Swine Flu? Let's get things into perspective here!

"90 people get swine flu & everybody wants 2 wear surgical masks. 1 million people have AIDS & STILL people refuse 2 wear condoms."

I have seen this statement in many status' the past few days and I was thinking about this on the train this morning as I took my son to school. And the more I think about it, the more it set off alarm bells in my head.

I remember reading somewhere that there has been a rapid increase in the number of cases of the AIDS and HIV infections in the past year alone, many of those being in the Capital. Even just from me having a quick look for statistics, the majority of the articles are heavily weighed towards Africa. This gives people reading these papers/publications a false impression that its 'over there' and not in fact in the UK when it is thought that there are around 77,000 people here with the virus (HIV) and a further 20,000 people who don't even know they are infected.

What the hell is wrong with us?! We should not be blind to this, nor should we be sheep and follow others and take these articles at face value. There is a crisis in the UK right now. The Black population in London alone are the biggest proportion of the community who are contracting both HIV and AIDS and this is down to childish attitudes, ignorance by thinking it is more connected with gay men and women, and also not being responsible enough to get tested regularly for fear of looking 'slack' I wish I could find these figures, but for now you will have to believe me when I say that I believe this to be true.

I'm hearing all sorts of foolishness surrounding this fabricated 'pandemic' of swine flu. Yes, it has now apparently reached the shores of the UK and for some of us close to home in South London, but it is a bad case of the flu where there is a vaccination against it. We know there is probably a cure for AIDS and the HIV virus out there, until we get it we need to ensure we aren't put in the position to contract it in the first place!

At this point, we need to be concerning ourselves with being safe while having sexual contact. Regardless of if you are in a stable relationship, as people do cheat. Just means that you should be tested less regularly than those who are not in a stable relationship.

Please, PLEASE get yourselves tested regularly wear condoms and just look after your bodies. We spend more time looking into the specifications of our phones and flat screen televisions than we do in regards to going to the clinic or doctor. How sad is this?

A few minutes of being uncomfortable versus a lifetime of drugs and doctors appointments? Think about it. 

Bratz, tweenagers, Jordan and g-strings. Not a good look!

I've been compelled to write this blog after speaking to my big brother David and from a debate that arose because of it.

After a bitter battle in the courts between the makers of Bratz and Mattel (who own and make Barbie their rival) it was ruled that the designer of Brats worked for Mattel at the time, so the ownership is with Mattel. Because of this, they have been taken off the shelves.

As Dave said, Bratz outsold Barbie for a number of years, so it was sour grapes.

To me, it is a good thing that they have been taken off the shelves and there is debate surrounding this as I personally think that these dolls aren't something I'd buy for my friends children, nor do I think they're necessarily a positive thing.

I understand they promote a positive message in terms of young girls/women being independent and forward thinking. No problem with this. My problem is with the way that because of the dress code of the characters and those of similar characters and public figures it is acceptable to put young girls as young as three in mini skirts and knee high boots with heels (not the ugg style boot, I mean the ones with heels)

I also do NOT agree with things like g-strings for children, provocative slogans on t-shirts on the bottom are aof trousers and skirts and things of this nature.

Our young women have enough forces out there that force them to grow up quicker, become sexual objects and such like all to early without making it worse by dressing a 3/4/5 year old child in a mini skirt, a t-shirt with 'sexy' on and her strutting around like a Pussycat Doll in knee high heeled boots. Am I missing something? Shouldn't children be children? Shouldn't they been seen as children and not sexy? Don't we have enough problems with paedophiles trying to groom our children without advertising them?

My other peeve today is the role model debate. I believe that as parents we need to be the most influential people in our childrens' lives and be their main role model. Of course people in the public eye are automatically seen as role models also, but if we provide our kids with a proper attitude, the likes of Kate Moss snorting cocaine and subsequently envigorating her lagging career off the back of it would then not be put on pedestals.

People are quick to blame teenage parents, but as I've seen myself and through people around me, it's not necessarily a teenage parent; more wotless parents that do not care about their children or have parenting skills in order to bring their children up to be decent people. As a person who was pregnant at 19 and had my son at 20 so are sometimes labelled a teenage parent I take great offence to the generalisations that are branded about. I do not pretend to be the best mother in the Worl, but damnit I am trying.

Just from having family working in the care system and friends who have gone through the system or know of people that have, it is down to unwanted pregnancies and social factors such as poverty, drugs, alcohol that are the causes for children growing up without love and affection.

Yes, we should be instilling confidence in our young women so that they grow up with less hang ups about their bodies and love themselves, but there is a thin line between being a confident girl and an object of deisre for the opposite sex.

The correlation between being the best you can be and Hill Harper

So, I’m reading Hill Harper’s book: “Letters to a Young Brother.” Initially I bought it as I am a fan of Mr Harper and to be honest fancy the pants off the man and embarrassingly didn’t think the book would be as deep as I’ve now come to realise.

A lot of “Hollywood” types write books and I cannot remember many having any substance. I should really apologise for that assumption, because it not only was unfounded, but making assumptions of people is something we shouldn’t do as being on the receiving end of this isn’t usually a nice experience. So I’m sorry Mr Harper, although if you are ever in the UK, I’d love to say that in person.

But back to the book, the following letter written by Curtis Martin had me think for a good while.

Dear Young Brotha,
Be balanced: secure enough to be vulnerable, strong enough to be gentle, wise enough to be humble, and powerful enough to serve others. Only fear God. Have a quiet confidence, faith and belief that you can conquer whatever life may bring. Put God first, family second and yourself third. Respect others, but remain true to yourself. And at the end of the day, know how to have fun and enjoy life!
Sincerely,
Curtis Martin.

Everything Curtis wrote in this letter made a great deal of sense and there is an awful lot in the book that has solidified my thoughts on many things. Raising lil’ man has put an awful lot of fear on my shoulders; wondering if I’m doing the right thing, questioning everything I do – is it the right thing to do etc. Just reading Hill’s thoughts on subjects such as single parenthood, having respect for yourself and of those around you, education etc and how those around him in influential places also cares about today’s generation is inspiring and also enables me to realise my potential, both as a mother and a person.

Although this book is directed at the young Black man growing up with or without parental guidance and have insecurities/fears, I urge anyone that wants to explore aspects of self improvement to read this book. I don’t read self help books, and maybe I should, but I can tell you it’s worth reading. I am willing to lend you the book if you wish although I did get my copy for under £5 on Amazon.

But back to this particular excerpt, as cheesy as it sounds it’s something I have in a way taken on as a mantra (I’m not a fan of the word, but it describes my using it in my life to remind me of where I want my life to go and who I want to be.) This may not be yours, but it could be a point at which you could start thinking about where you want to be and how you’d want to be remembered by those around you. This is the age where we should have gotten over the awkward age of our teens and at that stage of finding ourselves and who we are, and what we want. But this isn’t always the case, and it’s a fact of life. Just be prepared to do something about it before you wake up one day and not know how to you go to where you are – where you aren’t happy in your life and even worse in your own skin. I’m still in that “under construction” thing myself and it’s great to know that I’m better than I was a few months ago, and have improved miles than the stage I was at even two years ago. I still make mistakes and have made poor judgments as well as even recently having issues with someone I thought I could make mistakes with and grow with, but I’m human am willing to accept my faults and improve on them.

Anyway I have to run, I’ve got to finish dinner. I’ll be happy to talk about the book or about anything in regards to any of the matters raised in this blog. It’s nice to hear other points of view so I don’t become close minded about things.