I know exactly what the OP is talking about. I was right before Gen X, on the tail end of the Baby Boomers. To me, although I know they flooded the hood with drugs way back in the 80's and 90's, it sometimes feels like Gen X never ended. You have some of these Millennial's thinking they have it worst than Gen X, and I do see why they would feel that way after 2008. But I still remember what happened in the 80's and 90's, and the rise in felony drug charges, and prison sentences, and the beginning of the three strikes you're out rule, and the beginning of stiffer sentence for crack cocaine over powder cocaine, etc..., and worst of all, the body count.
Although brothers still had their free will, I will never put Gen X's shortcomings only on the brothers, as though the sisters of Gen X didn't have their own free will as well. A lot of these sisters made poor choices by dealing, or even for procreating with the wrong type, by passing up good brothers. A lot of them saw those drug dealers driving those nice cars, and making big money selling dope, and they got with these brothers for the thrill. I remember dating this Hampton University sister in the mid 80's, who almost sounded like she was proud that she once dealt with a drug dealer, and how she use to see his suitcase full of cash. You know we didn't last too long. This was the first time I ever heard of a college girl giving a straight-up knuckled head time of day. In the 70's, a good girl wouldn't even give a brother time of day for listening to rap when it first came out, or for smoking weed. As far as rap, a lot of those brothers started off singing about what they were seeing, which was a lot of drug dealing, a lot of drug using, a lot of murders, a lot of police brutality, a lot of skeezing, and a lot of booty shaking.
Anyway, I've known brothers who died, or got felons and never recovered, as a result of what took place in the 80's and 90's. But most of the sisters I know who sold their bodies and hit the streets, were able to bounce back, and at least get a job bagging groceries. I'm not saying all sisters bounce back, but most of the ones I know did, even my next door neighbor who got shot...but she did lose her baby. The little brother in the house on the other side of me, lost his life, after I practically raised him into sports. Although our Black leaders like to blame the Black men for everything, I will not blame one gender, especially brothers, who get the worst end of the stick. Everybody is accountable for their own decisions, That's nature's law. I never could get with that blaming a brother on one side of the country who doesn't even listen to rap, because a sister sold her body, who lived somewhere on the other side of the country, and the brother never even knew her. I know some of you may think I'm reaching, but I use to hear sisters on line actually trying to argue things like this, and blaming the brothers. Talking about not feeling accountable or responsibly for your own choices. I remember not long ago, Black leaders were even blaming brothers when that White man won child support from Halle Berry's sold out butt. I think Olivia Pope woke brothers up, at least most of them. Anyway, with those Black leaders, or Black people with a voice, selling us out in the 90's, no wonder sisters stop feeling accountable for their own choices.
Like someone already said in this thread, the White man got rich off of our free labor, and set us free without our forty archers and a mule, or anything else, and forced us into ghettos, etc.... Although we have our own free will, the White man is still at the root of are bad decisions as a group.
Not all of us lived like that
