Is the "N" Word Worth Fighting Over?

Real Talk with Judge Dawson

On February 8, 2014 with six seconds left in the game, sophomore guard for Oklahoma State, Marcus Smart shoved a Texas Tech fan for allegedly calling him the “N” word.  Smart earned a technical foul for the shove, and his teammates quickly wrapped him up to try and diffuse the situation.  Despite their effort, Smart received a three game suspension and national attention for the outburst.  The fan denied using any type of racial slur.  Regardless of the actual trigger, the event opens the door for a discussion on whether any name calling or verbal attack is worth fighting over.

It Takes Extreme Emotional Intelligence to Ignore Ignorance

We all have examples of people who, for one reason or another, have managed to get on our nerves.  Right before I wrote this article I had a short experience of road rage while exiting the snowy highway when a car tried to keep me from entering the lane and then began to blow the horn and yell obscenities at me through the car window.  When any of us are caught off guard by somebody being ignorant it takes extreme emotional intelligence to ignore it.  Why is it so hard?  One reason is that emotions are natural.  Even the best of us will have an emotion sneak up on us without notice.  That’s where Emotional Intelligence comes in.  

I’ve spent over 10,000 hours studying the principles of emotional intelligence.  I have an advanced certification from Case Western Reserve Weatherhead School of Management and I have years and years of real world experience in the discipline.  Even with all my knowledge and experience in the field of emotional intelligence, my initial reaction was to get angry. 

Sticks And Stones May Break My Bones But……The Law Says….

Words are powerful. I believe that words can change the world.  Words can turn friends into enemies and even elevate a person to greatness.  However, words can not physically cause you harm. I have this discussion often in the workshops we provide at the East Cleveland Municipal Court.  I give an example of a person walking up and putting a finger as close as possible to the nose but not touching it.  Everyone says that they would push the person or knock the finger down.  The reason?  Everyone believes that they have a legal right to personal space.  You do not have a right to personal space!  The only time the law recognizes an ability for a person to put their hands on another is if there is an immediate threat of physical danger. I’ve studied many cases where the law recognized verbal provocation but I have not witnessed a situation where verbal provocation gave the justification for anyone to physically touch another person.  If you break this law and put your hands on another just because they said something to you or put a finger in your face, you will be the person in the wrong.  You may suffer legal charges or some other type of discipline, just like Marcus Smart. 

Looking at the issue from the stand point of a Cycle Breaker, we must make an effort to remain calm and cool under every situation for the following reasons: 1. It makes us look good.  When we are in control we look better than the person losing their mind 2. People are searching for reasons to disqualify us.  I often talk about the struggle to get jobs in this economy.   Don’t do anything that will give a person any reason to disqualify you from a job.  3. We will grow from the the situation.  Every negative situation has a seed of growth.  Every time we choose to take the higher road we will get better at navigating the low roads.  Let’s not do the ordinary thing and react based on someone calling us out.  Instead let’s be extraordinary.  Let’s be Cycle Breakers.

For more discussion on this subject or others, join Judge Dawson’s Cycle Breaker/Finish First program on Monday nights at 5:30pm at the East Cleveland Municipal Court.  East Cleveland Municipal Court’s Judge William L. Dawson is on a mission to help people to Finish First, live their best lives and be Cycle Breakers!  

judgewilliamdawson@gmail.com

www.teamfinishfirst.com

www.Judgedawson.com

Just Having Babies!

Real Talk with Judge Dawson

One of the mainstays of my practice in court is to ask the person in front of me, "what have you been doing these past years?"   That question is relevant for a couple of reasons.  There are many people who have court dates and decide not to appear until a warrant is issued for their arrest.  The sad part is that these people are normally caught by police officers at the most inconvenient time.  Instead of appearing to court when they should, they end up having a major disruption of their life as a result of being arrested.  Also, when I look at the criminal history of people, I can tell whether they have been positively productive or not.  As one could imagine, the answer to the question of “what have you been doing these past years” are very diverse. For this particular defendant I was really asking a rhetorical question because his criminal history was full of arrests, convictions and jail time for drug related offenses. So when I asked this young man I was expecting him to tell me about not having a job and having to do whatever is necessary to take care of his family. To my surprise his answer was totally different. He looked at me and said, "to be totally honest with you Judge Dawson, I've been making babies!" 

