All the Older Single Ladies in Poverty

[mntleo2]

122. Listen, Hon ...

I have three adult sons and I get it about how their generation was slighted in so many ways. I saw it all the time when they were in school, it was girls this and girls that while the boys were ignored for extra help, consideration as to the things they were going through, it is always the boys who got into trouble in the classroom, the whole bit. It is no wonder that boys are less apt to go to college or graduate from high school since they are not getting the attention boys need. I will say this as well loud and clear especially boys of color are at great risk every day as children.

One of my sons was suspended because a girl was grabbing his crotch so he pushed her hand away and told her to stop ~ I am not making this up. I went to the school and tried to tell the principal this was wrong, the girl was sexually harassing my son. Let me say that both kids involved agreed this pushing away of the hand was not anything but a little more than a brushing off of the arm the girl was not hurt in any way. But the principal's "take" was that by pushing the girl's hand away was a boy "being violent" against a girl and so my son deserved it.

I get it and do believe the pendulum has swung too far. Today I was watching Melissa Harris Perry and she was talking about sex workers and how something like 80% of females in prison had been sexually exploited. But what they did not mention was about the studies showing about the same kinds of sexual exploitation for about the same proportion of men, 80% of men who end up in prison ~ and what women hate to see the most is that about 70% almost 3/4 of those were boys that were sexually exploited by older women.

But as a women who grew up in the opposite world where boys were the darlings and given all the breaks, they were even ignored when they were being violent and sexually aggressive, and if a girl got pregnant it was "her fault" not his, I can tell you it was about time that females were given some respect as well. But I wish it should have been the males of my generation not poured down on males of following generations. They are being raised differently and did not deserve that while the privileged white men of my generation DID deserve to have their asses handed to them in a sling if they behaved badly, as many of them did to my sisters and to me.

I do not know how old you are, but men are at this time caught in the middle of times where we still have A LOT to work out!

Work with women like me who understand a bit about what you are dealing with, and together we WILL make it better for all. Hang in there ...

Love, "Mama Cat" as my sons' friends call me ...