Where's the men?

Tonight at work I sat across from a boy whose 15 years old and I wondered about who was going to show this boy how to be a man. He's an indigenous kid from another town, male influence is minimal. Whose he got that will show him what it's like to be a man?


This boy has gotten to the stage of awkwardness within his skin. He sits hunched over like he's not used to his size. I wonder what it's like inside his head. How does he deal with thoughts of responsibility? Thoughts about his own future?

Where's the men that will show him how to live this life as a man, proudly as an aboriginal. Men that will help him deal with insecurities so that he will not end up as another statistic. Men that will hug him and shake his hand when he's done a good job.

Where are these men? Men to foster this boy. Men to love him when life is the hardest and he is making bad choices. Men who will not give up on him.



I think about this and all I can do is pray. I'm just a little white girl who's in over her head. I have no idea how to get this kid what he needs. He has a culture and identity that's so separate from my own white working class alternative world. What difference can I make really? I hope the words I say to him get in there. I hope that I can provide him with some hope for his future.