We bare some of the blame

We bare some of the blame
I understand what my forefathers went through, I was there in the 60s, born 1947, a twin in a family of 8 children in Wash. DC on a st. in the poorest part of DC. We had an out house 805 Rst. NW, in our nations capital. The lady next door had indoor plumbing, because she choose to sell alcohol out of her home, Mrs. Van. She was well known all over that area and they came from all over to buy her wares. Again we lived in a house with a well like fixture in the kitchen there was no hot water heater. We had a large tub that Mom would place 2 of us at a time and then change the water, a rough life for her. They say we had no other recourse, but to do these things, then why did Mrs. Van have a choice not to live like us and didn’t. We have always had a choice we just didn’t have the back bone to do anything about it. Im not saying I’m any different than anyone else, but we do have choices. Today we have even more. So when you speak of so many black men being in prison, I say it was a choice to rob that bank, to kill, to sell drugs, or not to. I’m a ex-offender, drug addict, homeless person ex to all of them. I don’t understand this about offenders weather it be women or men. Each Sunday they show a certain prison on MSNBC. We watch these men and women with this I had to attitude, but in most situations its an act . I was one of those in prison, and if you don’t take the time to examine your actions in prison, where will you get the time. I call it standing still. Something God does for everyone he stand us, or at lease tries to stand us still, we are the busy ones. I was to busy when I went into prison the first time, but by the second time I was ready for help from someone. When that judge told me 5 yrs. And then paused for a moment to let the 5 yrs. Penetrate my soul. Then he said, but Im going to give you a chance this time and give you 3 yrs.. That was also hard, and as he was saying 3 yrs. I was still digesting 5yrs.. I told the judge he wouldn’t see me again. He laughed alright Mrs. Robinson for your sake I hope so. To me the 5yrs. Took me 10 yrs. Into the future and in seconds Id made up my mind. Today I give the officers, and judge for seeing my future and wanting to help me.
Believe me we as offenders we bare some of the responsibly for our today’s, because there are a lot of things around us showing us the way, but we choose to go the wrong way, and enjoy it until we are caught. Once we are caught, then it’s the white man that did it, for me the only ones that came besides my family were white. To me we as blacks hold our selves back by not seeing, or wanting to see that help comes in all colors of skin. do you really think God wouldn’t have something out there for us to reach for, I know it was plenty around me and I cant blame the white man for the fact that first time I was weak enough to try the drugs and I continued to use, and to put it even more exact no white man sold me the drug, no white man held my arm and pushed the drug in me, it was a black man, what about those blacks that sell it to us, they know right from wrong and they still do. Our own people see our difficulty and they prey on our weakness, its as if we don’t see that black man who deals it, we only see the white man in another country. Dark skin people cut it from the plants, bag it, ship it, all of these dark skin people handling the drug for these few white people, come on some where a long the way some one should of come to they’re senses, but it was a choice made to do what it took to bring these drugs to the US,
Have we all forgotten what the word no means, have we forgotten how to care for our fellow man, but when we get into trouble all the knowledge we should have known seconds ago somehow is remembered after the fact, we cry out please help me seconds after we are caught when in reality God had been trying to reach to you for quite some time but we refuse to listen. We bare some of the blame…
by Patricia Robinson-4/6/08--10am