Category Archives: Parenting
It’s poor judgement and parenting, people…less about race
It’s been a while since I’ve shared my thoughts and concerns about our community – recently, those concerns have been building and I’ve reached a point that I can’t keep quiet any longer.
I’m disturbed by the number of people unwilling to accept responsibility for their, and their offspring’s, actions. Recently, any number of people have been making excuses for why a teen or adult child shouldn’t have received the results their poor choices derived. At what point do we insist that people take responsibility for the havoc and pain they cause? Mourn the outcome, but be accountable and take responsibility for what led to …
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Posted in City of Rockford, Crime, Jobs, Parenting, Poverty, Public safety, Racism, Rockford Police Department, Winnebago County
Tagged Community, Crime, Education, Equity, Kris Kieper, law enforcement, Parenting, race, racism
Hey New Black Panthers, hate begets hate and violence begets violence!
The old Black Panther Party members are quick to disassociate themselves with this new “political”/”self defense”/vigilante group calling themselves the New Black Panther Party. You’ve probably heard of this new group recently as they’ve placed a bounty on the head of George Zimmerman, the man accused of shooting Trayvon Martin.
This new Party should have some discussions with the original Black Panthers; chances are pretty good that they’d be told the quickest way to lose credibility and any voice you may have is to promote violence. In fact, the Black Panther’s released a news alert condeming this group of hate …
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Posted in Crime, Parenting, Politics, Racism, Rockford, Winnebago County
Tagged Civic Engagement, Community, Crime, Equity, Kris Kieper, race, racism, respect
Rockford shows solidarity with a Hundred Hoodie March for Trayvon Martin
There’s nothing more frightening than a 17 year old in a hoodie carrying Skittles and a bottle of tea – or at least that’s what an over zealous, self appointed neighborhood watch leader would lead people to believe after he shot Trayvon Martin to death. Was it the hoodie and snack foods or the fact that he was a young black male that made him threatening?
As a mother, I’m devastated for Trayvon’s mother and his family. As someone who believes that negative stereotypes lead to bad decisions on how we see and treat people, I’m angry that a boy lost …
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Posted in Crime, Parenting, Politics, Public safety, Racism, Rockford, Uncategorized, Winnebago County
Tagged Civic Engagement, Community, Crime, Equity, Kris Kieper, Parenting, race, racism
Is technology making us weak?
The more progressive and technologically advanced we become, the more I feel I’m losing. I didn’t realize until recently that there are things I have learned over my lifetime that my kids have never had to learn and are downright perplexed as to why I would have ever had to use some of the soft-skills I’ve picked up.
My daughter and I were watching an episode of The Amazing Race where they visited Margaret Mitchell’s home. One challenge was to type a letter on a typewriter that would have been around during Mitchell’s lifetime, only the number one wasn’t on the …
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Posted in Education, Entertainment, Parenting
Tagged Education, Kris Kieper, Parenting
Opportunity and classism trump race in Rockford’s divide
“Help me understand why in 2012 we are still facing issues with race in Rockford.” Mike Brown asks for clarity in his recent blog; I applaud his candor and desire to better understand his new community. I think this is a question that is not simple to answer, however, and has as more to do with opportunity, classism and education than it does race.
There are predominately more people of color living on the westside and visibly more whites living east. That in and of itself isn’t necessarily bad if that’s where people choose to live. What’s bad is that …
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Posted in City of Rockford, Crime, Economy, Education, Health, Jobs, Parenting, Poverty, Racism, Rockford, Uncategorized
Tagged Community, Community Development, Crime, Education, Equity, Kris Kieper, law enforcement, Parenting, racism
