Game Pieces.

The Unwritten Ones

So, be enlightened.

Don’t wear hoodies. Don’t walk down dark alleys. Do exactly what police officers say and no longer than two seconds after they say it. Don’t walk too close to a lady with a purse. Don’t react when she clutches it. Smile for no reason, you don’t want to look frightening. Don’t be too muscular. Don’t be too bald. Always look up, looking down is shady. Don’t wear baggy clothes. Don’t present the appearance of gang affiliation, that goes for your fraternity handshake too - don’t do that in public either.

Don’t walk down the street as a group. Don’t talk back to any authority. Don’t throw the first punch. Don’t throw the last punch. Don’t wear your hat too low. Walk into banks with your hands in the clear. Don’t sport excessive tattoos. Don’t be emotional.

Don’t run in the suburbs at 6 AM. Don’t deliver newspapers in the suburbs. Don’t bring up racial injustice in work conversations, it’s a distraction. Listen attentively to conversations about every other type of injustice, it’s a requirement. Know your place.

Thank God that I had a daughter. She can go through life completely ignorant of these unwritten rules. These are rules that I’ll never have to pass along to her, from my father, and his father, and so forth. But if you are of the merry few that are aware of these rules, consider this following advice. Play the game. These things matter. They should not matter but they do.

There are lessons in everything. We are in the wrong if we fail to read the tea leaves.

Without observing those precious reminders, public displays of pain, loss, and controversy merely serve as unintended entertainment. It was Dr. King who once said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” So be enlightened.

The post-game analysis of trials and tragedies should not matter. The hoodie tributes on Instagram are pointless. Don’t waste time with pageantry. Don’t play on division or disdain, it’s a waste of energy. Only the lessons matter. Do you know what I’d say if I had a son? Be smart, be ever vigilant, heed the rules, play the game.

Be smart, young men.

Update: nevermind, the times are garbage for everyone. Especially for black women.