What the Hell Are We Teaching Our Children?

October 30, 2026 | Ms. Butterfly Genesis

My heart is heavy today.

Not because of something that happened to me personally, but because of something that happened to a 15-year-old boy who should still be alive.

His name was Javits Frimpong.

Fifteen years old.

He came to America from Ghana about a year ago. His father brought him here hoping to give him a better future.

A better education. More opportunities. A chance to become somebody.

His father says he dreamed of becoming a physician.

But on Thursday morning, October 29, 2026, Javits was fatally shot in the Bronx while reportedly walking to school.

And I keep asking myself one question.

Why?

His father has spoken about bullying his son experienced at school. Investigators have not established whether that bullying was connected to his death.

But the fact that a father was already worried about how his child was being treated, and now must bury that child, breaks my heart.

What the hell are we teaching our children?

We are so quick to blame television, music, social media, and everything else for the way children behave.

But what about us?

What about the adults?

We are their first teachers.

Before children understand the world, they are watching us. They listen to how we speak about other people. They notice how we treat someone who looks different, speaks differently, comes from another country, or lives with a disability.

They learn from the way we respond to anger.

They learn from the way we handle disagreements.

And sometimes, whether we want to admit it or not, they learn hatred from the very people who are supposed to teach them love.

I am a woman living with cerebral palsy. I know what it means to be seen as different.

And I refuse to believe that being different should ever make someone less deserving of dignity, respect, or safety.

Different does not mean less than.

We should be teaching our children how to respect each other.

How to stand up for themselves without humiliating someone else.

How to disagree without becoming cruel.

How to recognize that someone else’s background, nationality, appearance, or disability does not make that person an enemy.

We don’t have to share the same beliefs.

We don’t have to come from the same country.

We don’t even have to like each other.

But we do have to learn how to respect each other’s humanity.

And I want to say something else.

I am deeply troubled by the example being set in our country, including by people in positions of political power. I believe that when leaders normalize insults, division, and disrespect, it sends a dangerous message about how we should treat one another.

But their behavior does not excuse ours.

We still have choices.

We can choose whether to repeat that behavior or challenge it.

Whether to teach our children compassion or prejudice.

Whether to become people who lead by example or people who simply follow whatever ugliness is happening around them.

And I don’t want to be anybody’s follower when it comes to hatred.

I want to be someone who leads with humanity.

I don’t know all the circumstances surrounding Javits Frimpong’s death. I don’t know every answer, and I won’t pretend that I do.

But I know that a 15-year-old has died.

I know that a family is facing a loss no parent should have to experience.

And I know that we should care.

Not only when the tragedy happens in our neighborhood.

Not only when the child looks like us.

Not only when the story makes national headlines.

We should care because a human life matters.

I keep coming back to that question.

Why?

Why does a young person have to lose his life?

Why have we become so comfortable with cruelty?

Why do we sometimes wait until someone is gone before we begin talking about kindness?

I don’t have all the answers.

But I know we need to do better.

As parents. As families. As neighbors. As communities. As human beings.

Teach your children that kindness is not weakness.

Teach them that respect is not something reserved only for people who agree with them.

Teach them that defending themselves does not mean destroying somebody else.

And most importantly, show them what those lessons look like through your own actions.

Because our children are watching.

And the world they inherit will be shaped, in part, by what we teach them today.

Javits Frimpong, may you rest in peace.

To his family, I pray that God gives you strength through a heartbreak no words can take away.

And to the rest of us:

What are we teaching our children?

Because if we want a better world, we have to stop expecting the next generation to become better people while refusing to examine the example we’re setting.

— Ms. Butterfly Genesis 💜🦋