These young kids don't even want to listen to their own parents. That's where the problem lies. What happened to these parents? When did it become ok for parents to just give up. I'm sure all of our parents had to overcome obstacles in life but that didn't mean giving up. I'm 25 years old living on my own and I still get lectured by my mom. There's an extreme lack of family structure.

__________________
HUH?

My parents and my grandparents actually dealt with real, overt
racial discrimination in Phila. My mother used to talk about having
to sit in the "colored section" when they went to the movies
and so on. This was back in 1920s and 1930s when she was
growing up.

But stuff like that, which must have eaten away at their pride and
self-esteem, didn't stop them from getting as much education as they
could and being motivated to be the best people they could be.
Life was hard for these people and no one had a lot of money
but they didn't feel ANY need to commit any crimes.

I think part of how they felt was based on actually having hope.
Hope for the future that one day black people could do anything
and be anyone they wanted. You had to prepare for that day
and they did!

I don't know what happened to that possitive structure and set of beliefs.
I'm just as puzzled about how to fix the awful mess too many
blacks find themselves in now as so many others are.