Here is a Mother’s Day story about my beloved mother, why my name is RAW, the urgency of ABOLITION, and why you should not spank your children:

When I was a little girl I got in trouble in school a lot. I was always fighting and getting suspended. My mother had 5 kids and I’m the youngest. So, by the time I was in middle school she stopped spanking us because she was “too tired to keep spanking all these kids” lol.

*that’s an example of how spanking doesn’t just effect the children, it has physical, mental, and emotional impacts on the parent.*

Okay. So, when I would get in trouble in school my mother would not spank me. My siblings would be upset because they never got that “luxury” lol.

One time I got into a fight on the school bus. This girl rode MY bus home, & thought I was going to let her bully me on MY assigned bus. The fight was so bad the police got involved, & before I knew it I was 12 years old with a 2nd degree assault charge. (ABOLISH THE POLICE)

When my mother came to the school, the principal told her:

“She walks around this place like she runs it, and now she’s going to jail.”

My mother told the principal,
“NO THE FUCK SHE’S NOT! Y’ALL TRY ME IF YOU WANT TO. THIS SCHOOL WILL BE STRUGGLING TO KEEP THE LIGHTS ON.”

My mother is smart. She knew how to disarm them. It was the school’s fault the girl was on my bus. We had assigned buses. Bus monitors are supposed to check the names of each student on the bus. She got on MY bus and tried to fight ME. Then got beat up. This wasn’t my fault.

So, the school ended up dropping the charges, but the girl’s mother filed direct assault charges against me because I hit first.

I learned to hit first from my grandmother. She said, “Throw the first hit in a fight because it may be the only hit you get in.” lmao. RIP GRANDMA!

So I had to go to court and my consequence was to deliver 20 hours of community service.

The night of the fight the police were at my house. We were both scared. I never had an arrest charge before. I just knew I was going to get a spanking. But, my mother didn’t spank me.

Instead, she sat me down and said this:

“You’re not in trouble. Your initials are R A W. Backwards your name is W A R. That means God has given you the power to be RAW and be a leader to your friends, or WAR and lead them astray. You decide how you want to serve god.”

Now that I’m older, I’ve come to realize RAW and WAR are both useful tools LOL. (A lot gets done when I decide to go to war.. lol) But, the speech made me want to be RAW and do the right thing. It also made me happy I wasn’t getting spanked lol.

Don’t Spank your kids. They’re more scared of you than the police. Just talk to them. Kids will listen.

Anyways, SO HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY TO MY AMAZING MOTHER WHO HAS SAVED ME TIME AND TIME AGAIN. I’m nothing without you. My greatest honor in life is being your baby.