I've discussed and will continue to discuss the disadvantage of "just making babies" as opposed to planning for your life and future. I have even done workshops on the importance of fatherhood, however I can't reach everyone.  We have to take a different approach.  We need parents, relatives and friends to start discouraging reckless behavior. We need the community to step up and display positive examples of family values.  We all need to expect more and live with higher standards.  

Not only was this young man in front of me spending his time "making babies" he wasn't financially able to take care of his responsibilities which keeps him from having valid license. The routine in our community goes like this; If I don’t have a valid license, I don’t have a job.  Why is this the routine? For too many people, not being able to drive themselves to a job interview or to work is an excuse for not working. I remember the time when I had to ask every friend I had for a ride to work. That's no longer the case. So, unless he changes his mentality, this father will continue to be unable to care for his children in the foreseeable future. Not to mention that he now faces the possibility of a $1,000 fine and six months in jail based on the offenses that lead him to my Court.

As a people we have to take parenthood and responsibility serious.  I use the term “parenthood” because the responsibility is equality on men and women.  From my experience, when men are “just making babies” and not effectively involved in their children's lives, the result is a generation of criminals.  The statistics are startling. There have been 22,000 African Americans murdered during the time that President Obama has been this country's leader. The President recently used his power to create the movement "My Brothers Keeper" aimed at educating minority youth and curbing the destruction and violence in our community. My belief is that the President is on the right track. He is being a Cycle Breaker.  We also have a part to play. We must discourage the mentality of "just making babies." We have to discourage the trend of fatherless homes. We must encourage our girls and women to set high standards in regard to the men they date, sleep with and have children with. We have to be Cycle Breakers in order to be "My Brother's Keeper."

  

For more discussion on this subject or others, join Judge Dawson’s Cycle Breaker/Finish First program on Monday nights at 5:30pm at the East Cleveland Municipal Court.  East Cleveland Municipal Court’s Judge William L. Dawson is on a mission to help people to Finish First, live their best lives and be Cycle Breakers!  

judgewilliamdawson@gmail.com

www.teamfinishfirst.com

www.Judgedawson.com

Social Media: @JudgeDawson

Reality Check!

Real Talk with Judge Dawson

Reality is the difference between what we wish for and what truly is.  In cities and courtrooms across this country there are many people with a distorted sense of reality.  People commit crimes, knowingly and sometimes unknowingly, without a true picture of reality.  The reality of the crimes that they are committing, the reality of the lives that they are affecting or the reality of the consequences that follow their actions.

Reality Check #1 Breaking the Law

Reality check #1, we all break the law.  I spent 10 years as a defense attorney before becoming a Judge and I found it very interesting how the United States legal system is truly a “Legal Matrix.” My amazement lead me to write a book called “The Legal Matrix, How the System is Controlling Your Life.”  In my book I outline and detail the fact that there are laws that are obvious and then there are laws that are not so obvious.  In fact, my research revealed that in our country, every day we all break at least one of the laws contained in the voluminous United States penal codes, state codes or local codes.  Lucky for us the law enforcement agencies don’t spend a lot of their time trying to bust us for every little violation.  Even without going into details of every law, we all are aware of the more common and obvious laws.  For instance, we know that we can not steal from another person or business.  A not so obvious law is the one that will have you facing the possibility of mandatory jail time and a life-time suspension of your drivers license if certain things occur while you drive away from a police officer, also known as fleeing and eluding.    However, rather obvious or not, when you really think about it and take everything into consideration you know the difference between right and wrong.  Though you may wish you can do anything, at any time and to anybody, the reality is that if you don’t conduct yourself within the guidelines of the law you will pay the consequences.

Reality Check # 2: Your Actions Affect Others

Reality check # 2, your actions do affect other people.  It’s amazing that we can have such a selfish approach to life that we really begin to think that our actions are totally our own and that they don’t affect others.  Every crime has some type of affect on other people.  Property crimes = when you damage, destroy or take another’s property.  Domestic crimes = any type of violence or harassment of people.  Drug crimes = the use or trafficking of illegal drugs.  Driving offenses = driving recklessly or without authorization.  All of these crimes affect other people.  

After reading this article you are in the position to be different than most people.  How?  By activity practicing the art of considering how your actions or decisions to break the law can have an affect on other people.  In a dream world we may be the only ones who matter.  In reality our actions affect others.

Reality Check # 3: Your Actions Have Consequences

Reality check # 3, you will pay for your actions.  It may not be the six months in jail and the $1,000 fine but you will pay for your actions.  Sometimes your consequences will come in the form of loss of money, loss of friends or even loss of opportunities but there will be a cost.  I recently had a man in my courtroom who broke one of the domestic laws and, though he tried to negotiate his way out of jail time, jail time was his consequence.  The case became very interesting when, on the way out of court, he decided to express his disappointment with the reality of what he “wished for” versus the reality of what was happening.  The man, turned prisoner, had some choice words for me.  The million dollar question is whether or not his actions affected my actions?  I’ll answer that question in the next article.  

For more discussion on this subject or others, join Judge Dawson’s Cycle Breaker/Finish First program on Monday nights at 5:30pm at the East Cleveland Municipal Court.  East Cleveland Municipal Court’s Judge William L. Dawson is on a mission to help people to Finish First, live their best lives and be Cycle Breakers!  

judgewilliamdawson@gmail.com

www.teamfinishfirst.com

www.Judgedawson.com

#Leadership

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Ghetto College

In this world of infinite possibilities, there exists a place labeled as the ghetto.  It’s a place where young boys & girls, men & women are educated in every conceivable lesson on being cool, being in love, having sex, hustling and having swag but are kept ignorant of the way the larger world works.  Too few in our inner cities are giving instruction on how to graduate from high school in position for an academic scholarship, how to network with people of success, how to delay gratification in order to provide the opportunity for their best future.  After my article about young adults having children too soon I was made aware of the video of a 2-year old boy in Omaha, Nebraska cursing like a full grown adult.  The video exemplifies all that is wrong in the ghetto.

Many people have weighed in and given opinions about the child, the mother and even the legality of the video being exposed in the first place.  As usual I come from the standpoint of a “Cycle Breaker.” Remember a “Cycle Breaker” is a person who identifies a negative situation in their own life or the community and makes the decision to change that negative situation.  Here is my “Cycle Breaker” analysis of the 2-year Nebraska boy.  

Some Behaviors Are Learned Only in the Ghetto.

The video of this 2-year old boy being prompted to curse is really sad, however, I am not surprised.  Growing up in East Cleveland and spending a lot of time in Cleveland I have seen this video play out in real life many times.  After watching the video I was promoted to call a friend of mine to ask if he remembered this type of activity while we were growing up.  His answer was yes and we recalled many situations were older kids would prompt younger kids to curse but the difference was that the prompters were kids also.  

The video of the Nebraska boy is just a small view into what is taught and learned in the “ghettos” across America.  Cursing, drug dealing, stealing, sexual activity and more are taught in “Ghetto College.”   Old G’s pride themselves on “schooling” the young people on how to make money and survive in the hood.  The problem is that no one is teaching about success, the value of education or the honor of being disciplined.  

When You Know Better You Must Do Better and Become a “Cycle Breaker”

