Is The Media Raising Today's Black Youths?

Arizona Cardinals Jonathan Dwyer

The fact that Beyonce's 63-year-old dad, Mathew Knowles, has fathered children from women much younger than he (one while still married to his then-wife) characterizes what many would consider to be trifling behavior. The fact that the Carolina Panther's 6-foot-4, 275 pound defensive end, Greg Hardy, is being suspended by the NFL because he threatened and beat his girlfriend is also a verification of trifling behavior in its abundance.

There's been an outcry over former Baltimore Ravens' running back Ray Rice's domestic abuse case, as well as the Minnesota Vikings' running back Adrian Peterson's child abuse case.  After viewing the public display of these men's negative behaviors, once can conclude that the media is doing something that has been lacking in the black community. They are successful re-educating our youths.

In a time when going to prison is considered to be a badge of honor and drug use is glorified, black youths have lacked the proper guidance necessary to make the transition to becoming responsible adults.  Also, due to the decreasing number of long term marriages and the increase of young people raised in single parenthood, education of black children has proven to be stifling at best; leaving many to feel that the future for black youths is daunting.  However, that notion appears to have changed some weeks ago when Ray Rice was ridiculed publicly when the video of he beating his then-fiancee surfaced on TMZ.  The matter was so extreme that it forced the National Football League, the most visible sport in the world, to be scrutinized for how it handled its disciplinary procedures.

While the poker was still hot, there arose the Adrian Peterson case followed by the poorly handled Greg Hardy case.  Now, we have the case of Arizona Cardinal's player Jonathan Dwyer who was also arrested for domestic abuse. Even middle-aged men can't get away from a lesson because now we have the older man, Mathew Knowles, being subjected to paternity test to prove that he fathered children with women half his age. And to think, it was only about five years ago when married actor Morgan Freeman flipped his vehicle several times while driving with an alleged mistress on a Mississippi highway. Somehow, Freeman's not-so-noble act was swept under the rug. Today, however, such matters are not as concealing.

I can only hope that all of you well-known black folk continue in your ways of error for the sake of today's black youth.  If a good father or mother is not present, at least young people can rely on the people they look up to the most to be publicly scrutinized as a result of their wrongdoing. So, let's give thanks to that aloof young woman (whose name escapes us all) for almost single-handedly bringing down NBA owner Donald Sterling. Who would have known that exposing someone publicly would be one of the greatest teachers to us all.

By Brian L. Elliott, The Scarlet Journal
2;37 EDT, September 23, 2014