MY FRIEND’S UNCLE IS TRYING TO PIMP ME OUT
Dear Willie D:
I’m a 15-year-old girl in high school. My mom and I used to be real close. But lately we have been arguing a lot. She works long hours and leaves me to myself. I started drinking, smoking pot and hanging out with the wrong crowd, which affected my grades. So my mom took my phone and grounded me for a month.
We have a house phone but while I was punished, she had no way of knowing if I was home or not, because I never answered the phone when she called. Until recently, I hung out a lot at my friend’s house who lives down the street from me with her mother, two little brothers and her mother’s brother.
Her mother’s brother, who is 28, is always looking at me, popping me on the butt and telling me that I could make some good money being a call girl. At first I liked the attention, but the last time I was at my friend’s house (a week ago), he slapped me and threatened to hurt my mom if I didn’t agree to let him pimp me out.
Ever since I got my cell phone back three days ago, he has been leaving threatening voice messages and texts. I was thinking I should just do what he says so he don’t try to hurt my mom. He is also a gang member. What should I do?
Threatening Messages:
[Fuming]. Tell your mom or your school counselor what’s going on, and they’ll let the cops know what’s going on. If you save those messages, it shouldn’t be hard to convict that clown for something.
I have zero respect for dudes who threaten females with violence, and try to force them into prostitution. Living off a female ain’t hustling. You need a father, brother or uncle like me, because gang member or not, I would beat the breaks off any bastard who tried to violent mine.
SHOULD ALCOHOL BE BANNED IN THE U.S.?
Dear Willie D:
I live in Graham County, a dry county in North Carolina. We have very few alcohol-related car accidents and deaths. With all of the accidents caused by drunk driving each year, I think that alcohol should be banned in the U.S. But my cousin who is a police officer disagrees, and he’s seen dozens of alcohol-related vehicle fatalities. What about you?
Dry County:
We already tried banning alcohol back during Prohibition, remember? People were moonshining, opening up speakeasies, going to jail, and getting killed left and right. People who enjoy the taste of alcohol and drink responsibly should not be penalized for those who don’t. That’s like a teacher handing out F’s to her students because a small percentage of the class didn’t do their homework.
People who are intoxicated shouldn’t operate motor vehicles. Stay home and drink. When you’re done, stumble to your bed or crash on the sofa or floor. Preferring to stay at home rather than drinking and driving may not be ideal, but it’s a good alternative to going to jail for manslaughter or wrapping your car around a telephone pole and busting your head to the white meat.
HIV PATIENTS STILL WON’T PROTECT PARTNERS
Dear Willie D:
I am an HIV/AIDS counselor, so I work with HIV patients all day. I am very sensitive to their needs as I am a patient myself. When new patients are given an HIV/AIDS Confidential Case Reporting Form to fill out, oftentimes they won’t include the name of their partner, or they’ll list one or two partners and not the others.
When asked the question “Have you had unprotected sex since your diagnosis?” many of my patients will answer yes. I frequently speak to kids at high schools and participate in health seminars educating young people about HIV/AIDS, but I don’t know what else to do to get people to understand that they’re gambling with their lives when they have unprotected sex.
These aren’t just teens. Many of my patients who don’t practice safe sex are over 30. With the advancement in medicine, HIV is less potent to cause AIDS but make no mistake, it is still deadly and a burden on day-to-day life. Please, please publish this warning and share it with your audience.
HIV/ AIDS Counselor:
Done. Thanks for the info, and your commitment to healthy sex.
WHAT AGE IS OLD ENOUGH TO LET MY DAUGHTER STAY HOME ALONE?
Dear Willie D:
I’m being criticized by my mother for letting my 12-year-old daughter stay home alone after school while I’m at work. My daughter rides the school bus, and it drops her off in front of the house. The bus driver always waits until she enters and shuts the door before driving off.
There is also an alarm, and we live in a good neighborhood, so there is no reason for me to feel she would be in any danger. My mom has gotten to the point where she often will drop by to check on her, and each time she does, she makes it a point to remind me of how unsafe it is for my daughter to be left alone. I usually arrive at home [within] two hours of my daughter.
While I appreciate my mom’s concern, I don’t like it when she pops up at my house unannounced. My mom is very controlling. I have to take her in small doses. I’m a single mother. I can’t work all day to provide for my daughter, only to be sent on a guilt trip by my mother every other day. Do you think my daughter is too young to be left home alone for a couple of hours?
Working Mother:
I wouldn’t leave my 12-year-old daughter home alone. But I don’t know your situation. Maybe your daughter is mature for her age, or the cost of a babysitter is too rich for your pockets. Some states have laws requiring kids to be a certain age before being left at home alone. So you may want to check that out to make sure you’re not breaking any laws.
I can recall being as young as four years old when my mother left me, and my siblings [ages three, five and six] home alone. But that was a different time, when neighbors generally looked out for each other, and each other’s kids, and child care didn’t cost $9,000 a week.
Ask Willie D anything at askwillied.com, and come back next Thursday for more of his best answers.
This article appears in Dec 17-23, 2015.
