The Jena 6 case, O.J. being back in the news, the recent Michael Vick issue, and all the recent protests and marches have certainly got me thinking about justice and how race plays a part in our legal system. I’ve been most especially considering our children in all this. How our children so often end up on the wrong side and how their race plays a part. Unfortunately, those who are introduced to the system as kids often remain a part of it as adults.
I’m not one who likes to spend my time and energy pointing out problems, crying and complaining over them. My philosophy is if you aren’t going to look for solutions and actively pursue them, shut up.
So what should we do? The first thing we should do is work on ourselves. We spend so much time trying to convince other people that the system is not fair. Why don’t we apply our activities, resources and attention to ourselves and our children? In other words, instead of protesting the system when one of our children is caught up in it, let’s keep our children out of the system.
There are several recent cases where a child (sometimes one with lots of potential) makes a mistake, gets caught up in the system and has his or her life ruined. Sometimes the consequences are completely unfair. Many times the whole situation could have been simply prevented. Here are some examples:
Marcus Dixon- This Georgia student with a 3.96 average and a scholarship to Vanderbilt University was convicted of statutory rape and sentenced to 10 years in prison because he had sex with a girl 2 years younger than he was.
Genarlow Wilson- This Georgia student with a 3.2 average participated in sex act with a 15-year-old when he was 17. He got the same sentence as Marcus.
Deseree Watsun- This six-year-old Florida girl was taken away in handcuffs because she had a temper tantrum at school.
All unfair but preventable. Just like these cases, much of our problem with the system can be solved by prevention. The first solution is a spiritual. Our children’s moral center needs to be strengthened. They need to discover a sense of purpose through God. Their sense of purpose will help them make appropriate and moral decisions. Second, we need to come together to educate our children. Poor education is a direct line to the criminal justice system. Third, we need to nurture our children. We must let them know that we love them, support them and believe in them. We must also model good decision-making. Finally, we must discipline our children. If we don’t, the justice system will. We failed Marcus, Genarlow and Deseree. Somebody should have had a talk with Marcus before he got into this situation. Marcus’ case happened just a couple of years prior to Genarlow’s in the same state. Genarlow should have seen what happened to Marcus and should have known better. Somebody should have taught him. Deseree needed some home discipline before she had to get it at school and finally in jail. Not just their parents should have been there, but their neighbors, their teachers and any other adults in their lives. We as adults have to come together and stop pointing the finger at others. We have to point the finger at ourselves and work on solutions. Some might say I’m blaming the victim instead of the system. No. What I’m saying is we need to stop being the victim and take control of our own destiny.
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