If you're single and in your mid-30s, it doesn't matter who you go out with. Whatever you do is between you and your partner and that's the way it should be. On the other hand, if you're a married man with four children, you have responsibilities to provide more than just money. Now, don't get me wrong, in this economy, providing money is plenty but it isn't the whole story. The children need guidance.
Jason Whitlock of the Kansas City Star rightly pointed out the true tragedy. McNair's four children. Four young boys were denied a father because Steve McNair was not focused on what was most important in his life. It really doesn't matter what was going on between Steve McNair and his wife. What matters is that McNair did not put himself in position to be around for the long haul.
I spent a lot of time recently thinking about affirmative action and the black community. The Civil Rights Act passed in 1964. For nearly 20 years minorities and women made huge strides into closing the quality gap. Something happened around 1980. I'm not saying that it was just Ronald Reagan. Instead, I think it was an atmosphere of hostility towards affirmative action and also towards unions which together has helped to cripple the black community. (Of course, there are other factors. There are internal problems in the black community which are very critical to retarding personal growth but, for now, I'm focusing on external problems.)
I do not have any statistics but I would bet that a large percentage of union jobs were held by blacks. As Reagan and the rest of the conservatives waged war on unions, blacks lost jobs in droves. Wall Street applauded as large corporations shipped union jobs overseas. This devastated the black community. Hundreds of thousands of black men without jobs. There were no prospects on the horizon. Many of them for various reasons become incarcerated in large numbers or fell into low wage dead-end jobs.
Against this backdrop, we have Steve McNair. He's just completed a highly successful 14 year career as an NFL quarterback. The number of black NFL quarterbacks can be counted on two hands since the inception of the league more than 70 years ago. McNair had an obligation to guide his young boys through the hazards that afflict all young Americans but especially those that have ensnared so many young black men. All McNair had to do was to stay on the path. He had made it out of the inner city (da' hood). Imagine being a multimillionaire. You have every creature comfort you need. Your only job is to be a husband and father. That's it. (I'm not saying that being a husband and father are easy. I'm not saying that being Steve McNair was easy. I'm saying that he made it through the tough parts.) You can't tell me that McNair wasn't on Easy Street.
I hope that Steve McNair's sons find a new role model. Role models are so hard to find these days -- especially in the black community.
In the case of Black Americans... I say absolutely yes... And it's not just one man's troubles. There are constantly reports of prominent Blacks screwing up... Add that to the general stigmatization that already exists...and it easily creates a situation of constant collective shame for the wider group. At least that's how it is for me. I admit being embarrassed every time someone who looks like me screws up. Because whether I like it or not....their behavior reflects negatively on me... it will have a negative impact on the collective image of Blacks. NPR's News and Notes discussed this issue on Wednesday... they suggested that there should be no collective shame.... that negative images no longer exist (that seemed to be what they were getting at).
***************************
In a related story....it appears that Rihanna is cozying up with her abuser. I'M SO SHOCKED. Folks can't say that I didn't predict this... it fits the predictable pattern that I have mentioned before. This is why I wrote 'Black Women and the Race to the Bottom III' (my third rant on this issue, lol)... because I already saw this coming. This is why it is hard for me to feel sorry for women who seek out these "thug" characters... and return to the same abusive situation or seek out the same qualities in the next guy..over and over again. It's a never ending cycle. And what a great example Rihanna is setting for the young women who emulate her...and for the young men. This is the kind of thing that poisons the race IMO. This... and just about everything else that comes from the Black Hollywood/BET culture.
There have to be issues within these women from the beginning regarding how they view their self worth... how they feel about themselves, etc. Something is screwed up in the brain IMO.
Any Black women out there who care to explain this? And before you say... "Rihanna is under the control of her abuser and she is trapped". That excuse relates to women of ordinary or modest means who are trapped financially, fear for their children and therefore feel that they can't leave the relationship...or women who fear further abuse. None of that applies to Rihanna. She's rich.... so the financial argument is out of the window... she doesn't need to rely on any man for financial support. Secondly...she doesn't have children and is not in a home situation where she is "trapped". So that argument doesn't apply. Some might say..."Well perhaps she fears reprisals". That argument might work... except for the fact that this is an independent, wealthy young woman...who has family....the resources to leave....plenty of places to go....and she can hire bodyguards. So please....spare me the excuses.
