Learning to Play The Ultimate Game!

As a young man my parents taught me how to play the game of life. They explained to me early on that not everyone is going to treat you with God's respect. Even though America has gone through the civil rights movement not everyone is going to be tolerant of the diversity in this country. As a result, we were taught that we have to carry ourselves with the utmost dignity at all times. That means looking your best and being respectful everywhere we go.

Don't become a target of some one else's ignorance by allowing them to push your buttons and set you off. We saw an example of this earlier in the week when University of New Mexico football player Deshon Marman was arrested on suspicion of trespassing, battery of a police officer and obstruction after trying to board a flight in San Francisco. The whole incident started when the passenger was asked to pull his pants up because he was sagging.

I can assume that flight attendant wasn't very nice when she asked him to pull up his pants. Consequently, I know he responded back to the flight crew in a negative way because he was a youngster. The video didn't show the initial confrontation, however. He'd just come from the funeral of his best friend and was probably a little testy anyway. So it's plausible to believe that he snapped after, in his opinion, they came at him sideways.

On Thursday, Marman told San Francisco television station KGO that he felt the flight crew was harassing him and that he had pulled his pants up as requested by a boarding agent.

I tell my kids all of the time don't present yourself in such a way that you become a target of some one's intolerance. As a young man, I would get pulled over regularly by the police not for speeding or for breaking the law but because I looked suspicious driving a new car. People have been getting profiled for years, it just didn't start with the fight against terrorism movement. The police would pull me over for the purpose of searching my vehicle to see if there was a reason other than having a corporate job I was in a new car.


I've had guns drawn on me for no reason. However, during the confrontation with the authorities I remained calm and cooperative. When you've done nothing wrong and you're cooperative your chances of being arrested drops considerably. When you become belligerent and combative that's when the suspicion of trespassing, battery of a police officer and obstruction charges show up.

I'm upset with Deshon's parents for not teaching him the rules of the game before he went out into the world. Not every one will treat you with the respect you deserve regardless of how you dress or present yourself. That's why it's so important to understand the rules of the game. Be polite even though you feel like you've been targeted and get to your final destination without ending up all over the news. Then file a complaint against the airline. This whole incident could have been avoided if he'd just listened to the wise old timers that have been begging him to pull them up in the first place.

The world isn't fair and you need to know that before you walk out of the door in the morning. According to the Bureau of Prisons statistics 70% of prisoners in the United States are non-whites. Did you really believe that 70% of the crimes committed in the U.S. are committed by non-whites? Please understand that the 70% that are in jail or the ones that were more likely to be convicted. Teach your children the rules so they can play without fouling out.

Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves