Find something better to do. Get up in the morning and smell the coffee, will you?

In other words, get a life if you can find a better/good topic to discuss. Do you want a TV talk show or radio? Rent or buy one!

Vey important post, kakau.

I will leave my thoughts.

It is curious that I have the same thoughts that you have but wasn't clear also what are the reson why people act like this. I have been trying to find the answer for that.

WE LACK GOOD ROLE MODELS.


First it is not as much like this in cape verde, especially in Praia, where I know well. People tend to respect each other, don't put people down, ridicule or look down on you, except fpr open conflict like political ones.

When I first came to New England area and I started to meet the first capeverdeans I begin to notice how people react to other people, no greeting, people look at you on your foot instead of your face, I began to wonder and raise seroius questions about why people act like this and I couldn't find the answer right away. I first thought it might be something wrong with me or I lacked some social skills and was easily noticeable and that was causing me to see what I was seeing.

I began to socialize and talk to people. I asked different questions to all kinds of people, people with Academic Education, people without much education, young people and some adults. I soon begin to trealize that communication among people here in this country is poor if you compare with how much people interact with each other back in Cape Verde;

Second, young people are isolated from their grown ups (parents) no social contact at all. And let me tell you Why: The only time that parents meet with their young ones in social context is when they go to church, if they go to church. You find no social club for "Parents and their kids" no organization dared yet to find a place for people to entertain their culture. To have social events in which you don't go to dance, like clubs but to manifest your culture more broadly with everyone included.

For exemple, you can go to disco and you find 90% of young (twenties) people. You go to bar rooms you find 90% of men. You go to church you find about 80% of women and children and few percentage of not so young men. You go to schools youfind 100% children and adolescents. And you have no plce where you find all of this people together.

How can you espect them to get along well. They don't know each other. I wrote my first article on the newspater "VISAO" on 2002 and was motivated by a sad event that I presenced at that time. A father was having a good time with other women, and it was a social event of Cabovideo. Suddenly, he saw his son who i believe was hungry to be part of his folks, around the age of 17. When his father saw him, was so enraged the he rushed him from that party with a slap on his neck. He was among his friends and just couldn't react because he was so embarrassed to even say anything and just left.

Don't you expect this teenager to feel enraged with his father, his father's culture (because I am assuming that he was born here or came here very little) and everybody that look like his father?

Don't you expect this teenager to go look for a friend in the street and dope himself to death because this is where he finds real peple who accepts him and can understand him.

Do you expect this teenager to understand the culture that he is told his?

While you try to answer this questions for me, I wrote an article at that time with the title "what is going on with the Capeverdean community of New England" and tried to discuss integration, adaptation and youth's needs.

People who live in the same house will not know each other or entertain each other if they don't meet out of their home evironment. If you try to go back in your memory the things you feel happy about are the insignificant things like a birthday party, a day out when you had your first macdonald, meaning, especial ocasion but not the hard work of your parents to make you live, or how much they had to work to pay rent (two jobs) or how close to not pay the rent sometimes they were. On the contrary, you feel depressed about those moments.

The point here is, people need to share moments together with their kids(well first there should be places to go availble). Find special moments for themselves. This country has enough stress, and when you add the fact that you're an immigrant and you take the least that is left by the Americans, you have to be wise enough to let it out. Otherwise your life and the life of your kids will be miserable.

Kids are afraid to be called capeverdeans when they are among Americans or in a set where they are not well known as Capeverdeans. For example, in college you see young people, when they look at you and they assume you must be a capeverdean they tend to avoid you or let you know they, too, are capeverdeans. I saw one beautiful capeverdean girl, she had to attend a call in creolo, she was so embarrassed that she coverd her mouth while speaking creolo because nobody should know she is capeverdean.

This type of people have nobody to be proud of. NO ROLE MODEL that stand for them, defend their culture, make them known in a respectful way. That helps to raise the morals of the individuals, of a people etc. on the contrary they try to hide behind the anonimicy, have a low self -esteam and hope that they are better than anyone else of her kind.
You can compare with African American the way they feel proud of who they are, and even exacerbate about being different. They have role models forged while struggling for freedom.

But that is inherent to the capeverdean community origin in the US. Came here as a fugitive for historical circumstances, tried to survive but not struggle to raise their morals as a defined community, as a unique comunity with qualities and defects like anyone else.

Because of this self-consciousness on myself, in college I am always trying to find research or presentation, or class participation bringing my experience as a capeverdean and make capeverdean known as a community.

I am proud of DR. MOHLAR FARIA, the president of Bridgewater State College. Well respected among his colleages. He is my role model.

Who are you proud of?

Cabrala

let me tell you why.

I AGREE WITH THE POSITION THAT BOTH KAKAU AND CABRALA TAKE.

WE HAVE MANY GOOD ROLE MODELS MALE AND FEMALE MOST OF OUR PEOPLE DON'T KNOW WHO THEY ARE.

THAT IS WHY I AM ALWAYS TALKING ABOUT A CABO VERDE CULTURAL CENTER.

WE HAVE MANY CV WOMAN AND MEN THAT HAVE AND ARE MAKING GREAT CONTRIBUTIONS,WE JUST DON'T KNOW WHO THEY ARE.

INFORMATION & EDUCATION AT OUR CV CULTURAL CENTER WHEN WE HAVE THEM IN OUR COMMUNITIES.

HOW MANY CV'S DO YOU THINK HAS READ VASCO PIRES BOOK
(A FRACTION OF ME) IT IS EXCELLENT READING EVERY CV FAMILY SHOULD HAVE ONE IN THEIR HOME IT SHOULD BE A REQUIRED READING.

GREAT POST KAKAU.

WHAT WILL WE DO ABOUT THIS PROBLEM?

MANU SALAH