I Won't Give Up on These Men

I keep seeing so many good men with so much potential fall victim to the street, prison, and gang mentality after incarceration. Every opportunity I have, I try to speak words of positivity and give them a different perspective on life—one that shows them how they can use their talents to do something positive instead of living a life that is basically self-destructive.

Every time I begin to speak, I feel like I’m planting a seed. I hope that seed will eventually grow into something fruitful—that it will help someone see the truth, begin making changes in their life, and find success by doing something positive.

I also see my own reflection in these men.

Whenever I share something positive, I recognize their facial expressions and the excuses they use to justify the way they are living. I made those same mistakes. I made those same excuses. I wore those same expressions.

I remember putting on a mask that showed agreement while telling myself inside, I’m a gangster. He isn’t talking about shit.

I was being ignorant and pretending to be interested, but in reality, those words were words of truth. They were words that, with time, would become very real to me.

That is why I keep spreading positivity. I hope that even one thing I say will stick in someone’s mind. I won’t give up on these men—or on anyone, for that matter.

My words may not register at first. They may go in one ear and out the other.

But I guarantee you this: when someone reaches one of the lowest points of his life, those words may come back to him.

He may remember:

That guy with the tattoos on his face told me this lifestyle doesn’t work. He told me that if I chose to live this way, I would eventually lose everything and gain nothing but pain, incarceration, and maybe even death.

I should have listened to him. Now I find myself in a far worse situation than before, facing a life sentence without the possibility of parole, while my homie is dead after being shot by a rival gang member.

Too often, the truth about street life is staring these men directly in the face, but many refuse to accept it until it is too late—until they are facing a long prison sentence, or lying in a casket while their family mourns their death.

Even then, at their lowest point, I won’t give up on them.

I won’t stop speaking words of positivity.

Because these men still deserve a second chance.

We all make mistakes.