Writing by T. Yeargin: While Men and Women Weep Father Who are You? Who Am I and Human Development

p align="center"uWHILE MEN AND WOMEN WEEP/u/p p align="center"As they do now, Irsquo;ll fight for their rights/p p align="center"to be free,/p p align="center"While little children go hungry as they do now,/p p align="center"I will try to feed them with the truth so they will/p p align="center"never go hungry./p p align="center"nbsp;/p p align="center"While men go to prison,/p p align="center"In and out as they do now,/p p align="center"Irsquo;ll fight to be free and stand on/p p align="center"The word of god!/p p align="center"nbsp;/p p align="center"While there is a poor lost girl or boy/p p align="center"In the streets,/p p align="center"With nowhere to go,/p p align="center"I will try to lead them/p p align="center"To the right way./p p align="center"nbsp;/p p align="center"While there remains one lost dark soul/p p align="center"With no cause/p p align="center"And is confused about who they are/p p align="center"And donrsquo;t know the truth,/p p align="center"Then Irsquo;ll fight to the very end to let them know!/p p align="center"emBy Brother Shabazz AKA T. Yeargin/em/p p align="center"nbsp;/p pstronguFather, Who are you?/u/strong/p pI ask this because we serve life sentences and have left our children and teens to do for themselves./p pSome of us donrsquo;t like the way other people raise our teens now, but you and I are left out of the job that was ours. We are upset because our sons and daughters took on another person as their idol because we were not there./p pNow, I ask why you always do what he says. I am your father. Why donrsquo;t you listen to me?/p pOur young teens will say to us who left. Dad, who are you? Because you were never around, I talked to my uncle and my stepfather about life and what I wanted to be./p pThey were my idols growing up and also some of my friendsrsquo; fathers and mothers./p pNow you come into my life asking me who are they to teach me because thatrsquo;s your job! Dad, you let mom and us down./p pNow, my brothers want to know who you are and where you have been./p pI ask again, who are you? If you know who you are, take time to love and understand your children. Care for them and talk to them too./p pI come to you in concern for all prisoners that are locked up and trying to do something better with their lives, so that we can get back into society. We have a lot of inmates here in prison that have families out there trying to do their best./p pHere at Chuckawalla Valley State Prison we are trying to start a young menrsquo;s awareness group dealing with insight into criminal behavior, etc. Since we are a group of older fathers in prison we do need help from the public. We do need volunteers to serve as mentors for men who want to change their lives so they can be better fathers. This program needs to be here. Some fathers in here are really hurting and donrsquo;t know how to let it out. This is why when society hears about fathers behind bars many people on the outside can say this program is helping our young fathers to learn to avoid violence./p pOur young men need help and our children too, so will you please hear our cry so all of us can save our children. To help our young men, it takes all of us. It has to be something that we in here can use or feel that hits us hard at home, so we fathers can look at ourselves with more pride and dignity. As we lift up one another we lift up ourselves./p pnbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; -T. Yeargin/p pemHelp us to look out for our young children and young men out there!/em/p p align="center"nbsp;/p pstronguWho Am I/u/strong/p pOne of the greatest loves anyone can experience is having the ability to feel a deep clearness of concern for another person./p pNow I have the capacity to love myself and others and their feelings as well, in the sense of true concern./p pBecause now I do know, itrsquo;s not about me all the time. I have to think about others too. First, I must see and value myself as a good person worthy of being loved as others love themselves and their families./p pWho am I? Now Irsquo;m a person who has to think of others as well as myself.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Once Irsquo;ve made this change, then I know I was the cause of the problem dealing with other people not them./p pAs I learn these programs about violence and the magnitude of impact especially with life crimes, I know there is never just one victim. I share this with my ability to understand who and how my crime affected me and others./p pYes, there were many people I hurt that were around me like family and friends. Being a father, a son, and a teacher of men here in prison, I now can look honestly into myself and my past actions, so I can help others as well as myself./p pnbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; -T. Yeargin/p pemP.S. Do you men, and women, on the outside know who you are?/em/p pnbsp;/p pstronguHuman Development/u/strong/p pControlling Criminal Behavior: When men are in prison trying to stay at peace with themselves, some staff add to the bad behavior by turning men against each other. This makes us seem like we are the ones starting all the problems. A lot of us lifers and other men with lesser time are really trying to get out while it seems that some of these C/Orsquo;s and staff try to make it bad for us, so they can keep a job by saying we will never be rehabilitated. Why do we keep false hopes alive, when we as men know that our young men need help? I say this because drugs and street life donrsquo;t help any of us. Stop saying its drugs; itrsquo;s not. Most of us were poor and lived in low rent housing with our mothers and fathers. Some of us donrsquo;t even know our fathers. When you grow up poor in a low rent environment, with your mother just barely making a living for your little sisters and brothers, you take to the street life and try to be the man of the house. You stop going to school because you want to make it better for all of you. I say a lot of these words to let others know that some of us have been raised in unstable homes, and bad behavior brings us to prison. We donrsquo;t want anyone telling us what to do. It didnrsquo;t work then and it doesnrsquo;t work now, because of lies and false hopes. We can make a fast buck and live the good life. Drugs are not all the causes of criminal behavior. It sometimes goes back to childhood, poverty, your up-bringing and neighborhood. This is another reason why the powers that be say that we donrsquo;t want to be rehabilitated. Some of us get help out of coming to prison knowing that this isnrsquo;t it. The powers that be never talk about the ones that get out and try to give back our communities. Some young men are lost because of their upbringing. Right now I live here in prison and I hear all the time itrsquo;s the environment, so anything that doesnrsquo;t make sense is what we go for. The human being has to start his or her development at home. Then later he or she goes off to school and out in the streets. Then he or she starts picking up good or bad habits. Yes, drugs play a part sometimes. The problems that society is missing are that growing up poor, living in low rent housing, mother on welfare, just barely making ends meet, causes people to do anything to survive. Let me say before theirs any misunderstanding not allnbsp; of us were on welfare, but living in an environment of low rent housing causes some of us to be unstable and have behavioral problems. Yes, some of our young people make something of themselves, but some just choose the easy way, crime! Itrsquo;s not all in the home where the mother or father did the best he or she could. Now stop saying drugs are behind every crime because there are so many problems in society that play a big part on how our childrenrsquo;s minds develop. These problems also affect all of us. Donrsquo;t turn your back on the young men and women who are trying to grow into something better./p pBy,/p pT. Yeargin/p