Baltimore Teen Smack Down Showed A Lot More, Pt. 1

Watching the video of the mom swooping down on her masked teenage son in the midst of rioting in Baltimore, I thought, "That's my girl!"  I instantly knew what she was feeling. I knew that she was determined to save her son.  At that moment, she didn't care what she looked like or who was watching as she yelled, cursed, pushed and slapped him repeatedly, all in an effort to force him to go home.

She rushed towards him like an angry teenage girl who was about to fight her worst enemy in high school--arms flailing, hair swinging and full of determination to end this mess right now.  I wondered
how her son would react.  After all, this was a teenage boy who was being given a major smack down in front of friends, strangers and the national media.  Would he temporarily abandon all common sense and fight back?  Would he yell potentially regrettable things like "You better stop hitting me." or "No, you go home."?  He didn't.  In fact, when mom, Toya Graham, demands that her son Michael Singleton "take off  that **** mask" he's clearly trying to leave the area, presumably to save face.

Michael put up a little resistance, but quickly retreated.  It was so quick, at one point she has to run in order to keep up with him. It wasn't just the fear of his mother's wrath that made him leave, he left because he knew the real reason she had come looking for him. Michael knows how much his mom loves him. Yes, he disobeyed her orders to come home directly from school, foolishly believing that his friends knew better. It was one of those dumb teenager decisions that thankfully, only cost him his pride. I've watched the two of them being interviewed a couple of times now.  I know it has to be very difficult for Toya Graham, she lost her job, she's a single mom raising six kids (Michael's the only boy) and they live in a very tough neighborhood. But having the kind of love that she has for her children will go a long way in helping them to overcome the odds.

Love is very powerful. When there an absence of love, it creates a void in our lives, communities, the nation and world. Love is so powerful that Christ says it's both the first and second greatest commandment (Matthew 22:36-39).  Love of course is not just about warm, fuzzy feeling, or kisses and sugarplums, it's also about making sacrifices and caring for others when it's difficult to do so. Love is being truthful (even when it's uncomfortable), yet, being truthful without love usually does more harm than good.    

In part two of this post, I'll explore this issue in the context of Baltimore, Ferguson, the police and a couple of other areas.
   
Here's Steve Osunsami of ABC News interviewing Toya Graham and her son Michael Singleton.