But if anyone has a logical explanation for this behavior... then fire away.
The issue of Black folk and class has come up several times in the past few months. I admit, I've been curious, but asked for folks to give me an angle. Give me a jumping off point.
Trumystique has done that today:
The pearl/bead comments just reminded me of something.
You know those super upper crusty cotillion-debutante ball black folk? Yeah them. It occurs to me that on some level they are fuming that Michelle and Barack are making it to the White House. You know these people are GENERATIONS OF MONEY, and generations of black money, while Michelle and Barack are new money.
Old money never likes new money. So I am sure that the Obamas and especially Michelle are going to get rolled eyes, hmmphs and lots of under the breath comments of "thats so declasse!" or "thats the Southside for you" for whatever they do. Because I guess none of those old money black folk would have ever invited the Obamas to their functions back in the Chicago days.
Middle class black folk like to look down on poor black folk. And old money black folk REALLY like to look down on new upper middle class folk. Dirty little class secrets we rarely talk about.
This topic pushes a lot of buttons.
But, I don't think it's as black/white as it seems. The Obamas have been embraced by some of the Our Kind of People crowd. What do you think Valerie Jarrett is? or Desiree Rogers? She, and more importantly, her former husband, is pure Our Kind of People. Though, I do wonder what will happen with the entire D.C. crowd, who are entire PhD study unto themselves. Though, I believe Valerie Jarrett has already been greasing the wheel for that too, considering that Ann Dibble Jordan - Vernon's wife- is family. Of all the Black folk in Camp Hillpatine, it was very interesting that Vernon never clowned for Hillpatine, a la Andy Young, Bob Johnson, and others.
I think that this is a generational shift, too, for the younger crowd, even those who grew up in the Our Kind of People world, are more inclusive than their elders.
And, sigh, I know it will come up, so let's just put it out there: Michelle Obama would NEVER have gotten into any of those organizations a generation ago, and we know a big part of the reason why. Hint: paper bag.
We call him that -- he calls himself that -- because we use dated language and logic. After more than 300 years and much difficult history, we hew to the old racist rule: Part-black is all black. Fifty percent equals a hundred. There's no in-between.
That was my reaction when I read these words on the front page of this newspaper the day after the election: "Obama Makes History: U.S. Decisively Elects First Black President."
The phrase was repeated in much the same form by one media organization after another. It's as if we have one foot in the future and another still mired in the Old South. We are racially sophisticated enough to elect a non-white president, and we are so racially backward that we insist on calling him black. Progress has outpaced vocabulary.
To me, as to increasing numbers of mixed-race people, Barack Obama is not our first black president. He is our first biracial, bicultural president. He is more than the personification of African American achievement. He is a bridge between races, a living symbol of tolerance, a signal that strict racial categories must go.
Of course there is much to celebrate in seeing Obama's victory as a victory for African Americans. The long, arduous battles that were fought and won in the name of civil rights redeemed our Constitution and brought a new sense of possibility to all minorities in this country. We Hispanic Americans, very likely the most mixed-race people in the world, credit our gains to the great African American pioneers of yesterday: Rosa Parks, W.E.B. Du Bois, Martin Luther King Jr.
You can read the rest of this tripe at the link above.
Let me break it down for you.
I SO am not gonna listen to a Latino tell me who IS and ISNT Black.
He was Black during the Rev. Wright brouhaha, wasn't he?
Watching Spanish speaking television in this country, no one would believe that the overwhelming majority of those brought over in the hulls of those slave ships did NOT stop in North America. Look at Spanish speaking tv - nary a Black to be found.
Hispanics are mixed race?
WTF do you think Black folk are?
'African-American pioneers'
Rosa Parks - yella DuBois - yella King - medium
Don't none of these folks look like present day West Africans.
