An old talk show episode about teaching teens respect has Eduardo García thinking about what it means to raise a boy into a man.
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Reality TV and Talk Shows tend to cater to our morbid desires, the same desires that make us slow down traffic to look at a car crash or watch from afar a couple arguing. These programs might use the excuse of helping someone, when in reality what they want is to parade this “train wreck” in front of a screaming public. But every once in a while you get a glimpse of the reality of life in reality TV, and it brings up how hard life can really be.
This is a clip from an old talk show, Jenny Jones. The episode, “Boot Camp My Pre-Teen,” apparently was about problematic children confronted by a Drill Instructor who will teach them some respect and discipline. I guess the producers thought doing a “scared straight” program might work on these young kids. Guess they never counted on a Boy teaching them the reality of a hard life or a DI willing to show what a REAL MAN is. I don’t know if this was planned or if it was a set up. What I do know is how common this problem is, boys growing up without a proper Role Model.
The DI was in full character, doing what a DI does best. They show you the level of discipline and respect you must emulate. They will push you, mold you, and if necessary even break you, till you become a better man for having them in your life. That is what he was going for.
Until the boy opened his mouth and broke the expectations of the DI. This boy did not need pushing or breaking. What he needed was someone to simply show him the road to becoming a Man. Some people might say the DI walked of stage with the boy because the Boy broke him. The DI realized that the Boy didn’t need to be a spectacle for anyone’s enjoyment. He knew just how hard it must have been for that boy to utter the words “I have no Daddy.” He hugged the child, the way any proud father hugs his son; something that boy probably had never had before, and walked off camera with his hand over that young man’s shoulder. That alone will teach the boy what a Man is, that alone is the image of a Good Man, a man that is Tough, Understanding, and Sensitive. The young man also showed more character than most men, he admitted what he truly felt. HE stood up to the DI and told him. That is EXACTLY what a DI hopes for in boys learning to be young men.
I’m glad that kid is getting a chance most young boys never do and I only hope his “Daddy” didn’t back down on his word.
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A real life DI will not take questioning from anyone. If you think you do not need breaking, he will break you for the sake of breaking you. This guy had a lapse of discipline and showed his humanity. DIs are not about that.