This situation is beyond embarrassing for the family because, as a Judge, I know that criminal charges could be a result of it.   However, the video presents an opportunity for us to be Cycle Breakers!  Now that this video has gotten our attention, what can we learn from this sad situation?  First, parents must be aware and protective of who is around their kids. This mother, though she claimed that she is a good mother, allowed her young boy to be surrounded by adults who found entertainment in provoking him to cursing and violence.  Second, parents must do everything that is necessary to create an environment of success.  This same mother was recently in trouble with the law when a fight broke out at her home.  Police officers were called to the scene.  Fifteen people were arrested and several guns were found in her home.  So while we were shocked as the world watched the viral video of her son cursing, imagine what could have happened if this same child found one of the several guns in the home.  In 2014 we have to do better.  In the past, when neighborhood kids found entertainment in making younger kids curse, there was enough of a strong family structure in place to counteract the negativity from these actions.  When the Old G’s were telling the youth about the value of hustling and surviving in the street there was enough of a strong family structure in place to counteract that negative advice.  Today the family structure is disappearing. Many homes consist of single mothers who are working more than one job or in school trying to make a better life for their children.  The ability to counteract every negative influence that our children face is challenging but you have to do it.  It’s the price you pay for the decision to be a parent.  Today parents know that cursing kids most likely turn in to juvenile delinquents who turn into young adults in jail, who turn into adults in prison.  We know better so we must do better.  

For more discussion on this subject or others, join Judge Dawson’s Cycle Breaker/Finish First program on Monday nights at 5:30pm at the East Cleveland Municipal Court.  East Cleveland Municipal Court’s Judge William L. Dawson is on a mission to help people to Finish First, live their best lives and be Cycle Breakers!  

To receive a copy of his newsletter reach out by: 

judgewilliamdawson@gmail.com

www.teamfinishfirst.com

www.Judgedawson.com

#CycleBreaker

Too Many Kids Having Kids!

From my view point as a Judge with a front row seat to the story of so many people’s lives, I’ve come to the conclusion that our youth are over sexed, undereducated and having children too soon!  The writing is on the wall, it's no longer a family secret, kids are having children at an increasing rate and I find it alarming and a cause for concern.  

Within the last two weeks my court has encountered young adults, ages 18 to 23, with families consisting of of 1,2 even 5 children. It's truly the scenario of kids having kids.  Don’t get me wrong, having children is a blessing and the children are the future, but if the parents are not prepared to nurture and develop their children, instead of creating the next generation of leaders we are rearing the next generation of criminals and juvenile delinquents.  

A Case of Arrested Development.

The epidemic of children having children is alarming because I see it as an example of a larger problem, young people who are arresting their futures.  An arrested future means they are putting restrictions or challenges in the way of their possibilities.  Admittedly, there are some young people who beat the odds and show themselves to be good parents.  Some young parents even go on to complete college, get good jobs and make a difference in the world.  However, those stories are not the normal outcome.  The normal outcome is one of struggle, bad relationships, heart ache and heart break.    

Most young people are not ready for the responsibility of parenthood. Many lack the knowledge, support system or reasoning ability necessary to parent property. An example of this occurred when my bailiff and I were at Wendy's and decided to engage the young lady who took our order in a conversation.  She expressed how happy she was that Christmas was over and how she had to work overtime to get “all the gifts” her child wanted. I asked the young lady, “how old is your child?”  She replied that her child was two years old. So, a young mother decided to work extra hours in order to spend money to get “all the gifts” that her child wanted. I didn't want to embarrass the girl but I wondered if anyone ever advised her that a two year old doesn't require much for Christmas. I wondered if she had the same zealous approach to saving for her child’s future or ensuring the child's environment is nurturing?  

Who’s Responsible?

The first obvious place to put the responsibility is on the parents of our youth.  It’s amazing to me when I see FaceBook posts celebrating the birth of a grandchild to a barely grown couple.  I agree that once the child is here the only response is happiness, but where was that parent when the young adult was out having sex?  Parents are asleep at the wheel.  Parents are letting their children have the opposite sex spend the night at their houses, treating every boyfriend and girlfriend as if that person is married to their child, even supporting and encouraging young couples to live together. To stop this downward spiral we must work together.  Parents must set appropriate standards, the schools must make sure there is no sexual behavior in the halls and all other adults have to be an example of proper conduct.  My hope is to see fewer cases where young couples with children are involved in some type of arguing, fighting or domestic violence, I know that we can lead them in the right direction.  Let’s stop allowing kids to raise kids.  Let’s get involved or else we will be raising the next generation of criminals.

