A Better Place

I have debated writing this post since Saturday night.  Partly because I wanted to make sure I gave myself enough time to let the initial feelings of outrage subside and partly because I was not sure I had anything of merit to add to the conversation.

I do not overestimate my position in the world.  I am a father who, out of boredom and opportunity, created a site for his children to enjoy in their future years.  Nevertheless, not speaking about the shooting of Trayvon Martin began to feel strangely disrespectful.  

What bothers me about the verdict of the case is the legal precedent it establishes, the fact that future defense attorneys can refer to this moment as an example when the jury supported their argument. What concerns me is the message it sends to the citizens in "Stand Your Ground" states that you have the right to take it upon yourself to ignore the instructions of trained professionals, to aggressively stalk someone, to initiate a confrontation and then murder them because you feel threatened by the situation you helped to manifest.

I'm not sure why this was the "a-ha" moment for so many people.  Why this case (and its subsequent verdict) received so much attention as compared to the fact that, for the past few years, there has been a war waged in the streets of Chicago. However, I'm slowly beginning to realize that the lack of national outrage at the death of innocent kids in urban centers across America is a separate issue. The issue is thematically related to Tryavon's death, certainly, but they are separate.  And just because the deaths of other innocent children has not received the same level of national media coverage and public outcry does not mean that people are wrong for mobilizing now.

Sippy Cup is light-skinned with hazel eyes and fine, strawberry-blond hair.  The reality is that my son will most likely never have to be subjected to racial profiling.  Nevertheless, I am scared.  I am scared for my friends, for their kids, for my nephew and for my godson, a sweet, loving, supremely intelligent, caramel-skinned young man who lives in Florida.

Tragic moments like these terrify me.  But I cannot let my own fears paralyze me into complacent immobility or, even worse, cynical acceptance.  And so here I am, trying to make sense of this tragedy in the best way I know how.  Trying to find the words to explain to the future version of my children why this happened and why we have to work hard to do whatever is in our power to make sure it never happens again.  My job as their father is to teach my children respect, kindness, compassion and love.  My job is to leave this world a better place than I first found it and I plan to do so by raising two children who will not be afraid of someone simply because of the color of their skin.

I am not a lawyer. I am not a politician. I am not an activist. I am not Trayvon Martin.

I am a father.  And, out of respect to the entire Martin family, I will make sure I do my job.

The Good Men Project (2)

In a bit of decidedly unexpected (but exciting) news, I am happy to announce that I am an official Staff Writer for The Good Men Project.

This will afford me the opportunity to submit longer articles about the realities of modern parenthood while saving all of the everyday madness and lunacy of our "life-at-home" stories for the Sippy Cups and Cufflinks site.

Please stay tuned to both sites for more of my awesome Internetz words.

- Mr. Cufflinks

Capital U

M.O.M. (reading from a Brain Quest card): "How much is 7 minus 5?"

Sippycup: "Two!"

M.O.M.: "Good job.  Now, which word does NOT belong here: dog, rabbit, gerbil, tiger?"

Sippycup (creasing his forehead in concentration): "That's weird.  Uhm...the tiger!  Because you can't keep it as a pet!"

M.O.M. (smiling proudly): "Nice!  Next question: What is the capital of the United States of America?"

Sippycup (grinning broadly): "The U!"

Me (nodding my head): "Yep."

Adult Activities

-Princess Teacup and Sippy Cup are raucously playing in the background-

M.O.M. (prepping dinner in the kitchen): "Oh my God, these kids are driving me crazy today."

Me (anxiously awaiting dinner in the kitchen): "Just today?"

M.O.M. (turning to face me): "Seriously. I need to do an adult activity soon or I'm going to lose my mind."

Sippy Cup (walking into the kitchen): "What's an adult activity?"

M.O.M. (with no hesitation): "Drinking."

The Good Men Project

Over the holiday weekend, Sippy Cup and I did a lot of memorable things.

We went to a baseball game, saw a fireworks show, went to the beach, saw Despicable Me 2, went to a birthday party and even had the energy left over on Sunday to update the layout of the site some more.

While I promise there will be photos of the baseball game posted very soon, I do have a bit of exciting news to share: I have had three separate articles published on the Good Men Project.

The Good Men Project is a fantastic site dedicated to advancing the social dialogue concerning modern manhood and fatherhood.  As they write in their About Us section:

"Guys today are neither the mindless, sex-obsessed buffoons nor the stoic automatons our culture so often makes them out to be. Our community is smart, compassionate, curious, and open-minded; they strive to be good fathers and husbands, citizens and friends, to lead by example at home and in the workplace, and to understand their role in a changing world. The Good Men Project is a place where that happens. We’re glad to have you along for the ride."

I have been a fan of the Good Men Project for quite some time and was really humbled when I learned they were interested in running my pieces.  This has been a great opportunity and I hope to submit new work in the future.

Click on the links above to read the pieces and to check out the rest of the site; if you're a fan of my site, then there is a really good chance you'll be a fan of The Good Men Project as well.

And, now, back to our regularly scheduled madness; Princess Teacup is currently climbing onto my lap and trying to shut the laptop screen since it's "Bedtime Daaeee!"