Look at West Africans.
Now, look at the range of colors amongst the Black community here in America.
How the hell did we go from THAT to what we are NOW, without mixing with a whole lotta folks. Having White ancestors is nothing new for Black folk.
Barack Obama doesn't even look 'bi-racial'.
4 years ago, before his speech, take Obama and Harold Ford, Jr's pictures to the local Black barbershop anywhere in America.
Ask them to tell you who the bi-racial person was.
Would they choose Obama?
Or the green-eyed, wavy-haired Ford, Jr.?
My money's on Ford, Jr., born to 2 Black parents.
Like I said, this having White ancestors didn't begin with Barack Obama....though a great segment of White America just likes to pretend that it did.
When White folks claim bi-racial Pookey that just robbed the liquor store and shot 3 people, then I'll know it's not just about trying to divorce Obama from the Black community.
That was a great deal of the animus behind the attacks on Michelle, IMO.
She was BLACK.
Her ancestors were slaves in the bottom of those ships in chains BLACK.
All the pain, hideousy, and contradictions to the great myth that is America BLACK.
I've got relatives of the entire Black Community spectrum, and we're all BLACK.
For some people the choice of Barack and other bi-racial folks is perplexing in this day and age. Why be black if you don't have to be? Oh sure maybe a generation ago you didn't have a choice, but now you do so why not? Why not complete the transition to being post-racial (not black)? Why marry black and more black babies? This woman feels like Barack made himself "blacker" voluntarily and she doesn't understand why on earth he would do such a thing. Maybe someone should tell her it's actually kind of great.
Ding ding ding
We have a winner.
It totally perplexes some folks. You can see it.
' Why does he call himself BLACK?'
I still say that Michelle has a great deal to do with it. Why would he CHOOSE to marry Michelle?
I've written extensively about Michelle at JJP, and how I used to didn't understand why Toots and Gramps never got their ' due' when it came to Barack - they raised him for a chunk of his life, and I thought it was obvious:
Columbia Harvard Law President of the Harvard Law Review
that they more than deserved their ' props'.
Then, it came to me.
Michelle.
Michelle erased all that away, and ' negated it'. For, if Gramps and Toots had ' raised Barack right'...
then what's he doing married to Michelle?
And you all know, I then stepped away from that, because I didn't even want to try and understand folks who had that line of thinking.
Sorry, you're just going to have to deal with the full complexity of Black humanity.
Colin Powell is Black Again by BooMan Sun Oct 19th, 2008 at 06:02:33 PM EST
The only reason Colin Powell endorsed Barack Obama is because he's a racist, or, at the very least, because they're both soul brothers. After all, even though Powell served in the administration of someone who was totally inexperienced, he had never before endorsed an inexperienced liberal. Colin Powell woke up this morning as someone that was reviled by the left and most of the world for his phony WMD presentation before the United Nations on February 5th, 2003. He goes to sleep tonight, reviled on the right as a racist who puts racial solidarity over principle. Colin Powell was respected by the Washington elite and much of the right. Now he's no better than Al Sharpton and Cynthia McKinney. I'm sure Powell knew this would happen. That's why I'm fairly certain he's sincere in thinking McCain-Palin will be a disaster for this country. If he didn't think that, why would he subject himself to this abuse?
The title alone cracked me up.
Booman is correct, though.
From everyone's favorite racist, junkie, right-wing radio host
October 19, 2008 Categories: McCain Limbaugh: Where are the inexperienced, white liberals Powell has endorsed?
Rush Limbaugh said Colin Powell's decision to get behind Barack Obama appeared to be very much tied to Obama's status as the first African-American with a chance to become president.
"Secretary Powell says his endorsement is not about race," Limbaugh wrote in an e-mail. "OK, fine. I am now researching his past endorsements to see if I can find all the inexperienced, very liberal, white candidates he has endorsed. I'll let you know what I come up with."
As for Powell's statement of concern this morning about the sort of Supreme Court justices a President McCain might appoint, Limbaugh wrote: "I was also unaware of his dislike for John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Anthony Kennedy and Antonin Scalia. I guess he also regrets Reagan and Bush making him a four-star [general] and secretary of state and appointing his son to head the FCC. Yes, let's hear it for transformational figures."
