Rysheed Jordan
- Thread starter Zorba
- Start date
beast of the east
Active member
Somewhere missing in this characterization is personal responsibility.
No doubt he had an incredibly rough upbringing, but he also refused to be a student, integrate into the college experience, and stay away from Philly thugs. Based on what others have said, he reportedly wasn't going home to Philly during the week at SJU to make chicken soup for his mom or to see his siblings off to school, but to hang out with his friends.
I read some startling statistics a couple of months ago about how to break free of the chains of poverty, based on a study by the Brookings Institute:
"Brookings whittled down a lot of analysis into three simple rules. You can avoid poverty by:
1. Graduating from high school.
2. Waiting to get married until after 21 and do not have children till after being married.
3. Having a full-time job.
If you do all those three things, your chance of falling into poverty is just 2 percent. Meanwhile, you’ll have a 74 percent chance of being in the middle class.
Applies to everyone
These rules apply to all races and ethnic groups. Breaking these rules is becoming more commonplace, unfortunately, for all racial groups.
By contrast, young adults who violated all three norms — dropped out, got married before 21 and had children out of wedlock and didn’t have a full-time job — had a 76 percent chance of winding up in poverty and a 7 percent chance of winding up in the middle class.
Ron Haskins, co-author of the Brookings study, looked at census information.
He called the results “astounding,” noting that it’s time to emphasize the role that personal decisions have on staying out of the poorhouse."
Jordan is incredibly gifted athletically. He was a lock just about to make money playing basketball somewhere in the world, maybe even the NBA. Maybe he wasn't equipped to make good decisions, but at SJU he was surrounded by a staff that tried to help him, but he chose to go his own way.
No doubt he had an incredibly rough upbringing, but he also refused to be a student, integrate into the college experience, and stay away from Philly thugs. Based on what others have said, he reportedly wasn't going home to Philly during the week at SJU to make chicken soup for his mom or to see his siblings off to school, but to hang out with his friends.
I read some startling statistics a couple of months ago about how to break free of the chains of poverty, based on a study by the Brookings Institute:
"Brookings whittled down a lot of analysis into three simple rules. You can avoid poverty by:
1. Graduating from high school.
2. Waiting to get married until after 21 and do not have children till after being married.
3. Having a full-time job.
If you do all those three things, your chance of falling into poverty is just 2 percent. Meanwhile, you’ll have a 74 percent chance of being in the middle class.
Applies to everyone
These rules apply to all races and ethnic groups. Breaking these rules is becoming more commonplace, unfortunately, for all racial groups.
By contrast, young adults who violated all three norms — dropped out, got married before 21 and had children out of wedlock and didn’t have a full-time job — had a 76 percent chance of winding up in poverty and a 7 percent chance of winding up in the middle class.
Ron Haskins, co-author of the Brookings study, looked at census information.
He called the results “astounding,” noting that it’s time to emphasize the role that personal decisions have on staying out of the poorhouse."
Jordan is incredibly gifted athletically. He was a lock just about to make money playing basketball somewhere in the world, maybe even the NBA. Maybe he wasn't equipped to make good decisions, but at SJU he was surrounded by a staff that tried to help him, but he chose to go his own way.
his life doesn't have to be over he just needs to get his head out and survive prison. When I first heard about him and how he took care of his younger siblings I took an instant like for him regardless of his 5 stars. It's like the wise sage says:
http://redmen.com/videos/78/item.html
http://redmen.com/videos/78/item.html
kind of self-fulfilling to say that you can avoid poverty by having a full time job, no? Doesn't seem very astounding to me. In any event there is also context. You are a 5 star kids destined to make millions surrounded by people telling you how great you are. You have examples like Conor McGregor who got ridiculously wealthy by going on welfare and training for MMA.
Yes personal choice is always key. But when you are in poverty it is not just about a lack of funds. You are oppressed in every way and it is a mentality where you don't see with some omniscient clarity. You can't just power through everything in your life like some sort of formula and you may have so many pressures and anxieties -even just walking down the street, that you are not in that mode to focus on being a model citizen. You may even feel like being a model citizen could put your life in jeopardy. People always have their own context to deal with.
I'm not absolving him of anything, just saying that I read some comments in that article and on twitter talking about what a POS he was and how his mom should have closed her legs. That kind of stuff. There is some middle area where all of the stuff about personal choice is true but so is the reality of living in poverty and how truly difficult and even impossible it is for some people to get out from under it. The people that do are not just exceptional because of choices but often because of fate, luck and grace in my experience.
Was afraid to open this thread out of fear of what I might read. There's merit to what many of you are saying about Rysheed. I never felt he was an inherently bad kid, although my opinion of him changed after the shooting and subsequent arrest. He was very close to being a murderer, and that's where any sympathy from me is gone. Having said that, I sincerely hope he gets his life in order, not just for himself but for his Mom and his younger siblings who look up to him.
JackofVirginia
Active member
Why don't we just pray for him everyday. God has forgiven him, we should too.
Class of 72
Active member
Who you calling boy, boy?
![quote]](http://[URL]https://static.vibe.com/files/2017/04/magic-johnson-ej-johnson-1492706162-640x560.jpg[/URL][img][/quote])
redfan259999888
Active member
Had a chance to make millions, now wasting away behind bars, maybe seeing an hour of daylight a day.
Anyone who tried taking a life is a pos.
Rot you low life, and dont give me that bs oh he had a rough life. Everything in life you have a choice, he choose to do that, now he suffers the consequences. He had a chance to help his family out, but that's all gone.
What a shame.
RedStormRising
Well-known member
How is it that it's been 16 months and still no trial? Our penal system is a shame too.
One of the criminals who was hanged railed at him, saying, 'Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!'
But the other rebuked him saying, 'Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.' And he said, 'Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.'
And Jesus said to him, 'Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise. As opposed to say Rysheed Jordan, that POS, him. he's going to burn in Hell."