug is temporary and right now being a thug is bordering upon passé.
Think about it.
If you’re a thug posting up on the side of a building and you look to your left and see 20 more people doing the same thing, what kind of statement are you really making?
So you go to work and then be a thug when you get home. When you graduate from college with your degree it’s okay to be an “after five thug”. You can do this because thugs turn off their personalities when they feel like it.
Get real!
The truth is you can’t be a thug forever, no matter how hard you try to keep up the charade.
When it’s time for you to hang up your childish ways because you realize you really can’t be an educated thug, you’re going to be left with the satisfaction that you helped perpetuate a negative stereotype and still don’t have a personality of your own.
Jason E. Hutchins, 18, is a freshman business student from Athens, Ga. He is a page designer for The Famuan. He can be reached at je_hutchins@hotmail.com.