Teens Talk - The Woman Within A Man

The Grand Rapids Times
11-28-2008
By Marcel Gamble

I dedicate this article to Alvin. Your words of wisdom were definitely inspiration for this piece.
Many young men are living their lives behind a lie.
As Alvin would say, “The only time they call themselves men is or when they have a gun in their hand or when they are on top of women engaging in sex, and the women are saying that they are the man.”
You, young men out there who believe you are gangsters, some of you really got things twisted.
You see, to be a gangster you have to be a man; and some of you all are not men.
A man looks people in their eyes. His eyes do not wander when he is having a conversation.
A man is able to hug another man because he is secure about his manhood. Most of you so - called gangsters begin to trip when a man is within two feet of your face.
You see, a man handles his own battles. He doesn’t call his boys to have a 15 against 1 brawl.
That’s not gangster; that’s straight up punkish. Anybody can be seen as the man when their boys have their back, but what happens when their so - called boys disappear?
Not to downplay women, but most of you gangsters have the same attributes and characteristics as women.
Could this be the reason why women are attracted to gangsters?
Maybe the gangster image of a gangster doesn’t attract a woman. Maybe the woman within the gangster attracts women.
So, to you all reading this who are caught up on maintaining a gangster image, you should stop trying.
Don’t pretend to be something that you are not.
If you are intelligent, then don’t have your butt out on the corner smoking weed.
If you have goals and ambitions, then get out of the drive by cars and go after accomplishing your goals.
Believe me. I once was confused about what a man was, and I had to learn the hard way of what a gangster truly is.
I am thankful today that I still have my life; but some of you all might not be granted a second chance. That’s why so many people are trying to help you all get it right the first time.
It is so important that you all listen and stop being hard - headed.
I am able to say that I am a man; and I want all my peers to be able to say the same.
Email me at marcelgamble@sbcglobal.net and let me know if you know what it means to be a real man.