Scenario 4 - Criminals

I like to call this the “He’s still your uncle” quandary.

So he likes to harass women / pick fights with men half his size / steal buu from the neighbors / impregnate girls / strip auto parts off parked cars / smoke weed at the elementary school …. He’s still your uncle.

Whatever the allegation, misdemeanor, felony, criminal activity, you still have to take care of him. Is this safe? Is this fair? Is it better to incarcerate at will and fill prison cells to capacity? Is it better to leave rehabilitation and re-entrance into society to a government program? Or is it better to lean on the loving families of these ne’er-do-wells to help them cope and integrate since, in the end they WILL benefit if the transition is a smooth one?

But is there a line to be drawn? How can you risk the health/safety of your children or sisters with a sex offender living in your home? But your culture dictates it. And once they come home ... how will you prevent other women/children from suffering? How do you get along with your neighbors when they always have missing property? How do you stay in good standing with the community if there are fights breaking out or questionable behavior in public?

But …….. who gonna love you if yo’ mamma don’t love you?

I don’t have answers. I don’t expect anyone else to.

My main point is … we all gots prolems. And we all have our own ways – and they’re based on the truest, purest intentions. But we’re all flawed. There’s always exceptions, extenuating circumstances and flat-out mistakes. Sometimes our intentions don’t set up good expectation or exacerbate existing problems. My way, your way, their way, our way ... nothing is perfect.

Living in a completely different culture (veiled in western clothing and language) brings to light a lot of these rhetorical questions. These are just the ones bouncing around in my brain right now.