Dear Readers,
It's been about 7 months, but the Colored Man is back!!! Special thanks to my old college friend, for giving me that extra little kick to get things rolling again. Here goes....
The Colored Man works from home quite alot, and one of my vices is television, and the morning shows. Many years ago, I seriously considered law school, but just did not have the courage to follow through, thinking that I didn't have what it took, academically, to be successful, even though years later I took a law class, and earned an A-. So I guess in reality, I just needed a little push and some self-confidence.
One of my favorite programs to watch is In Session, which provides live and taped, gavel-to-gavel coverage of court cases around the country. In an earlier life, it was called Court TV, and is where people like Star Jones first got her feet wet in mass media, providing expert legal commentary on the cases. All last week they featured the case of West Virginia v. Chic-Colbert.
Ethan Chic-Colbert, 21, was the on-again, off-again romantic liasion of Ms. Lynitrah Woodson, 32.
The long story is this....Ms. Woodson took her son, Jahlil Clements, 11, to the new skating rink in town, along with her infant child by Mr. Chic-Colbert, as well as two of Jahlil's best buds. Mr. Colbert got upset with Ms. Woodson while at the rink, due to the fact that she was talking to another man and his wife. On the way home, Mr. Colbert began to violently punch Ms. Woodson in the face and head, while she was driving on the busy interstate. She stopped the vehicle in the middle of the highway, and Mr. Colbert, got out of the vehicle, drug Ms. Woodson out, body slammed her onto the ground and began to kick and stomp her in the head.
Witnessing all of this, Jahlil jumps out of the car, and goes into the middle of the interstate, and attempts to flag someone down to help his mother. Jahlil is hit by a car, and is killed. Mr. Colbert runs away, and is subsequently arrested, and charged with domestic battery, kidnapping, felony murder, child neglect leading to death, and child endangerment. The judge throws out the kidnapping and felony murder charges, but sentences Mr. Colbert to consecutive terms for the other charges. He will be eligible for parole in 6 years, but could serve up to 30 years. Additionally, when released, he has 25 years of extended probation.
Now the short story is this.....cougarette-in-training meets young thug. Young thug eventually shows his true colors, and changes cougarette's life forever.
Mr. Chic-Colbert is definitely where he belongs, but the Colored Man believes that Ms. Woodson needs to take some responsibility for her actions, and for putting her family in this situation. You see, Ms. Woodson made a fatal error in dealing with her thug....she got dick-matized. Dick-matized is just like being hypnotized, except you're lured into a state of not thinking via a dick, versus by a watch on a chain. It happens all the time. Watch television in the morning like the Colored Man, and you will see it on all the judge shows. Damn, they have all become millionaires due to people like Ms. Woodson becoming dick-matized. It's an epidemic!!! Last week, Judge Milian heard a case of a woman who moved in with a guy, three weeks after meeting him on an online dating site. She was suing him, because guess what? Things didn't work out, and he threw her stuff away. Her reason for this rash behavior?..., at 27 years old, she was getting old, and wanted a man. The next case being featured on In Session is a double murder case, South Carolina v. Lynch, involving a good 'ole church lady who hooks up with a "wolf in sheep's clothing." She and her five-year old granddaughter are dead. Where are the bodies? Only the wolf knows, and guess what? He ain't talking.
Ms. Woodson knew that Mr. Colbert was a thug. All she had to do was look at the tattoed tear drops on his face, the gang symbols on his neck, arms and hands, and immediately know that this is someone who I should not get involved with on an extended level. Why bring this type of man into your household to influence your son negatively, and to make matters worse, why have a child by this thug? I mean, be a Dreamgirl...."one night only, one night only...that's all I have to give," and keep it moving. Even young Jahlil knew that Mr. Colbert was no good, and had recently told his mother that he didn't want him around anymore. But once you've been dick-matized, it's hard to break the spell.
I fully understand why someone like Ms. Woodson would fall under the spell. It's all about loneliness and low self-esteem. For some, it's also about economic security/insecurity. 26 million women have trouble buying food each month; 32 million have trouble paying rent each month; 1 in 10, between the ages of 18-64 rely on Medicaid; children of single mothers are 5x's more likely to live in poverty.
Did you know that every 15 seconds a woman is battered in her home?
Did you know that battery is the single major cause of injury to women?
Did you know that 2,000-4,000 women are beaten to death yearly? (www.strengthenoursisters.org)
The Colored Man just brought up two issues that need to be examined: loneliness and economics. Trust me ladies, it doesn't matter if you are old, young, fat, short, tall or whatever....you are beautiful in your own right, and your Prince Charming will come along someday. The economic situation is in your hands, and the solution is pretty simple. Get an education, so that you can make enough money to take care of yourselves, without needing a thug in the picture.
Ms. Woodson has finally gotten out from her dream involving Chic-Colbert, the man who she testified she wanted around to be a role model for her son. But man, what a price she had to pay to break his hold on her. The Colored Man would say that perhaps it was a price too high to pay. An unnecessary cost. An avoidable cost.
We all learn from life, and the message that we all should get from this tale is that, "all that glitters is not gold". To paraphrase Pheobe Taylor Wallingford, a fictional character on the long-running daytime soap opera, All My Children, "Brooke, a bad man is worse than no man at all."
