TALK TO THE DADDY

Hello. Come on in. The daddy writes about current events, literature, music and, once in a while, drops something on you from back in the day to make you pause and ponder, stop and stare, and begin to wonder. Who knows? You may start to pace the floor, shake your head from side to side, then fall down on bended knees in a praying position and cry, "Lawd, have mercy! What is this world coming to?" Check yourself! But this blog is NOT about the daddy. It's about you: your boos, your fam, your hood, your country...our hopes and dreams of a better tomorrow. So let's make a pact: the daddy will put it on the track if you'll chase it down and hit him back. Together, we can definitely take it to another level. Shall we?"

Monday, October 19, 2009

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: THERE IS HELP FOR YOU

Listen up. The Daddy is concluding this series on domestic violence, but he is not finishing his work on this issue. From time to time, a brotha will write about this issue on this blog. It's too important to do otherwise.

Meanwhile, remember that there are resources for you, if you need help. Besides agencies in your local community, you can start by calling domestic violence hotlines. These are people trained to deal with domestic violence issues. They are very understanding and sympathetic. Here are a few:

1. If you or someone you know is feeling fearful about what's going on in your relationship, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−SAFE (7233) or TTY 1−800−787−3224.

2. If you suspect abuse in your daughter's relationship with her boyfriend, go to the National Violence Resource Center to get further information.

3. Regarding suspected abuse or violence in teen dating, check out the national teen hotline: Call the National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline at 1-866-331-9474, available 24/7 (1-866-331-8453 for the hearing impaired).

Conclusion

Domestic violence is a very complex issues. It involves culture, the way men and women were raised to interact with each other. It includes politics, the fact that men have constructed laws so that they can maintain control over women. And it also involves how people in society are reared to deal with problems. Too many Americans, men especially, have been conditioned to resolve problems through conflict. Some men have worked through this issue and no subscribe to this way of resolving problems. Others steadfastly refuse to change.

Because issues surrounding domestic violence are so deeply embedded in our culture, politics and individual construct, domestic violence will be with us for a long time. That's why it's important for parents to be armed with knowledge about domestic violence, including potential teen violence. The information is there. Parents just have to make the time to use it. Hopefully, this series helped.

This series concludes with two things: The teenage bill of rights and a list of things people can do to bring greater awareness to domestic violence by Love Is Respect.org, especially during Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Dating Bill of Rights
I have a right to:

Ask for a date

Refuse a date

Suggest activities

Refuse any activities, even if my date is excited about them

Have my own feelings and be able to express them

Say, "I think my friend is wrong and his actions are inappropriate"

Tell someone not to interrupt me

Have my limits and values respected

Tell my partner when I need affection

Refuse affection

Be heard

Refuse to lend money

Refuse sex any time, for any reason

Have friends and space aside from my partner


I have the responsibility to:

Determine my limits and values

Respect the limits of others

Communicate clearly and honestly

Not violate the limits of others

Ask for help when I need it

Be considerate

Check my actions and decisions to determine whether they are good or bad for me

Set high goals for myself


Some great ideas to make people aware of Domestic Violence

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and there are a ton of ways you can support the cause. We put together a list of cool things you can do this month to help spread awareness.
  • Put a purple ribbon up as your facebook/twitter/myspace profile pic to show your support for ending domestic violence.
  • Post a link on your profiles to www.loveisrespect.org to spread healthy dating awareness and let your friends know about the awesome resources we have if they ever need help.
  • Send anti-dating violence awareness mass texts to your friends.
  • Organize an anti-dating violence rally at your school.
  • Submit an article on teen dating violence awareness to your school newspaper.
  • Write a letter to get a Teen Dating Abuse curriculum in your school; Dosomething.org has great info on the steps you need to take.
  • Create an anti-dating violence PSA and post it to your YouTube account.
  • Print out our Teen Dating Bill of Rights and post it around school (with permission from school officials).
  • Print out our quiz cards and hand them out at local events.
  • Create a LOVE Mashup and send it to your friends to promote healthy dating habits.
  • Create a project for It’s Time to Talk Day. DoSomething.org is offering $250 Grants for your projects. Click here for more info.
  • -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Note: photo is from the blog stayteen.org

5 comments:

CareyCarey said...

Great series!

My small part: Don't forget the invite. http://www.healingwatersempowerment.webs.com/#

Please stop by if only to sign their guestbook. They are a small group of woman that perform on stage to spread the word through their own experiences with Domestic Violence.

When I mentioned your blog to them, they said, please Carey, tell him we are here, because we can use all the help we can get, if only knowing someone is listening.

Kentucky Rain said...

This is a great series Daddy. I am actually saving this in a separate folder and intend to use it as a teaching point in my university classes. I can warrant it will generate much discussion.

Somebodies Friend said...

Great series MacDaddy!

I especially liked 'the dating bill of rights' in your post today.

All of these posts this last week were very informational. It great that you are doing your best to get the word out.

Mac Daddy Tribute Blog said...

Carey: I did stop by. I mentioned on another post that I liked the grassroots of the blog and the fact that they use music and other forms of art to help make a point about domestic violence. Thanks for sharing their blog address.

MadMike: I feel honored. I was going to include some info about domestic violence as it applied to blacks and Latinos but didn't have the time.

Somebody: Thanks for being so supportive. I appreciate you.

Anonymous said...

Great blog! Here's an awesome domestic violence prevention PSA I found aimed at men called "Out of the Mouths of Babes". They’re asking everyone to consider, cutting and pasting the PSA’s YouTube link on social networking sites (FB, ning, myspace, etc.) to raise awareness and stop the cycle of abuse: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hzh-gW-CO8