I also hope you will check out this post: http://www.radioopensource.org/black-men-in-crisis/, his 12:51am post. malcom z is a friend of ROS that first introduced the idea of personal responsibility to our present debate – you came along after and slammed down the hammer.

Let me emphasize something, I’m a 33 year old white male, this message that you have graciously emphasized, transcends race and class – I will truly save this ROS podcast with your powerful message Abrigal, and I will play it for my future (I hope) children. I can feel from your message, you are speaking to all of us – to all of humanity – you write “right from wrong is not defined by culture or race it is defined by outcomes and consequences.” Thank you. I am truly inspired.

please post on the new “race and prison” thread. Many of us have to reminded about the capacity we all have for change. Also, if you’re so inclined, please speak a word to the overt racism by white people, all around us. It’s a virus in our hardware, and we need some ideas to dig it out. Just because we recognize the critter that has buried itself in, doesn’t make it that critter go away, we have to take a backhoe and dig that damm thing out – and everyone’s pretty flowers might just have to go with it!

Abrigal, how are we going to get black people to vote their numbers? What comes first, the black people voting or quality black people to vote for?

Also, if there is anything I can do for “Strive” please let me and everyone else know.

Those of the community that have been rescued from the insanity have to get involved and educate themselves, so that we can begin to diagnose and rescue our people. Individuals that are financially well off “in our community�, must begin to look at ways to finance the future of their race, and assist those in need of financial resources to create opportunity. We have too many men and women that are wealthy to be waiting on grants.

The statement “it takes a village to raise a child” is needed now more than ever. It is not the fault of the youth that their futures are being destroyed because they are born into family situations that are not stable, or that they are looking for direction and find it in all the wrong places. The true culture of Black people is one that valued the connection of all children with all the elders; so as to steer their future and make sure the child that did not have correct guidance still acquired what it is needed to become a functional adult.

Re-directing a community starts with (“standing up for what is right even if it is against ourselves”) right from wrong is not defined by culture or race it is defined by outcomes and consequences. Everyday we all have to ask ourselves how much do I really care about humanity?

Once again Thanks to the listeners and the WGBH staff!

Your could do a whole show just talking to Abrigal Forrester. I would love to hear his take on other issues besides race, like maybe the Iraq war or if he is a chowhound and where his favorite grub is. The other gentleman were amazing as well, but Abrigal blew me away. We have to keep tabs on this guy; I hope you will continue to give him a platform.

-His comparison to Columbine and how that school system dealt with the shooting was piercing.

-His elaboration on the lack of protection for young boys was insightful.

-His idea that he was so smart that he was stupid – he was using his intelligence in the wrong way. His idea that he sees the leadership qualities out there on the street, they are simply misplaced.

-His statement about that separate value system ingrained in the street culture.

-His point about potential mentors having a fear of sharing their own weaknesses.

Ultimately, the lessons learned here transcended race and class, at least for me.

ROS, the program you provided here would not be found on Charlie Rose; Terry Gross will not be interviewing these three men anytime soon; the program you provided here was special and I appreciate it.

Your words were very sweet and the pat on the back pushes me forward. You are one of my ideal readers when I post, so thank you. Whenever I scroll down a thread I stop at your name first.

I realized early on that there would be much smarter people posting on this site so I had to decide what I could contribute. And I desperately wanted to contribute to this new venture, Chris and Mary contributed so much to me when they had the “Connection” I wanted to give back, even the smallest way. So I said to myself, what can I offer that is original, and my answer was – me. I can offer my unique view from my little perch and offer it in a sincere, humble, and thoughtful way. I don’t care if a reborn Einstein was blogging on this site, he wouldn’t know what the view is from my little perch. It’s easy when posting to regurgitate something you heard on NPR earlier in the week, it’s hard to look inside yourself and then expose what you find on a blog.

I should, that as the most vocal critic of the use of the word community in relation to this ROS blog, I do find that I refer to the dialogues here often. My community of knitters is getting used to me interjecting sentences that begin with, “I was participating in a thread on ROS the other day about this…..”

The opportunity to attempt some form of articulation of my thoughts and feelings on meta-issues in life and receive feedback, counter-points, requests for clarification, etc. is definitely informing how I approach my daily life. It is a loop, where i have an outlet for things that roll around in my head but aren’t pertinent to toss out during a mundane interaction while at the same time, enlivening a dialogue that I turn around and bring back to my mundane interactions.

Thank you ROS – staff, guests, and bloggers.

Here are three stanzas from my poem “. . . and what about OUR Children?”

A Prayer Poem for Peace – that seem to be appropiate to share

Why shouldn’t a Child who witnessed

His Mother’s or Brother’s – Family or Friend’s death when They got shot

from a ‘neighborhood shooting’ in His Home

want to challenge Our Systems that did not work for Him. . . ,?

and roam. . ,

into another Culture in the “Streets” and create a Family/System of His own!

Becoming a Gang Member to feel safe and not alone.

The rules at School and Child’s play

will no longer save or make sense of His day.

Don’t expect Him to be able to concentrate on His books

because with out Traumatic Stress Treatment

He’ll be focused on peripheral vision and a second look!!

We should not punish Him

or his Friends

for loosing Trust

yet work

with OUR Communities

and Government’s systems

for New Solutions

towards Healing Traumatic Stress Syndroms

We ALL must!

. . . and what about OUR Children?

The long version of this poem – about Post Traumatic Stree Syndrom/Disorders being at Global proportions and other current issues will be on the internet soon and I will inform you All as to where. Thanks

This was truly your finest hour.

(I’ll see if I can summon the poet for words on the way home).