For some reason, we're brainwashed to think if you're not a thug or an idiot, you're not black enough. If you go to school, make good grades, speak intelligent, and don't break the law, you're not a good black person.
Kids are born into the situation they're born into, and obviously, they have no control over that. And we, as adults, it's up to us to take care of kids - that's part of your moral responsibility. I always tell people, 'There's two groups we should take care of - old people and young people.'
Interpretation
What this quote means
Children are born into circumstances they cannot control, and it's our duty as adults to care for them.
This quote emphasizes the moral obligation that adults have to provide for and protect the younger generation. It highlights the idea that children do not choose their circumstances at birth, and thus, society has a responsibility to support them, much like we should take care of the elderly, who also require attention and care. Barkley advocates for a compassionate approach towards the vulnerable members of society, underlining the importance of collective responsibility for the well-being of both youth and seniors.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a charity event speech addressing children's welfare.
More from Charles Barkley
All quotes →Kids are great. That's one of the best things about our business, all the kids you get to meet. It's a shame they have to grow up to be regular people and come to the games and call you names.
What I told [my teammates] after the game was I'm just fortunate [for] my 16 years because, this [injury] can happen every single night you go out and play... It can be over in one instant, so you should appreciate everyday.
I don't believe professional athletes should be role models. I believe parents should be role models.
I don't believe professional athletes should be role models. I believe parents should be role models.... It's not like it was when I was growing up. My mom and my grandmother told me how it was going to be. If I didn't like it, they said, Don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way out. Parents have to take better control.
I always laugh when people ask me about rebounding techniques. I've got a technique. It's called just go get the damn ball.
Similar quotes
I have very supportive parents who said, 'Go and do what you want to do. Home is always here for you, and if you don't like it out there, come back. You can always do something different.' So when you have an option like that, you are able to choose roles or choose the things you want to be in.
Paradoxically, those who call for family values also tout the wonders of an unregulated market without observing the subtle cultural links between the family they seek to regulate and the market they hold free.
For all the ghosts and corpses that shall never know the breath of our children so long for the sacrifice and endurance of our mothers and the sustained breath of our fathers we live
You will never have this day with your children again. Tomorrow they will be a little bigger then they are today. This day is a gift. Breathe and notice. Smell and touch them; study their faces and little feet and pay attention. Relish the charms of the present. Enjoy today mama. It will be over before you know it.
There are times when parenthood seems nothing more than feeding the hand that bites you.
My grandmothers are full of memories, smelling of soap and onions and wet clay, with veins rolling roughly over quick hands, they have many clean words to say, my grandmothers were strong.