It goes deeper than the black middle class vs the black poor. There is educated vs uneducated, black masculinity vs black femininity, dark vs light skin....basically, it goes deep as far as issues that divide the black community.Rico's comment was the motivation for this post so (if he's up for it), let's attempt to shed light on somethings mentioned above. Why not? We're grown, we're mature. My mind is still developing how to set this up but I think I will start with offering a general description of my own personal background (focusing on socioeconomical conditions) because that heavily influences your perspective on things.
Treize, get the shovel!
2 comments:
I would say there is a division within the black community and there are Niggas and there are Black People. However one of these populations is subject to a lot more scrutiny than the other, so to cast them in a negative light is a lot easier. I'll let you all figure out which population I'm talking about (Niggas or Black People)
Chris Rock's reference to a civil war was right on point. I've had to deal with both, and I will tell you now there are just as many things that bother me about niggas as Black People. Both live by a set of illogical rules, albeit niggas live by rules more applicable to the reality of the situation, but I'm a firm believer in transcending circumstances at least to the point where you don't feel trapped.
However the Black middle class has developed their own set of rules based primarily on separating themselves from niggas. Sound familiar. Every experience I've had with the Black Middle Class has left me frustrated and pissed, because there are fundamental parts of the BLACK EXPERIENCE, and I aint talkin about bein' broke or violent, I mean concepts and principles rooted in uplifting the race, being proud of who you are, and empathizing (not sympathizing) with working class people of all races, particularly Black. Most of them went through it during some generation.
Class creates a new sort of veil that blinds everyone to the things that connect us. Some of us are able to break that veil and end cycles by going to college and making something of ourselves. But even that has divisions as my going to Howard is very different from my going to Emory. Going to EMory completely and utterly removed me from my comfort zone and I was able to see first hand just how screwed up SOME middle class families are. It's appalling to see how they carry themselves, how they reinforce the same sorts of philosophies at the basis of racism.
I would say everyone, NIGGAS AND THE MIDDLE CLASS need to get a reality check and start making more sense, living in the real world and stop trying to please each other and please themselves. By that I mean remove yourself from class distinctions and value the human experience, one inevitably connected with the Black experience in America.
And so far as the other issues that separate the Black community, all of it is rooted in feeling important. Men and their pride, women and their beauty, education and its benefits.
Black masculinity suffered greatly during slavery and Black men have been primed to view themselves in terms of cementing their own legacy taken and stripped from them for centuries. By that I mean, a Black man's pride is his masculinity. He wants to be a provider, a protector, and hold power. However, there is a new type of mental damage going on with the media and education being viewed as a bad thing in the hood. Black men now associate their pride with money, physical power and subordinating women.
Thus a division of education becomes apparent. Education becomes a dividing line between good black men and bad ones, but that unbearable pride is hard to break and you see some slippage even in successful Black men who still want their 40 acres.
Women, like men have also been subject to the ravages of dark, light bases of significance. Light skinned women passing as white, dark skinned women being raped. The same continues today with superficial standards of beauty that suggest light and skinny is better than dark and thick (or whatever u wanna call it). This combined with previous damage makes the current situation not so surprising. Black women are over sexualized and objectified to the point, like men, education and independence become foreign thoughts. And also like Black men, even the possession of education or money can become corrupted by Black women's need to assert their independence. Even if it means bein a sediddy asshole.
So the fact is, people need to stop tryna box themselves in and worrying about what others think. DO YOU
Post a Comment