George Will: Colin Powell Endorsed Obama Because He’s Black By: Blue Texan Sunday October 19, 2008 10:31 am
This morning on "This Week" George Will was asked what he thought about Colin Powell's endorsement of Barack Obama.
His response?
Black, black, blackety-black black black blackety-black.
SNUFFLEUPAGUS: We just found out that former Sec. of State General Colin Powell has said he's going to vote for Barack Obama. Big impact?
WILL: Some impact. And I think this adds to my calculation -- this is very hard to measure -- but it seems to me if we had the tools to measure we'd find that Barack Obama gets two votes because he's black for every one he loses because he's black because so much of this country is so eager, a, to feel good about itself by doing this, but more than that to put paid to the whole Al Sharpton/Jessee Jackson game of political rhetoric.
WILL: Some impact. And I think this adds to my calculation -- this is very hard to measure -- but it seems to me if we had the tools to measure we'd find that Barack Obama gets two votes because he's black for every one he loses because he's black because so much of this country is so eager, a, to feel good about itself by doing this, but more than that to put paid to the whole Al Sharpton/Jessee Jackson game of political rhetoric.
Huh?
Excuse me, but what the fuck do Al Sharpton and Jessee Jackson have to do with George W. Bush's Secretary of State, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and a lifelong Republican endorsing Obama?
Oh, right -- they're all black.
Rikyrah here: Now, I know some of you are asking...how come Donna Brazile didn't speak up? Now, I can't begin to speak for Donna, but as my Daddy would say, " I'm just surmising" - that this was a ' Child, hush' moment.
What's that?
That'a a moment in every Black person's life when there are two options:
Speak up and say something you KNOW you won't regret, but you'll have to accept blowback about...
or
"Child, hush." - keep your thoughts to yourself, think happy thoughts, because the first words out of your mouth, if you opened it, would be - Mutherfucker, please.
Buchanan: Alright, we gotta ask a question, look would Colin Powell be endorsing Obama if he were a white liberal democrat...
Walsh: Oh, Pat, I'm really sorry you went there.
Look, General Powell Started off by saying it would be electrifying an African American and it is naive Joan to suggest it had nothing to do with his decision.
Matthews: He said that if that were his driving motive he would have done it weeks ago because the guy looked African America weeks and months ago. Walsh: And Obama's been courting him. He's been courting him for months.
Buchanan: This is why he threw in the whole kitchen sink. A lot fo things are silly and ridiculous. Economics and Supreme courts justices, it's...
Walsh; That's not silly...
Buchanan: All the motives except for the one everybody is wondering about.
Walsh: Which is what? Race, I mean Pat, you know Pat. this is beneath you.
Matthews: Why don't you go by what he said? Why do you have to attribute motives to people who don't say those things?
Walsh: And Sheila Jackson Lee stayed with Hillary and Stephanie stayed...
Yeah, Powell's been kicked out the Big House, folks. To break it down in terms used by my fellow blogger, The Field Negro:
Powell, is now at best a Patio Negro. No more House for him. He's still not welcome to roam freely in The Field, mainly because we haven't forgotten about the U.N. speech. But, some in The Field are willing to talk to him now. And point out to him those in The Field that he should avoid at all costs.
On a serious tip, I believe Powell has sense. And, I believe his wife had influence. Never forget, Alma Powell grew up in the thick of Bombingham, Alabama, where her father kept weapons in the house, because he never knew when or where he might need one. You don't forget stuff like that. I bet John Lewis' remarks resonate CLEARLY with Alma Powell.
Black Women And The Race To The Bottom: Will the Fascination With the Bad Boy/Thug Ever Begin to Wane?And How Are Black Celebrity Women Contributing To This Problem?
Does their position as validators, legitimizers and apologists for a destructive culture harm young women (and young men) and drag down the Race? I don’t think there is any question that their role is and has been harmful. The question is…. how harmful has it been and can their influence be curtailed?
