Fighting to Kick the Habit

Mike Tyson tells a great story about himself:

Even when I was just an antisocial kid, stealing and jostling in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, my friends and I would question our behavior. At my lowest points, I’d still be somewhat outside myself, thinking of the effect my actions had on other people...

have such a negative self-image that I just expect bad things to happen to me. And even though I hadn’t been using for five years, all that time I just didn’t feel comfortable in my skin. I was holding secrets from my loved ones, things that I had to get off my chest because I was dying inside. That’s the worst feeling in the world, keeping things to yourself.

I will bet that many of the black boys and men who are killing other on the streets in various cities have the same feelings. In fact Gil Noble did an interview with some gang members who essentially said the same thing as Mike did.

What is key here is when Tyson spoke of Cuss D'amato and how he had instilled discipline in Mike in regards to boxing. Many of these young men acting a total [sometimes criminal] fool in public are in need of strong male models to provide them with that.