Urban Predators Speak Out

  The Donald Dash from Immigrants to Emigrants While it continues to get harder to determine whether the ICE focus was ever about brown, illegals, and criminals or something more sinister (e.g. blanket federal citizen policing undermining state jurisdiction); whether it’s about migrants, immigrants, or profit (e.g. $45+ billion in contracts offered to large private organizations as  CoreCivic and the GEO Group collecting a daily $165 per detainee). For sure, while the atmosphere of uncertainty continues to spread feelings of suspicion, fear and despair; powder kegs of anger and hate are being lit across the country. For sure, families are being torn apart as Mama’s and Papa’s continue getting put on ICE in undisclosed places without due process or adequate provisions. Meanwhile, for sure, there’s a new exodus underway as not seen since 1935 where approximately 100,000 Americans migrated to work in Russia during the Great Depression. Although now dubbed “ The Donald Dash ,” the...

  The American melting pot is cracked and eroding. The once fragrant scent of “We Stew” brewing for all to sit at the banquet feast and share is now boiling with bursting bubbles of a “Me! Me! Me broth” threatening to burn the faces of anyone willing to come near and dare a sniff. Remember the market crash and the great depression leading to widespread despair, vise, crime, murder and suicide. Remember how the recent fear of it recurring led to the ill managed bailout of Wall Street and Fany May when the realty bubble and more finally began to burst. And remember what the admiral of the Japanese naval fleet said after pearl harbor? While many celebrated a battle victory, he saw a no-win war coming and sadly said “we have awakened a sleeping giant:” A fire breathing dragon that eventually set Nagasaki and Hiroshima ablaze. Today that sleeping giant is the working middle class and its fire breathing dragons are the young who, realizing how regardless of preparatory efforts, are facin...

  Models, role models, and mentors are all sources of influence but differ in how they impact a person. Based on the nature, proximity, and duration of the relationship, they each offer something to learn and imitate. For good or bad, models tend to be random individuals reflecting some admired behavior or achievement deemed worth emulating. Role models tend to be widely recognized individuals representing a particular set of values, skills, or achievements in a field (e.g. a famous leader, writer, athlete or celebrity) able to motivate others toward achievable goals. Mentors are action-oriented people offering direct, ongoing relationships, providing guidance, support, and advice toward achieving specific goals. Social psychology stresses how all these play significant roles and are of critical importance for the continual harmonious development of youth, adults, family and society at large. However, they come in stages and do not operate in a vacuum. They are interactive, evoluti...