Black Parenting : I'ma Give You Something to Cry For

river

Watch Her Flow
REGISTERED MEMBER
Mar 22, 2004
6,415
1,271
Where the Niger meets the Nile
Occupation
Author
How many of us have said this to our child? Do we know that this is what our slavemasters told us when they sold our family members away from us? we weren't allowed to cry or express any emotion other than complete happiness and satisfaction with our enslaved state. White psychiatrists came up with a malady called drapetomanie. This dreadful disease afflicted its victim with an uncontrollable urge to run away from slavery. Any display of dissatisfaction or moroseness was seen as indicative of the onset of drapetomania and the recommended treatment was to beat the devil out of the slave.

They tell us slavery was over a hundred and forty three years ago. Then why do we continue to raise our children as slaves, to think like slaves, act like slaves and accept slavish treatment as their due? We defend our practices because we do not know where they come from. That's what my mama did and her mama before her and her mama before her. But do we want to perpetuate that which was in fact shameful for our ancestors in a mistaken effort to honor them?
 
I have said this and still say this at times to my children. The only difference is, its not said to restrict my kids from feeling emotions. Its said to let them know there are much worst things they will face in the world. That they must understand not getting to go outside, or not getting that item the want so badly, is no way in comparison to getting whipped by a police officer, or raped by a predator, and/or killed by psychopaths.

So therefore, if you're going to cry, consider there are more worst ills to cry about. Our children have to have tougher skins in order to survive in this world. And when they go out into the world, we won't be able to protect them from many of those ills. They must learn to pick there battles and know when to cry out against them.

Slave masters may have said these things to our Ancestors, but the difference is, they did not care about our Ancestors. And they did not care about what happened to them. I don't treat my children like slaves. I don't make them work in hot fields from sun up to sun down. I don't feed them things that i won't eat myself, and i don't limited them from dreaming big. But i will not tolerate them being broken over little things which will make no difference in their lives, as opposed to the impact of things that could/will kill them mentally and spiritually.

Call it justification if you will. But until i learn of a more effective method for instilling these differences into the minds of my children, i have to work with what i got. My parents use to say the same things to me, and when i got old enough to understand why they did, it made me stronger in spirit. And i appreciated the lessons they were trying to teach me.

:heart:
 
How many of us have said this to our child? Do we know that this is what our slavemasters told us when they sold our family members away from us? we weren't allowed to cry or express any emotion other than complete happiness and satisfaction with our enslaved state. White psychiatrists came up with a malady called drapetomanie. This dreadful disease afflicted its victim with an uncontrollable urge to run away from slavery. Any display of dissatisfaction or moroseness was seen as indicative of the onset of drapetomania and the recommended treatment was to beat the devil out of the slave.

They tell us slavery was over a hundred and forty three years ago. Then why do we continue to raise our children as slaves, to think like slaves, act like slaves and accept slavish treatment as their due? We defend our practices because we do not know where they come from. That's what my mama did and her mama before her and her mama before her. But do we want to perpetuate that which was in fact shameful for our ancestors in a mistaken effort to honor them?
gee,and all this time i thought that it was because i had cut up and knew that i had a buttwhipping coming.
 
Hey sista,

This is what I like to do, give people food for thought. We are all adults and free to do as we please to some extent, more or less.

To make decisions and take actions without knowledge is not freedom but puts us in bondage to those who ddo have knowledge.

I know that everything I say is not the gospel truth handed down from on High, but it is something to take into consideration as we thyink about what we are doing and why we are doing it.
 

Donate

Support destee.com, the oldest, most respectful, online black community in the world - PayPal or CashApp

Latest profile posts

HODEE wrote on Etophil's profile.
Welcome to Destee
@Etophil
Destee wrote on SleezyBigSlim's profile.
Hi @SleezyBigSlim ... Welcome Welcome Welcome ... :flowers: ... please make yourself at home ... :swings:
Back
Top