A psychologist back in the 70’s did some experiments with dogs to test their responses to shock and confinement. Seligman was is name–look it up. This idea is important to me because lately we’ve been hearing a lot about “those freeloading people,” who don’t want to work but want law-abiding-tax-paying-hardworking-citizen to take care of them. Every time I hear one of these “true Americans” make this kind of statement, I wonder if those deemed as taking advantage of the system are truly lazy, good-for-nothing-freeloaders. Of course, at the end of my wondering, I know my answer and it is “no they are not.” Well, guys, at the beginning of my wondering I know that the answer is “no.” But being the open thinker that I am, I had to ask the question.
Then I begin to wonder about the CONTEXT that surrounds welfare recipients. By the way the majority of those on welfare are not Black or Brown–look that one up too. But, when I consider the context of the lives of the Black ones, we should be asking the question, how they are doing as well as they are doing. A lesser people would be dead. A people with little inner-strength or intestinal fortitude would not STILL BE HERE.