My partner said that, at moments, the film had an afterschool special feel to it. I agreed with her, nodding and thinking about the characters and the situation these people were placed in. For those who haven’t seen it, THUG is about a black teen named Starr who is in the car when her friend is shot and killed by a cop during a traffic stop. The shooting ignites racial tensions and forces Starr to question her life choices and her responsibility to stand up for what is right. The film is exactly what you’d guess it is and as such reflects a lot of that hallmark/after school special quality that comes across when you know you’re being taught a lesson. During that lesson I found myself asking a bunch of questions of myself. I asked me, for example, how much do people understand about me and how close I am to the experiences of the black men in that film? How lucky and fortunate was I to have a mom who, like the mom here, pulled me out of the depressed school system and sent me somewhere that I could use my brain to gain some advantage in life? It also made me think about where I am now, and where I want my kids to be when they are my age.
I’m no thug. I stopped fighting in elementary school. Football offered a very brief window into an escapist world where violence was okay, but even there I felt like I didn’t belong in the culture. I put that on my momma for training me as an intellectual and not giving a damn about sports—no matter how hard I worked at them or how well I did when provided opportunities to succeed. Your mind outlasts the talents of your body, and that is why in my forties I can still be an intellectual when I no longer have access to that second gear of speed I used to engage to kick it up and straight pass people.
Every parent I know sees a little of themselves in their kids. It becomes a dangerous view when those parents try to fulfill their dreams through their kids. I am aware of this because of how I treat my kids in sports. They have that talent and see that as a way up. Note that I said way up, because in the THUG world it was and still is a way out. One of these days I’ll write about the difference and how it impacts athletes. However, in regards to where the film brought me, it was a strong reminder that my kids don’t know that world. They’ve been in the car when I have been pulled over. They’ve been given ‘the talk’ yet they still feel like (and are still taught in the educational system that) racism –especially institutional racism is outdated and a relic of a past that people who don’t know how to move on hang on to. I hope they are right.
I know they are not. That is why I will continue to ready them for the day that reality looks down on them and reminds them they are still black.
Some Thoughts:
- Impromptu Subway performances are yet another reason New York City is amazing and I have no choice but to spend more and more of my life in the city of my birth. If I can last out until my retirement, then I can probably afford for my partner and I to live there without working the ridiculous load we do presently.