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I Know Why They Do What They Do-PG13

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http://www.adultssavingkids.org

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From time to time, we meet people of different backgrounds.

For reason of either boredom or money, some times

people are forced or willingly go in directions that might be

exciting or lucrative. There are many other reasons why

people choose to cross boundaries in to places that [maybe]

they shouldn’t go. P.-.r.-.o.-.s.-.t.-.i.-.t.-.u.-.t.-.i.-.o.-.n.-,

drug activity, grand theft auto, gang activity and violent

crime. I cringe when I hear those words. But, sometimes we

need to say these words.

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We need to point them out as things you shouldn’t touch;

places you shouldn’t go; things you shouldn’t do.
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http://www.adultssavingkids.org

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Growing up on a farm, we learned about farm safety and the

many potential dangers on our farm. Our parents used

a lot of things to teach us proper boundaries- words,

rewards, consequences, praise, discipline and a host of

other tactics. Some times it worked; some times it didn’t.

Example seemed to be the best teacher.

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Sometimes we had to guess what our parents were telling us.

Sometimes we didn’t. The one significant thing that I learned

on the farm is to keep an eye out for barbed wire and electric

fences. Coming in contact with an electric fence is a real

shocker. I still have a predominant scar from jumping over a

fence that had a strand of barbwire hanging from it.

I was just showing off to a crowd of people how high I could jump.

Cows and horses come to respect those boundaries;

at least most of them.

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http://www.adultssavingkids.org

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When I was volunteering at a homeless shelter, I learned one

very important thing: that young people that are raised

with p.-.r.-.o.-.s.-.t.-.i.-.t.-.u.-.t.-.i.-.o.-.n.-., drug use,

theft and violence LEARN IT rather quickly. These things

lose their shock value because they have grown up WITH

these things.

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An artist once taught me that ‘the more you think about it,

the more it becomes a part of you’. We learn many things

just by being in close proximity of our parents.

For example, as a teacher’s daughter, I learned how to

teach. My brothers learned how to farm. They lived it.

It became a part of them. It became a part of me.

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At the homeless shelter where I volunteered I learned

something rather new, maybe foreign to me. I learned

why people do what they do.

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We call this:

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necessity; Webster’s Dictionary

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/necessity

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Another definition to learn is that of:

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poverty, see Webster’s Dictionary

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/poverty

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It is a sink or swim kind of mentality. I’ve got to do

something for the things that sustain me-food, shelter,

clothing, etc. I’ve got to make some money. I’ve got to

pay some bills, buy some food, fill up the gas tank.

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http://www.adultssavingkids.org

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It was RIGHT THERE sitting in front of three ‘women of the

profession’ that looked so very normal to me that I learned

that people do what they do because they need to do that.

They do it to survive. They needed to put food on the table.

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When I heard these young gals talk about their profession,

I heard them explain that that is what they grew up with.

I heard that that is what they had to do when their parents

‘threw them out on the street’. I heard that they were taught

to numb themselves early on. They were taught to do;

not to feel. Their parents were fully aware what they were

doing. They were there.

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This is a sensitive subject for me, possibly for you and

for many other people. However, we need to tell each other

where the ‘barbed wire and electric fence wires are to keep

us safe.

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People generally have a motivation in order for them to do

something that might be harmful or dangerous. I think

that it is spelled- M-O-N-E-Y.

Perhaps, it can be spelled-N-E-C-E-S-S-I-T-Y.

Perhaps, it can be spelled-A-D-D-I-C-T-I-O-N.

Perhaps, it can be spelled N-U-R-T-U-R-I-N-G or

perhaps it can be spelled N-O N-U-R-T-U-R-I-N-G.

Perhaps it is just for the T-H-R-I-L-L of it. Perhaps, it

is that they are used to it- memories of the P-A-I-N,

the F-E-A-R, the D-E-N-I-A-L, and the L-O-S-S of self.

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When I visited with young girls involved in the profession,

I had a hard time convincing them that working at

McDonald’s Fast Food Restaurant was going to be as lucrative

or exciting as the work that they were engaged in.

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I have thought about this and have wondered about the

motivation to STOP doing things that hurt us.

I am still wondering. Perhaps, you have some answers.

Perhaps, you don’t. I don’t either.

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Sandy S. Zoo