In Kiese Laymon story "How To Kill Yourself Slowly In America" he proposes that he is slowly dying, he's killing himself and others are slowly killing him. After all in the introduction to his story he describes how he has had several guns pulled on him, but he has never been afraid to die. In many of these cases he actually promoted or tempted the gun holders to pull the trigger. He almost made it seem like he wanted them to, just to put him out of the misery of his everyday life. This makes one think, how is he slowly killing people or how is he slowly killing himself? Laymons thesis is that the social policy of a society in large part produces the individual actions of societal members. Thus, when lower class citizens have rape, murder and crime in the communities in which they live, this is a result of the tolerance of the societies lack of education and savvier poverty. In short Laymons point is that the "The Chickens Come Home To Roost". This, I will argue is how the society is slowly killing him. On the other hand he is killing himself in that he is participating in this society that produces so many threats against him.

There is a long history in America, for certain individuals, to justify actions of individuals based on the over all social policy. In other word it is acceptable to allow certain things to go on due to where someone comes form, their socioeconomic situation and their race. Malcolm X once said, "The chickens come home to roost." At the time that he said this, John F. Kennedy had been assassinated. The country was in a up roar about what was going to happened and many civil rights leaders broke out with many different view points. Malcolm X believed that his assassination was a result of, "a long line of violent acts, the culmination of hate and suspicion and doubt in this country"(Pipes, Americas chickens are coming home to roost). For Malcolm X America reaped what it sowed. In other words the United States got what it deserved. That its social policy produced this society that resulted in Lee Harvey Oswald assassinating the president. America had forced the hand of the criminal to commit this terrible act. On the other hand Reverend Jeremiah Write used the term "The chickens come home to roost" when he talks about the post Nine Eleven attack. While talking to his congregation he explains that, "We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back to our own front yards" (Ross, God Damn America, U.S. to Blame for 9/11).  This is the perspective of Laymon, in that he sees the same social policy today as a result of the same social actions.

Laymons story has many factors that run hand in hand with the ideals from Malcolm X and Reverend Jeremiah Write. For instance when Laymon describes how Trayvon Martin is killed for fighting back at a white man in society. He is connected to Trayvon in that he tries the fight back against the tyrant of a dean at the school in which he attends, upon doing so he is excused from school. The crime that the dean feels is so impermissible is he free write about the many problem with society. These ideals that he writes about do not correspond with the morays of the university or the dean. He is excused for doing what he feels he is obligated to do and that is to fight the white culture. He was created into a culture in which police brutality, rape and murder was an everyday occurrence. He feels that he must fight back against his oppressors because he has no other choice. For example when he is outside his friends car and the white police officer has a gun to his chest, he felt unjustly provoked to stand up for what is right. What is right is to stand up for his sub-society, whether or not he is proud of where he came from, he won't let someone mock him or his heritage. The social policy that is in place is, that an African American individual should never try to go against the authority of a white individual. Also that the word of the white man has more value than that of an African Americans. He argues against that when he fights back against the policeman who at any moment could easily take his life. 

Throughout his story a recurring theme was when he said, "I don't know why I am doing this."(Laymon, "How to kill yourself and others slowly in America") He describes how he doesn't understand why he does these things, but it would seem it is because he is part of the system in which white culture constantly oppresses. When he gets in the fight with his mother, his mother kicks him out. He sneaks back in the next day, get in the bathtub with her gun and contemplates pulling the trigger. The sub society in which he is a part of has driven him to want to commit this act. Although he feels that he can go no further. In the distance he sees this since of hope. He sees that he is contributing to the culture in which he grew up. When he does the actions like stand up to the cop, fight with his mother or goes against the dean and he doesn't understand why he does them, one can't help but feel that he subconsciously is fighting for something bigger than himself. He is fighting for those who cant voice their opinion for themselves in the society he grew up in. Although the society is slowly killing him, he can't help but feel that he has to be a part of it. 

At the end of the story Laymon describes as story of a young man that he went to college with, who had killed a young women, with the aid of one of his friends. He describes the story as a terrible event and at the end one feels that he has a sense of astonishment. Not at the fact that someone would commit such a horrible crime, but that the young man he knew admitted to it. This may seem like such a small detail, but in the world that he grew up in this was not a common thing. There was almost a sense of pride in that the man was willing to admit to his mistake and own up to the punishment. When "The Chickens Came Home To Roost" he didn't shy away, he faced it head on.

