Yummy's Neglect

1310 Words3 Pages

“Nearly 700,000 children are abused in the United States annually, and about four out of five abusers are the victims’ parents”. When a child is abused or neglected by a parent, they will most likely adopt these habits in some form. This is why, “14% of of all men, and 36% of women in prison in the U.S. were abused as a child. Abused children are also at more of a risk to misuse drugs, and nine times more likely to become involved with criminal activity” (Childline.com). Henceforth, when a child is abused or neglected, the child cannot be blamed for how they act. The actions these children make are not entirely their choice, but induced by the environment they live in. In the graphic novel, Yummy, the Last Days of a Southside Shorty, …show more content…

But when a child is hurt by their parent, they think it is tolerable to do the same to others. This may be why some perceived Yummy as a bully. But, because he was wounded at such a young age, he wasn’t directed any other way to go about his life, than the way his parents taught him. Yummy should not be looked upon as a murderer because throughout his whole life, he was only taught to act in a negative way, and didn't have any positive role models in his life to affect it in a more valuable way. That is why it wasn’t his fault to act the way he did, it was caused by the situation he was in. Because he did live in these conditions, he should not be viewed a murderer, but a victim. Yummy’s mom didn’t care about her kids all that much. Besides Yummy’s mom abusing her kids, she also neglected them. Because of the lack of attention, and affection Yummy received, he went and looked for it. G. Neri writes in Yummy, the Last Days of a Southside Shorty, “There are so many kids, Yummy could disappear for days and nobody’d notice...Then he started hangin’ with the Black Disciples” (Neri 24 and 32). This quote explains that no one really paid attention to Yummy, because he was neglected. When a child is …show more content…

On YouTube, there are many videos of people talking about abuse. On the channel Childline, there is a specific video about a boy named Adam, who suffered from abuse. Adam was abused by his dad, and it affected the way he lived his life, and treated others. Adam got in trouble at school often because of fighting his peers. These actions are most likely caused by how his dad treated him. Abuse is a serious problem that when left untreated, can cause emotional, and behavioral problems. When Adam was beaten by his dad, he didn’t learn any other way to handle his problems. So later, when he had his own issues, he was unkind, and and even physical towards others. This story connects to the situation Yummy was in. He was also abused by his parents, so like Adam, whenever he had a conflict, he was mean, and if he needed to, also physical. This was the only way Yummy was taught to settle a problem. But these actions Adam, and Yummy made, weren’t entirely their own, they were influenced by how they were treated by their parents, because of the situations they were in. This example proves that Yummy, like Adam, was a victim, not a murderer. There was a news story about a girl named Susan MIller. She was neglected by her parents, and was only taken care of by her school teacher. Susan Miller is sadly, one

Open Document