Faith Without Works

"Black folk got too much damn religion anyways" - O Dog "Menace To Society" (I think!)

So the lady in D.C. obviously goes crazy and kills her 4 girls ranging in ages from 5 to 17 years old. Said that the kids were possessed by demons and died in their sleep. It looks as though she just couldnt handle the stress of raising the girls after her husband died of cancer last February. It would occur to me that if thats the case she really shoulda reached out for help, but you know how stigmatized the black community is regarding mental health issues and all but thats not the point......

Now it appears that the social worker who had previous contact with the family is speaking out AFTER THE FACT and saying that the woman, Banita Jacks, appeared to have mental health issues when she visited the house in April to investigate why the 17 yr old had stopped going to school. The social worker even went so far as to say she thought that Jacks was holding her own daughter hostage inside the house. So the question begs to be asked. WHY THE HELL DIDNT THEY JUST GET A WARRANT AND GO IN THE HOUSE THEN?!?!? Simple answer : Somehow someway they came under the impression the family had moved to Maryland!!! Not their problem anymore! But you know what? That isnt the point of this blog either. That social worker system needs some overhauling anyways. This we knew.

My problem is with the rest of the family. While it is true that the Jacks' have family in Maryland, they never moved there. The deceased husband's mother said that she tried to visit a couple times but was not allowed in the home. Then she said she received an abusive voicemail berating her for trying to visit. Now wouldnt all of this raise a red flag? If I were the grandmother I would be ready to kick in the door on some Biggie shit....or have some able bodied people to do it for me. But what does she do instead?

"I had been praying to God to bring them home to me."

You had been praying?!?!?!!? Listen, I do believe in the power of prayer. However I also feel as though prayer is useless in most cases if you dont follow through with some sort of action (if possible) towards whatever you are praying for. In this case, this lady coulda been more persistent if she felt something was truly wrong in the household. She's their grandmother for crying out loud! Anyone feel me?

Sometimes I feel like black folks rely upon religion too much and dont act. Remember 'Faith Without Works......' people. They go hand in hand.

"'cause even when you pray/the next day you gotta try/Cant wait for nobody to just fall out the sky!" - Cee-Lo "In Due Time"