Monday, August 25, 2014

THE DEFINITION OF INSANITY IS---



SCORCHED EARTH

Alice was Tim’s beauty queen since grade number nine, when Tim turned 17 Alice gave Tim the birthday present of his wet dreams. Maybe Alice should have talked first to Tim’s mom who at the same age gave up the same gift to a now long gone boy, he promised her a palace but all she really got was future plans bomb. To be sure she loved her boy Tim but had he not come along when he did Mom might have a career instead of waiting tables and raising a trailer park kid.

© M Durfee
8.25.2014




I am not making any judgments about teen sexual behavior, it is going to happen regardless of whether I make up a little piece of prose poetry about it or not. But not only is Detroit the 2nd most violent city in America, one of the top five poorest, it also has the highest rate of infant mortality and teen pregnancies in America. Generation after generation keeps following the same path.

22 comments:

  1. Since AIDS pocked out it's head, and that my son already started being taught about AIDS and the dangers, etc etc from Grade 1, I cannot fathom how this happens.... Yes, in our day, the 'worst' that can happen is a preganancy, yes sad, but these days people DIE. How, how, how?????

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. IN the US Shadow--we don't have any comprehensive sex education. Hell the religious folks and the science folks still haven't come to a conclusion as what should be in sex-ed, much less the viral nature of STD's. A few districts recognize the need and act on it but for the most part we like our porn habits kept a secret and our children in the dark about consequences.

      Delete
  2. Replies
    1. Generation after generation Cat, and it's only getting worse in Detroit; because of the meal ticket aspect as well as the EIC tax credit.

      Delete
  3. I read some stats on this the other day. The relationship is pretty clear about the economic results of it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yep in my neighborhood Charles in a lot of cases the single parent will not give a kid their SS card so they can find a job because it would cut into their SNAP benefits. There is no stigma with a 14 year old trying to take care of her baby and no father around. He's out making more.

      Delete
  4. Oh it is such a frustrating problem. I worked with at risk teens doing AIDS education back in the day. People cemented into a place because of an unplanned pregnacy. Of course some rise out of the depths of poverty and unwed motherhood but not many and for those that do...it is a difficult path.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Melinda, my mom was a Social Worker for 55 years, and the problems have only gotten worse because as soon as a girl is in her third trimester they do not have a school for her to attend and pre-natal care is almost unheard of.

      Delete
  5. When I lived in the trailer park, I saw the same thing in action. I don't care if people think I'm being judgmental. I call it as I see it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alice, It's not judgmental until you add praise or condemnation. A statement of fact is just that, truth exposed.

      Delete
    2. But last time I stated the facts of the behavior of my trailer park neighbors, one of my readers sent an irate email saying she'd never read my stuff again.

      Delete
  6. Detroit is everywhere ... our oyster, uhm ... cookie hasn't crumbled yet, and I doubt it'll happen any time soon ...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Meowmomma That cookie will crumble when the government refuses to pay such large amounts to a single household with tw or three unwed teen single parents.

      Delete
  7. I am all for women having financial independence and a career ~ Sad that the cycle can't be broken ~

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Grace the cycle can be broken, it would be a harsh remedy though. We need to rethink our entire social safety net, the mother staying in school is the major part of the solution but in Detroit there was one school that offered day care while the mother was in class, they had a 98% graduation rate and 75% went on to college. They closed that chool down two years ago.

      Delete
  8. Mark, when did 'the pill' become such a foreign idea? Birth control is the answer. Also, no state aid to mothers who do not claim paternity. Mom's with no handouts will think twice and Dad's who don't want to pay may use a condom! I do feel for the children, tho, as they are the innocents. xo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jodi it became a target of controversy as soon as the religious lunatics decided that preventing conception was just another form of abortion. Not only should they name the father but both should be required to graduate at least HS with a better than 2,0 average. Condoms, most kids today do not even know how to put one on, much less wait the minute it takes to put it on.

      Delete
  9. it is patterns of behavior....some learned by the culture in which we live....one that says our pleasure comes before any responsibility

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brian that 2nd half, that is hormones, I do not condemn nor condone teen age sex. But Like Shadow says i want them to know what the hell they are doing and how to be protected. And yes i agree the 1964 war on poverty was the beginning of the shit.

      Delete
  10. Imprinting and patterning. Escapism at its most despairing and dispiriting.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. True enough Sarah, as mom does the kids will imitate and follow. We hate abortions and birth control but once the kid is done "it's the government's problem."

      Delete
  11. Instant gratification when the hormones rage can turn into a tragedy with pregnant teens who are children themselves. Sex education needs to be a required part of the curriculum. But that won't happen because the religious right will block every attempt at enlightenment.

    ReplyDelete

So Walking Man I was thinking...