For more discussion on this subject or others, join Judge Dawson’s Cycle Breaker/Finish First program on Monday nights at 5:30pm at the East Cleveland Municipal Court.  East Cleveland Municipal Court’s Judge William L. Dawson is on a mission to help people to Finish First, live their best lives and be Cycle Breakers!  

To receive a copy of his newsletter reach out by: 

judgewilliamdawson@gmail.com

www.teamfinishfirst.com

www.Judgedawson.com

Short Cuts to No Where

The new year is here and many of us have made the decision to better our lives, to turn in a different direction or to let go of unproductive people and activities.  I spent that last weeks of 2013 giving advise on how to finish 2013 strong and start 2014 off on the right foot.  The sad truth is that positive growth is more than just a resolution. Positive growth takes daily effort.  For some it might even take hourly effort.  Every hour of the day we may have to remind ourselves of the mission we have for our lives. We have to constantly keep our goals and direction in the fore front of our mind.  If we don’t constantly keep goals in focus, the pressure of every day life will take over and we’ll find yourself living the same life we’ve been living all of the previous years.  

When it comes to avoiding negative interaction with the legal system you have to really be on extra guard.  Some people fall into negative interaction with the legal system by mistake while others make breaking the law a lifestyle decision.  However, if you want to avoiding negative interaction with the legal system, one way to do it is to “Stop Taking Short Cuts.”

Just recently, while driving down a one way street,  I noticed a vehicle coming in my direction.  I was shocked at how deliberant and fast this person was traveling.  As the vehicle passed, a young man stared through my window giving me a look as if I was the person breaking the law.  At that moment it dawned on me that so many people are caught up trying to take short cuts in life that they put their future and the future others in danger.  The truth is that when you take short cuts, you are really cutting yourself short.  Short cuts are the most deceiving activity in our pursuit of achieving goals.  On the surface it seems that taking a short cut will create a future benefit, but in reality, if the short cut was the better alternative it would have been the first choice or the actual route of those who designed the path.  Consider these examples:  

Putting Yourself and Other’s in Danger By Short Cutting While Driving. When ever you decide to break or ignore traffic laws you are performing a form of short cutting.  This theory applies to speeding, driving without a license, going the wrong way down a one way street or just taking an actual “short cut.”  Many times there are cases in my Court from people who have taken a short cut through a commercial drive way or traveled the wrong direction down a street.  The reasons that most people give for these actions is that they were in a rush to get to a certain place.  If they practiced my theory of “Finishing First”  they would realize that the risk and possibility of getting caught would keep them from achieving the goal of getting to their destination on time.  In addition to not getting there on time, they could find themselves on the receiving end of a ticket and end up paying fines and costs as a result of their decision.  The same thing applies in life and the road to your goal or destination.  The road to success has a definite path.  When you try to go around the path or disregard the rules you create a scenario where you will fail to get to your destination, get there too late or hurt other people in the process.  Just like the person driving toward me down that one way street, he could have easily ran into my car and put both of our futures in jeopardy.  That simple act, trying to get somewhere by taking a short cut, cut have had the effect of cutting both of our lives short. 

Putting Yourself and Other’s in Danger by Short Cutting On The Job Or In School. This is the not so obvious offense.  Most people believe that when they cheat or try to get over on someone or something, they are only harming themselves.  Other people know that they are harming others but choose to disregard it.  When you cheat in school or cheat on the job you are cheating yourself as well as the company and community.  Most intentional acts of deceit are revealed at some point in time.  When you first take the short cut by getting the answers in school in a non ethical way or first beat the system at work by cutting corners, not being productive, sleeping at your desk or leaving early you feel that you’ve done something beneficial for yourself, but in time your poor performance catches up with you causing everyone to suffer.   As you start on the road to achieving your goals and making sure this year is better than your last year stop cutting yourself short.  Finish school, encourage your children to go to school, get a job, prepare for a better job.  The list goes on and on but the fact remains, in order to live your best life, never cut yourself short!

For more discussion on this subject or others, join Judge Dawson’s Cycle Breaker/Finish First program on Monday nights at 5:30pm at the East Cleveland Municipal Court.  East Cleveland Municipal Court’s Judge William L. Dawson is on a mission to help people to Finish First, live their best lives and be Cycle Breakers! 