There is all sorts of data that suggests that the Rap industry and the Rap culture are problems for "Black America". (1)(2)(3) Even Black youth see it as such. Yet the Black culture, especially its women, continues to embrace it, even though it is a culture that degrades the image of young Black women (and literally dehumanizes Black men to the point where they are seen as animals).
Over the last several years I have noticed the trend of famous Black women…. Women who are role models to thousands, who seem to be attracted to Bad Boys…. Those who represent a negative Black male image. An image that only helps to perpetuate negative stereotypes. What has this done to the Black image as a whole? Black women in particular seem to be afflicted especially hard by this sickness (The Bad Boy disease). I don’t believe that this is a coincidence.
This is a part II of a commentary from back in 2006 entitled "Why Are Women Attracted to Thugs". I think we are now far beyond the question of whether this is a problem. Clearly there is a certain narrow image of the Black male that has been mainstreamed. So I want to raise the questions of how and why it has happened.
The image of the Black Bad Boy “thug” has become enormously popular over the last decade, largely due to the impact of the Black celebrity culture and its acceptance by the larger American celebrity culture. But something else has catapulted this negative Black male image into mainstream acceptance- Black women…or “women of color”. (Can’t forget about those like Jennifer Lopez who blur the lines and straddle two or more worlds at once). But this is a problem instigated especially by Black celebrity women. These celebrities (more than any other group in my opinion) have popularized the “thug” male image, and the “Rap Culture” with its negative & damaging value system.
The vast majority of Black female Pop stars & actresses either currently date Rap stars or have dated them at some point in their careers. It has pretty much become the norm to see Black or minority female stars dating the hot rapper of the moment, or the producers or the so-called “moguls” of the industry (translation- thugs who happen to have the most money in the industry). In fact, it is rare for Black celebrity women not to be with someone who personifies the “thug”. I’d say many of the women do it for the same reasons that Gold diggers seek the financially well-off alpha-male- they see them as a meal ticket perhaps. In the case of celeb women…. These men could represent some sort of boost to their careers. Sometimes, simply for the controversy and publicity created from the public relationship. This is not the case for all…but I suspect that it is the case for some. I have a term for these women.... but I will refrain from using that language here.
But who pays the brunt of the consequences for these celebrity relationships? Certainly the celebrity women themselves don’t carry the weight of all the social problems created by the trends that they set. These women have the money and the means and all the safety nets to avoid the pitfalls that come out of the “thug life”. And actually…I have read that many of the so-called “Bad Boys” are really not as bad as the images that they portray…and they too have the safety nets to avoid the real pitfalls that come from the lifestyle that they promote. So who is paying the price? Ordinary, everyday young Black women (and young men) who end up emulating the thug image personified and perpetuated by their superstar role models (and yes, these people are role models whether we like it or not…that argument is a dead one). Lakisha doesn’t have the safety net. So why in the Hell are Black celebrity women promoting this lifestyle?
The impact of this phenomenon is twofold:
#1. These women help to sanitize & validate this negative Black Male image. They send the message to the rest of the so called “Black Community” (I hate that term because it suggests that Blacks are a monolith…but for the sake of discussion) that this Black male image is harmless, is acceptable and in fact, it should be seen as the ideal. This is why thousands of Black boys from urban communities & beyond, aspire to be rappers, and why young minority women want to embrace the Hip Hop/Rapper thug culture and aspire to be with men who carry this persona, despite the damage that it has done to Black women. That in itself is fascinating to me.
#2. These women help to establish the ideal image of Black men and set the trend for young Black women in the wider community. Black youth, especially young Black women- emulate what they see in the celebrity world. …everything from fashion, makeup, hair, music, and what kind of male is hot or ideal. Black men are almost like a fashion accessory for some women, particularly a certain kind of Black male. This is particularly the case in a Black culture where parenting is lacking and where youth are being raised by the Television and by the Rap culture.
