I think becoming a white man is something that happens slowly. I first started to learn to think like an adult from the stories my paternal grandmother would read to me when I was a young child - The Ants and the Grasshopper, The Little Red Hen, and so on. I immediately understood the lessons behind each story.
When I was 11 I had a growing up moment. The 1950s movie "Old Yeller" played on TV one rainy Saturday afternoon. At the end of the movie the boy is faced with a very sad responsibility. The man is willing to do the job but the boy stops him and says "No. Old Yeller is my dog. I'll do it." Then he did it.
That scene weighed heavy in my thoughts for many weeks. The boy had done something incredibly sad. Something he would certainly remember for the rest of his life. Yet, he didn't have to do it. He could have let the man do it. Why did he do it himself was the question I was looking to answer.
I eventually came to the answer - responsibility. A man should not go through this life seeing everything as good or bad, happy or sad, and maybe not even right or wrong but should instead see everything in terms of necessary and unnecessary. A man should do what is necessary and avoid doing what is unnecessary. Emotions are not real and can be used to control you, so be sure you control your emotions.
Finally, there is learning a skill or trade, getting along with people, managing money, gaining strength, learning politics, and on, and on. I don't think the journey from boy to white man can be accomplished with a single ritual event.
I think becoming a white man is something that happens slowly. I first started to learn to think like an adult from the stories my paternal grandmother would read to me when I was a young child - The Ants and the Grasshopper, The Little Red Hen, and so on. I immediately understood the lessons behind each story.
When I was 11 I had a growing up moment. The 1950s movie "Old Yeller" played on TV one rainy Saturday afternoon. At the end of the movie the boy is faced with a very sad responsibility. The man is willing to do the job but the boy stops him and says "No. Old Yeller is my dog. I'll do it." Then he did it.
That scene weighed heavy in my thoughts for many weeks. The boy had done something incredibly sad. Something he would certainly remember for the rest of his life. Yet, he didn't have to do it. He could have let the man do it. Why did he do it himself was the question I was looking to answer.
I eventually came to the answer - responsibility. A man should not go through this life seeing everything as good or bad, happy or sad, and maybe not even right or wrong but should instead see everything in terms of necessary and unnecessary. A man should do what is necessary and avoid doing what is unnecessary. Emotions are not real and can be used to control you, so be sure you control your emotions.
Finally, there is learning a skill or trade, getting along with people, managing money, gaining strength, learning politics, and on, and on. I don't think the journey from boy to white man can be accomplished with a single ritual event.