Modern Rites of Passage for boys

[Neuromancer]

Brother @Matt504 brought up a good point in the gang initiation thread.

If we don't give Black boys rites of passage and well defined paths to man hood, shyt like this will continue to happen. Is it a stretch to imagine that these same kids are also consistently consuming content that literally celebrates gang culture and Black death?

What modern Rites of Passage can we or have we developed for our boys. To present the restless inclinations?

 

[Hoodoo Child]

A cultural renaissance needs to happen first, but the easiest thing to do now would be to start from scratch, and teach them the basics. (Ex. Hone a skill, learn how to fix a car, grill, fish, self defense, carpentry, hunting, socializing etc).

 

[Amestafuu (Emeritus)]

This is a great topic and a great observation. As someone who went through traditional right of passage I have to say that it is more than symbolic. It instill a sense of responsibility and understanding about life. In my culture we usher in manhood at 13

 

[Kiyoshi-Dono]

Agree with digital blackface, anti black posters brehs

 

[Morethan1]

Dope thread but won't go 2 pages

 

[BaggerofTea]

A 3 month summer long excursion into the woods

1. Ferments leadership skills.
2. Learn how to survive and navigate a strange environment
3. Cultivates mental toughness
4. Teaches young men how to work together to accomplish a particular goal

 

[Matt504]

This is a great topic and a great observation. As someone who went through traditional right of passage I have to say that it is more than symbolic. It instill a sense of responsibility and understanding about life. In my culture we usher in manhood at 13

Are you open to giving more insight into what your experience was like?

 

[BaggerofTea]

A cultural renaissance needs to happen first, but the easiest thing to do now would be to start from scratch, and teach them the basics. (Ex. Hone a skill, learn how to fix a car, grill, fish, self defense, carpentry, hunting, socializing etc).

Can we knock it off with this culture culture culture bs, like every black person is caught up in the culture.

Its disrespectful to a lot of black folk out there

 

[Matt504]

A 3 month summer long excursion into the woods

1. Ferments leadership skills.
2. Learn how to survive and navigate a strange environment
3. Cultivates mental toughness
4. Teaches young men how to work together to accomplish a particular goal

There are a few parallels here between what you're describing and a Boys Scouts type program but I think this is a pretty solid list.

 

[BobbyWojak]

A cultural renaissance needs to happen first, but the easiest thing to do now would be to start from scratch, and teach them the basics. (Ex. Hone a skill, learn how to fix a car, grill, fish, self defense, carpentry, hunting, socializing etc).

A 3 month summer long excursion into the woods

1. Ferments leadership skills.
2. Learn how to survive and navigate a strange environment
3. Cultivates mental toughness
4. Teaches young men how to work together to accomplish a particular goal

Summer camp? That's what's holding us back?

 

[BaggerofTea]

Summer camp? That's what's holding us back?

These are basic skillsets that a young man can take to basically every aspect of his life

Its about character.

You keep bringing up "culture" right, this is a foundation to building the right culture.


Unless you think Culture is some sort of genetic distinction, then you a eugenicist

 

[Hoodoo Child]

Can we knock it off with this culture culture culture bs, like every black person is caught up in the culture.

Its disrespectful to a lot of black folk out there

If it pertains to AA culture, then yes. Every Black American is apart of (and contribute) to said culture. You can't pick and choose when to be apart of it

 

[BaggerofTea]

There are a few parallels here between what you're describing and a Boys Scouts type program but I think this is a pretty solid list.

I think the boy scout is good for young men, especially if led by strong adult male leadership

 

[invalid]

Quoting a post I made some time ago.

This is a weighty question that requires a weighty response but there has already been alot of work done on this so I will direct you to that work.

To try to give you a short answer, yes and no.

Nietzsche talks about these two ideas called the Apollonian and Dionysian.

Our society heavily leans Apollonian which means we're ascendants. When trying to find meaning, we lean towards the spiritual, towards a higher plain. We want to rise up, be cleansed, and use our intellect.

The Dionysian is descent. It is soulful not spiritual. It needs to go down, to feel, to touch, and to get dirty, while there is a quality of the human spirit that wants do the opposite and rise up.

Our society is increasingly becoming Apollonian which explains why Rituals and Rites of Passages are disappearing.

Ritual and Rites of Passage are Dionysian.

And we have been mistaking Rites of Accomplishments (bettering our selves/rising up/ascending) for Rites of Passages and they are totally different.

There are many types of rituals and rites of passages. The ones that are particularly important to a man's life are rituals and rites of passages that are suppose to heal or be transformative.

The characteristics of a proper ritual that is transformative or is to heal requires that you 1) enter into a different space, you have to cross a threshold, you have to separate 2) you have to be challenged or go through an ordeal or make a sacrifice (the descent) and then 3) you have to return transformed. And 4) they can be communal which gives a sense of shared identity and purpose of men in the same tribe.

So to answer your question, getting your first car seems like a rite of accomplishment (Apollonian), whereas besting your father at something or, and it may not be politically correct to say, killing someone or going off to war (being separated, going through and ordeal, and returning) transforms us as men (Dionysian).

There is a good book on this called Re-enchanting the Forest. It talks about the importance of rituals and how we need to be mindful about incorporating rituals and rites in our lives even as we get older, and how we should be incorporating rituals and rites into the lives of our sons.



If you want to listen to a podcast on this subject, to get more familiar with the subject, listen to this:

#505: A Man's Need for Ritual - The Art of Manliness - Omny.fm

 

[get these nets]

Presence of Fathers to raise, groom, and provide example to their sons. Rites of passage would supplement that, because it would be your Dad acknowledging your status that would stamp your transition.