Some may say (usually apologists for the degenerate Black Rap culture) that the “Bad Boy” is also popular in society in general. There are many White women who prefer these men as well. And I will agree with that to a point. Women have been attracted to s---heads since the beginning of time. It’s biological. “Bad Boy” traits are often mistaken for strength, power, & confidence…all markers that women pick up on that suggests a strong male. But women often can’t make the distinction between good examples of male strength & confidence and bad examples of the same. Their hormones cause all kinds of confusion. This is how women go for criminals, drug dealers, playboys, etc. The comment that I often get from women is that these men make good protectors. But these women fail to realize that these men can’t protect them or be good fathers from the grave or a prison cell.
Yes the wider society has this problem but it does not have the same impact on the larger society- particularly on the White society, as it does for “communities of color”. The larger white society has many more positive images of white men & women (white men in particular). There is much more of a balance in terms of images. In contrast, the negative Black male thug image has become the predominant image of Black men, both within so-called Black culture & within the wider society. When people see me walking by (esp. Whites) & they don’t know me…they don’t see Dr. Ben Carson, nor do they see any positive potential I may have. Instead, they see the “Hip Hop” TV image & everything negative that has become associated with the Black male. This is the case even though there is nothing about me that says “Hip Hop”, criminal, thug, etc. I don’t dress Hip Hop, nor do I speak Hip Hop. I have come to despise the Hip Hop /Rap culture, yet, because I’m Black, I cannot escape being associated with it in terms of perception.
(I don't want to read any nonsense about Kim Kardashian being White... i'm well aware of that fact). The fact that these women help to perpetuate, sanitize, & legitimize this image drives me crazy. It seems as though most of the negative stereotypes that harm Blacks today are perpetuated by those of the same ethnic group. Black Hip Hop culture has become a laughing stock nationwide, providing fodder for non-Black Americans who enjoy seeing their racist predispositions reinforced by the images and lifestyles that they see promoted in popular culture (mostly by Blacks.... not whites... there is no need for Blackface minstrel shows today...Black folks have that job covered). Basically these women are helping to perpetuate their own degradation in many cases, and certainly the degradation of the image of Black women as a whole. By bolstering the status of men who symbolize the thug or Bad Boy, these women send the wrong message to their counterparts in the general community.
Now this undercuts the arguments of Black women who complain about the treatment that they get from such men. On one hand, they complain about maltreatment from the thug/Bad Boy community, yet these are the kinds of men who these women (for the most part) seem to pursue time and time again. In the world of glaring contradictions, this one is near the top. Like the Black women who complain about their negative image in the degenerate Hip Hop culture, yet they continue to court men who are steeped in that very same culture, and continue to buy the music that supports the rap entertainers who they are complaining about.
This represents one of the fundamental underlying problems that I have with Black women & women in general. In High School & College I never bothered to pursue the opposite sex. I noticed that the young women around me (particularly Black women) always seemed to go for the jocks, thugs, the troublemakers, the gang members…and the wannabe Rap stars. Any guy who was concerned about actual schoolwork, came to class everyday, took notes, etc.. was most often seen as boring and socially unattractive. That seemed to be the easiest way to ensure that you would be ignored by young Black women in school- carry lots of books. It acted as a repellent to Black women, although I didn’t intend it to be as such. It wasn’t until years later that I got a better understanding of this or realized why it happened. I saw the same pattern in adulthood, only worse. I also came to realize that if I ever wanted a partner, that I may have to look outside of the Race….even though that is something that I don’t necessarily want to do as a purpose driven thing. But it may become necessary. It may be my only option once I start to date seriously (after I reach financial viability… only God knows when that will be). As much as I want to love Black women…. I have too many issues with the culture….so many that I don’t see Black women as the most dateable. It goes back to the issues that I have mentioned… Black women who are racing to the bottom with the kinds of choices they are making, particularly with men….ultimately dragging the Race down the tubes.
