I think you are very brave for writing this, and, in fact, most of your articles. You give people a truth that many don't want to acknowledge.

In my life, I have two close black friends (I also have several friends who are black but who are not that close - these two friends are family).

One of those friends is a man I've known for over 30 years and he is a wonderful, decent and good man. I would trust him with my life. He is honest, he is kind, he is smart and talented, and just a genuinely good person. If there had been chemistry between us I would have married him in a heartbeat.

So there are black men who are worthy.

However, my friend has two brothers. One is also a good man. He works really hard, he is loyal to his family. He can be a bit rough around the edges at times, but he is basically a good man. But the middle brother is a total douche.

He's broken the law, had babies out of wedlock, doesn't work, does drugs... he made life hell for his mother before she died by asking her to bail him out of jail. This caused problems in the marriage because her husband, the father, told her they needed to stop bailing out their son. Once their son became an adult, the father said, it was time for him to learn to care for himself and if that meant he had to serve time in jail because of his bad decisions, that might teach him that actions have consequences.

In other words - the man was trying to be a good father but his wife was too worried about her son to do what might have helped him.

Anyway, sorry to go on so long. But I really appreciate your articles and this particular one really struck a chord with me. I agree with you re. most black men but I have known a few really good ones and wanted to share that.