It is Sunday, July 10, 2022, and already this year there have been 180 murders in the city of Baltimore. This number does not encompass all of Maryland, only Baltimore City, and does not include any that have taken place since the publishing of this article. In my opinion, which I give without care as to how anyone feels about it, anyone who does not find this situation completely alarming and downright unacceptable, is spiritually dead.
A combination of, at least 180 men, women, children, babies, fathers, mothers, and loved ones in this city have lost their lives by simply living in what has become a war zone. Gone are the days that trouble was avoided by simply not partaking in certain activities or engaging with certain people. Now lives are being taken while performing routine daily tasks such as driving, walking to work, riding the bus, sleeping in our beds, etc. Normal daily activities that every tax paying citizen has the right to do and takes for granted are now costing us our lives. If that is not concerning to us as citizens than what is?
It is obvious that one person alone cannot be expected to resolve the problem. Not even a handful can; however, being up for the fight, voting, ensuring that we are raising God-fearing men and women who are obedient and law-abiding citizens, us following the rules ourselves and being accountable for our actions, and being “our brother’s keeper”, can collectively make a difference. We all play a part in what we put into society. Many of us are producing offspring and releasing them into the world without providing them with the proper tools needed for success; many of us do not have the recipe for success, yet we continue to shift blame and point fingers when accountability becomes the topic.
From my point of view, the crime problem stems from poor mental health care. I cannot for the life of me understand what is so difficult to comprehend. Everyone is throwing around the slogan “hurt people hurt people” and “self-care”, yet we drop the ball in ensuring that we seek the proper mental health care for our children who are raised in dysfunctional environments. In addition, we fail to ensure that we address the trauma that our children have faced by sweeping it under the rug for fear that we will be labeled bad or unfit as a parent. What is bad/unfit is for us as parents to allow our children to sit and suffer in their hurt and not address it or see them crumbling yet failing to seek the proper mental health care for them. When we see our children repeating the vicious cycles of our lives and continue to be in denial rather than obtain professional help to break the cycle, WE HAVE DROPPED THE BALL.
The failure of leadership to address the mental health issues of our youth in order to stop the violence in our city is mind blowing to me. It simply, in my opinion, screams denial, a lack of accountability and poor leadership. Everyone is running from the truth, but with a murder rate this high there is nowhere to hide. We cannot hide from the truth when it is in our face daily as we travel throughout our city streets. The truth reveals itself through the actions of our youth whose pain and trauma are manifested through their actions. Our children are gifts. It is our duty to mentor them, be good examples, correct the bad behavior and hold them accountable.
When we fail to admit to our flaws in order to break the cycle, all we are doing is participating in the crime that is taking place. In my opinion, we are guilty by negligence. If we fail to speak to our children from a place of truth and love, how will they ever know that we understand their trauma and pain…that we too have been where they are? We cannot continue to put up the facade that we are perfect and had the perfect life. Break the cycle, get them help in order to heal the pain that is causing this generation to lash out in anger, hate, and retaliation. We must let them know that there is a better way, and it begins with better choices and a healthier mind.
If we are not properly mentoring them, correcting them, holding them accountable, etc. then we have failed to do our part. Many of us are running from ourselves and our children are too. Refusing to believe that mental health affects crime, I simply feel as if those who deny the correlation are running from their own demons, they simply refuse to face their past and therefore, believe others should not either.
When we are comfortable if who we are, and have accepted the role we play, positive things should not make us react negatively. When we are mentally aware and healthy, we get to a place where we understand that accepting that we need help, and actually receiving it is a process. We know that people are unique and will cope in various ways in order to heal. When we continue to judge the healing process of others, in my opinion, it displays a lack of character in addition to revealing the unhealed mental illness of the one making judgements. What I have learned is that WHEN I AM AT PEACE I AM NOT BOTHERED UNLESS A SITUATION DIRECTLY AFFECTS ME OR MY LOVED ONES.
This crisis will forever continue because some continue to run rather than do what is required to break the cycle. We are not only running from our responsibility, but we are also inadvertently contributing to the murder rate. I do not believe that we intentionally fail our children. Many of us simply believe that NOT TALKING ABOUT IT WILL PREVENT IT FROM HAPPENING and TALKING ABOUT IT WILL CAUSE IT TO HAPPEN. Because of this false belief, many of us are running from ourselves; trying to hide from the world…our children…who we really are. We are running from the memories of our childhood traumas; the rapes we experienced, the physical abuse, the domestic abuse we witnessed. Some of us are angry with our children for being here. We blame them for our failed relationships, not being able to get ahead. Some of us haven’t healed from the repeated failed relationships, divorce, the murder we witnessed, job losses. etc.
Until we face the ugly truths of our past, find help for ourselves and be honest about who we really are, we can never be honest with our children. What so many of us fail to realize is that those secrets that we think we are hiding from our children, they already know. We are in a time of crisis. The time is now. Let’s focus on breaking the cycle. We can run but We cannot hide.
MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS!!! Defy the Stigma
Dying to be Perfect 