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| From the desk of Gary Mason |
Had a discussion about tolerance and acceptance which I thought was interesting. The conclusion of the conversation was that we are to choose to accept rather than tolerate because acceptance is an act of understanding, respecting and giving value to a person or situation.
One of the examples used was that of a neighbor you may not like or have anything in common with and you choose to "tolerate" that situation/person because they live next to you. In an ideal world, we are to accept everyone for who they are, giving respect to their ideals and beliefs and acknowledging they have value in the community.
When I heard this I instantly thought of one of my neighbors that I've been "tolerating." I don't foresee me ever accepting him for who and what he is because he is a contradiction as to how I carry myself now. Let me explain. My neighbor is a low level, sloppy, drug dealer. The reason I say sloppy is because he doesn't handle his affairs properly. I've had his customers come to my apartment looking for dope. His customers are blatant about what they do. His supplier is sloppy, often dropping off dope packages in broad daylight without concealing them. All of this adds up to someone who is careless in a business where carelessness can get you killed. Did I mention that he lives next door to me and I have children? Have I tried to remedy this situation? A little. I told the landlord, who lives on property, about the situation. He said he knows what is going on and would speak to this guy about it. That quieted things for a couple of weeks but then it went back to business as usual. Part of the problem with that particular situation is the landlord is friends with this dude and more than likely a customer of his too. So what are my other options? Call the police? Not an option for a couple of reasons. Number one, the police are ineffective and two,
I don't snitch. I could move, which is what I plan on doing after my youngest son completes third grade, three years from now. So I have opted to "tolerate" this situation/person briefly, but I am also handling his dirty business in my own manner which is going to end in a confrontation with me showing this man how sloppy he is and how much danger he's in.
So, acceptance won't be happening in this situation. If I was to accept this situation/person then I am no better than the dope he pedals and I know this isn't the case because I value life and contribute to the good of this world!
Wow man, what a sticky situation.
ReplyDeleteEven though your land lord is a customer, the police may be the only option. Let them know that the landlord may be involved. I know its terribly uncomfortable with your kids, but if he is that careless, hes going to mess up like you said, and its likely that your place could get shot up along with his and scare/hurt your family. Three years is too long, bro. When your lease is up, please get out. Im prayin' 4 u man. And im not usually a praying man...
Thanks for the concern and prayer. I am comfortable in knowing my family is protected however, I don't like people around me being inconsiderate and careless. To me, it's like they're saying, "eff you man, I'll do what I want and you can't do anything about it!" Obviously, what they don't know is that I am not one to play with. Never cross a man who is protecting his family because he will do whatever it takes to protect them!
ReplyDeleteMy feeling is that if you call the police they aren't really going to help and if you decide to move from where you live at now to another place what is to say that the drug use won't be going on in the new place that you live in. The only way that you can get away from people using drugs is to get your own home and that is not even a guarantee that your neighbors don't do drugs.
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