I am Not A Role Model

[jono]

I dont think athletes or entertainers should be considered role models either but in reality they are.

When you put people on a pedestal, which in the USA means you pay them alot of money, people watch everything they do.

And if adults are watching you can be damn sure kids are watching. Kids are impressionable and like to mimic their favorite cartoon characters and athletes, whether they should or not isnt relevant.

As a kid i looked up to Barry Sanders, he was a boring dude, he wasn't wildly charismatic but if i was playing football i mimicked his jukes as best i could. Just like when all the kids stuck their tongue out like Jordan or tried to learn cross overs to mimic Iverson.

Its the same reason people spent money on jerseys and shoes that are endorsed by players its because they know they have a following.

Knowing that you have a certain amount of power should make you more aware of what you say and do. Im sorry if its unfair, its reality.

 

[babelipsss]

When you accept the money, bask in the fame and smile for the cameras you are a role model even if you reject the title. A bad role model is still a role model. You can't stop some kid from admiring and wanting to emulate an adult. It's what they are wired to do. My daughter is ten and even though I try to instill solid values in her thinking, I know she is aware that SOME of the black women out there don't exactly act the way we act in our home. I hope she looks at ratchet behavior like I do ( spectator sport) but who can predict the future? There is no application for role models, it just happens.

 

The user and all related content has been deleted.

 

[SolemnSauce]

Yall both make great points. That said, is it up to parents to guide kids to the type of people they might want to emulate?

 

[SolemnSauce]

All them paragraphs coulda been summed up with... How the fuck did Angelina Jolie become a UN rep after all that creepy shit she did, but a black man gotta work double time?

Lol...true indeed, and walk on water.

 

[jono]

Yall both make great points. That said, is it up to parents to guide kids to the type of people they might want to emulate?

All the parents can do is limit access but that doesnt mean anything as the kid will get access elsewhere.

Kids are heavily influenced by their environment and just because you dont allow certain music or movies in your house doesnt mean it doesnt exist elsewhere.

 

[SolemnSauce]

Thats a heavy burden, is it any wonder way more and more reject the idea. Not giving a fuck, and in a case of someone like Raven Symone rejecting the idea of being a racial role model all together.

 

[yellowtapesport]

Todays parents have very little influence in their childs life. Sad, but true. However, genetics will account for some similarities later in life.

 

[mryounggun]

It ain't about limiting your kids exposure to 'bad influence'. Like someone else said, you can't control what your child uploads 24 hours a day. Only when they are in your care.

It's about making sure that your child does't put these celebrities on a pedestal to the point that they want to emulate them in everything. Kids need to know that NOBODY is perfect or right all the time and that EVERYBODY has flaws and does dumb shit and will make mistakes. The more you drive that point home, the better off your kids will be, IMO.

 

[R.D.]

Then they should have chose a different profession

I'm struggling to see your POV if you care about the advancement of black ppl

They gotta be someone positive to the kids who follow and buy their stuff....woe is them

 

[not_osirus_jenkins]

Wish I was a role model. I'd be telling the kids all kinds of fucked up shit.

 

[SolemnSauce]

Then they should have chose a different profession



I'm struggling to see your POV if you care about the advancement of black ppl

They gotta be someone positive to the kids who follow and buy their stuff....woe is them

You'd trade happyness and social freedom for fame and money. Not to say many arent happy, just saying to some..like Dave Chappelle said. It became harder to do his show, when he figured out it was no longer him and his friends in a room writing jokes. He was the voice for people who cant speak. Thats alot for some people, thats asking alot. Asking alot for people you dont even know.

I get civil rights leaders and things in the past. But they set out to be that, with maybe due respect to Mrs.Rosa Parks, and few others. You say it it like its just some shit to do.

 

[deadeye]

People choose their own role models.

So, these "role models" have no control over who chooses to look up to them.

Basically, with anyone in the public eye, there will be people who love everything they do.....and people who hate everything they do.

Therefore, how can somebody be a role model to someone who hates everything they do?

Obviously they can't.

Hence the reason why celebrities have no control over who chooses to look up to them.

That's on them.....not the celebrities.

 

[VIBE]

That's why you need to raise your children and teach them principles in life. The number one role model starts with you. You can remain that role model as long as you remain consistent. Celebrity role models are okay, as long as they understand how it all works. Celebrities got to their status due to hard work, sacrifice, patience etc and not due to their careless lifestyles they're able to live due to their fame.

 

[kliiimaxx]

How crazy is it to work your ass off. Struggle, grind, and fight to make it. You do it cause you got a family, and sometimes you face losing that family to make it. You finally make it, able to live your dream. You have great success, and then you become a parent to a bunch of kids you dont know. People bug when a thot mother convinces a man that a child is his. He finds out it isnt, but is still held up as the father and has to pay.

Think bout that when it comes to these black athletes and black celebs. Being held to a higher standard than their counterparts of other races. Cause they are black, and alot of black kids dont have their parents in their lives like they should. The kids turn to the street, media, and entertainment for guidance. So now theres this weight on their shoulder to be the leader of a young race.

And people get mad when they are not willing to accept that role. When they do what many in their position do. Openly spend wildly, party, and partake in drugs. Meanwhile they may have a team that makes sure they have a nestegg. They do drugs in moderation, and may only be at parties as business deals. But to a lot of people, they say. Well the kids dont see that side. Seeing as they came from the same situations alot of times, sometimes themselves not getting a helping hand. Is it their responsibility to be role models?

Knowing that accepting that role, they have to outwardly live like a public MLK. And face hatred and disappointment the moment they slip.

 

[memphis2sacnicc]

Classic commercial by Nike and Barkley.

 

[Focal Point]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4gqk4WPnrpM

Classic commercial by Nike and Barkley.

she speaks some serious fat to chew on