Teach them to swim!

We were out listening to a duo Stew and Heidi of the “Negro Problem” that is their actual show title and one of the songs they played is called “Black men ski” it is a beautiful song that clearly outlines the although rare but actual fact “Black men do ski” and ski well except it’s a small few who do it each year the number is getting larger as more African Americans grow steadily more affluent and so can afford it. Let’s face it most things like a few elite past times (Golf, Tennis ,Skiing) cost money so unless you have lots after basic living expenses well you could find yourself out of luck and un able to say Ski. It made me laugh the song it was intended to be humorous, and it made me sad.
It inspired me to challenge Stew to write about how some women of color maybe more then not don’t swim and conversely neither do their children in fact a huge majority of African Americans don’t swim. It isn’t racist to notice this it’s a fact a sad fact.
I am not speaking about the islanders who live in Barbados or the island of St Lucia people of color in the Caribbean do swim one would hope so because that is a beautiful place to practice the sport. Still in America many people of color avoid the water and females especially because of hair. So a huge majority of children are raised all over America unable to swim and that is just wrong. I have mentioned / blogged about African American children who drown every year because they cannot dog paddle to safety and if by some accident they jump into a body of water; some drown. They drown in less than two feet of water frozen with fear and unfamiliar with the most basic of substances. We are conceived in water our first moments of life are in the amniotic fluid of the womb it seems like a natural divine right to be able to manage swimming but not so. I want to say shame on us for being so vain and so simple and stupid!
We need to learn many things, we would never know to learn and how does one step outside their comfort zone? Mothers barely making end meet cannot put swimming lessons on any list of things to do. Yet the state could? The federal government could, more taxes for the rich could.
I was watching Khloe Kardashian try to teach her adult husband Lamar Odom how to swim; he wasn’t having it he was freaked out. He is not unusual so it is a socio-economical issue. The more money one has the more exposure to places with swimming pools and the higher likely hood that you will learn to swim. It’s a class thing and get this more woman who live under the poverty line pay huge sums of money to look wealthy in order to attract wealth and find a way out yet depriving themselves and their children of rent money , food, clothing, extra curriculum tutoring. I mean the list is long and yet we will find the cash to make ourselves look smooth and sexy and in our social circles “All that”. It’s tragic; I don’t see a change coming anytime soon. Children will keep on drowning for no good reason well maybe it is a good reason because mom didn’t have the time or strength or money to teach junior how to swim. Wow that’s a shame and if you ask me this is as important an epidemic as childhood obesity. Yet because it only affects the economically challenged no one if making a bigger deal about it and that’s a damn shame.Teach them to swim.