To receive a copy of his newsletter reach out by:

judgewilliamdawson@gmail.com

www.teamfinishfirst.com

www.Judgedawson.com

Nelson Mandela, Death Proceeds Life

Nelson Mandela was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, politician, and philanthropist who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the first black South African to hold the office, and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election. His government focused on dismantling the legacy of apartheid and tackling institutionalized racism, poverty and inequality. Politically an African nationalist and democratic socialist, he served as President of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1991 to 1997. 

Mandela was a very educated man who went on to study and practice law.   Living in Johannesburg, he became involved in anti-colonial politics, joining the ANC and becoming a founding member of its Youth League. After the South African National Party came to power in 1948, he rose to prominence in the ANC's 1952 Defiance Campaign, was appointed superintendent of the organization's Transvaal chapter and presided over the 1955 Congress of the People. Working as a lawyer, he was repeatedly arrested for seditious activities.  These activities cause Mandela to be prosecuted, though unsuccessfully, for treason.  This trial lasted from 1956 to 1961. Although initially committed to non-violent protest, he co-founded a militant group in association with the South African Communist Party, leading a sabotage campaign against the apartheid government. In 1962 he was arrested, convicted of conspiracy to overthrow the state, and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Mandela served over 27 years in prison until an ongoing international campaign lobbied for his release. He was released in 1990.  Though Nelson Mandela accomplished many “firsts” in his life, it is his death that has awakened the world.

Death Before Life

As I watched the 24/7 coverage of his life and death, it became apparent to me that so many people regard Mandela as a pure example of leadership.  His legacy is solidified as a strong charismatic leader, a game changer.  As I watched the world’s reaction, I also observed that, as with many people of greatness, the greatest celebration of Nelson Mandela is occurring after his death. That leads to my point that Death often proceeds Life.

In order for a seed to become a tree, it has to end the connection from its original source.  In other words, the seed that falls from the tree dies, but life comes from its death, a new tree is born.  For us, in order to recognize and fulfill our leadership potential Nelson Mandela had to die. In my summation, while he was living, we took his leadership for granted.  We didn’t recognize that we had a real life example of greatness in or midst.  We have been so caught up in the selfish generation that our eyes have been closed to the value of service.  Mandela’s death has put all of this and more back in the spot light.

#1 Nelson Mandela showed us the value of dying long before his physical death.  At one point in his life he was proud militant but to that life he died and became a new man of peace.  It was the new life that elevated Nelson Mandela to a international leader with international influence.  The take away for us is that, even if we start off rocky, rebellious or on the wrong track, there is always a chance to change course and become the leader that lives inside of you.

#2 Nelson Mandela’s death shows us the value of true leadership.  All the celebrations, memorials and acknowledgments show us that, when we strive for greatness, we can have a lasting impact on the world around us.  I continuously write about the importance of legacy.  Through his death, we now see just how much the entire world valued and looked up to him.  True leadership transcends death.

#3 Mandela’s death shows us that commitment and consistency wins in the end.

Nelson Mandela was in prison for 27 years because he chose to stand firm for his beliefs.  He was committed to his cause and consistent in his message.  Today’s leaders change positions and just to make sure they win the next election.  The big mistake that leaders make is their failure to establish a vision for their journey.  Many leaders fail to establish the core values that will define their term as a leader.  Nelson Mandela gave us an example of what commitment and consistency to a vision and core values can accomplish.

Right before you Live you have to Die.  Die to your old way of thinking.  Die to the old relationships that caused too much negativity in your life.  Die to the habits that put you in the place where you are not living out your best potential.  Death proceeds life for you and, in the case of Nelson Mandela, his death will serve to wake up the next generation of leaders.  

East Cleveland Municipal Court’s Judge William L. Dawson is on a mission to help people to Finish First, live their best lives and be Cycle Breakers!  

To receive a copy of his newsletter reach out by: 

judgewilliamdawson@gmail.com

www.teamfinishfirst.com

www.Judgedawson.com