Shakedown and Shake Up

One recent late afternoon while looking at TV weather, a commercial interruption caused me to scan other channels, one of which was in the middle of an Oprah Winfry interview of Dr. Alvin Poussaint and Dr. Bill Cosby (yes, he has an earned doctorate). I've always liked Bill Cosby and he and Dr. Poussaint were being asked about a controversial feature of their recent book, Come On, People: On the Path from Victims to Victors--a home shakedown.

In a later Meet the Press interview with Tim Russert, Cosby and Poussaint expanded on how to protect black children from drugs, guns, and other modern evils. I was intrigued about the recommendation of random parental room "shakedowns" for both black and white children. See this clip of Cosby's discussion.



Did I ever thoroughly go through my childrens' rooms while they were growing up over 20 years ago? No, but my husband and I would probably perform an occasional shakedown today, especially if we saw unwelcome behavioral changes in the child. If we saw a gun, evidence of drug use, pornography, signs of immoral behavior, etc., then we could not avoid confronting this evil in our home.

Our first goal would be to "shake up" the child (yes, he is always my child and I will always want to protect him from being injured or killed--either spiritually or physically). He (or she) would be told in clear and forceful words that no material of a wicked nature is ever allowed in our home that is consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. And the bad material would be publicly destroyed in front of the young person to clarify we meant business! Obviously, this would be only the first step--but this action is where we would have to start.