This is why I call this phenomenon “The Race To The Bottom”. Women (especially Black women) seem to be making exceptionally poor choices in terms of what kinds of men they seek. And it’s not all women out there. But it is certainly a large portion - I will go out on a limb and say that it is a majority, although it may be a slight majority. Many women, particularly in minority communities, seem to be after the lowest common denominator. The impact is that it is slowly but surely harming the Race. These kinds of bad choices are a main factor, in my view, behind the breakdown of the “Black Family”- lack of fathers in the home, the out-of-wedlock births, low marriage rate, etc.
This situation of men choosing the “Bad Boy” image (because they think this is what women like), and women choosing to be with these men is such a normal practice that it’s as if this is a Right of Passage.
The Hovey Street Murders
A few months ago a horrible mass murder of two young Black women & their babies took place in Indianapolis, Indiana. The incident became known as “The Hovey Street Murders”, and is famous nationwide (Look it up for detailed background or follow the links provided below).
One of the young women was a resident in the home, and the other was simply a visitor, at the wrong place at the wrong time, although I’m sure that she knew what was going on at the home. A group of armed thugs barged into the house through a bedroom window and brutally gunned down the 4 victims in cold blood…as the women begged for their lives and the lives of their babies. The motive? The thugs were hoping to steal money and drugs from the home. The house on Hovey Street was a known drug location. One of the victims resided in the home with her drug dealer boyfriend who was not there at the time. This young lady was apparently aware of what was taking place in the home, and was likely a willing participant in the drug activity along with her boyfriend. (link 6)(link 7)
I felt sick inside after reading about this case. Of course I felt sorry for the victims, especially the children. But I also noticed that there was a lot of misdirected blame taking place…. That only the home invading monsters had a hand in the demise of these 4 victims. I simply wanted to suggest that the blame for these incidents (which play like a broken record in “Black Communities” all across the Country) can’t be laid at one doorstep. I simply wanted to mention that, although they were victims here and didn’t deserve this ending, the young women shared at least some blame for the positions they placed themselves & their children in.
When I raised the issue of choices & personal responsibility on a fellow bloggers site, suggesting that the adult female (I’m purposely leaving names out) who lived in the Hovey Street home bore at least some responsibility for putting her life & her baby’s life in such danger, as well as the lives of her friend and the other child, I was absolutely vilified. Vilified for even making the suggestion that Black women shared any responsibility whatsoever (not for being harmed…but for knowingly putting themselves in such dangerous positions where the risk of harm is high). One of the Black bloggers (a female) stated that “The victim was just doing what she had to do… we shouldn’t blame her for that”….and she was part of a chorus of Black women who dismissed my statement as an attempt to blame the victims and to side with the thug animals who targeted the house- an idea that couldn’t be farther from the truth….anyone who has read my postings long enough knows better. If you’ve read some of my creative suggestions for dealing with criminals, thugs, & rappers…you would probably get the urge to contact the authorities. But I swear…all of these measures would be legal and just (if I were in charge). (Just kidding). But many of the responses were discouraging. But it wasn’t surprising that the attacks came from Black women.
I raised the issue because I hear/read about such tragic stories constantly. It seems as though there is a similar story played out each week, either locally in my hometown (The St. Louis Metro Area) or nationwide. Frankly I’m tired of reading about the same stories over and over again. I knew ahead of time that I would be attacked by Black women for bringing up the issue of choices that women make which place them (and their children) at serious risk. As I have stated, this lifestyle has been so accepted & embraced and has become so much of the “norm”, particularly for Black communities, that it is a Right of Passage- so much so that many young women see nothing wrong with the choices made by the Hovey Street victim who placed herself, her child, and her friends in danger. They (Black women) don’t even recognize and/or refuse to acknowledge that raising a baby in a drug house is even an issue. Half of the young Black women who responded to my comments about choices saw no problem whatsoever with the idea of a young Black woman dating a known drug dealer & raising a baby in that kind of environment. (A Right of Passage).
To most people in the wider non-Black society, such a situation - a baby being raised in a drug house- would be viewed without question as appalling, deplorable & unacceptable. They would balance their rage- expressing empathy for the victims, but also calling into question the choices made by at least one of the women. That’s the normal response to such a tragedy. And this is all I wanted- a balance…an acknowledgement that this was not right. But no. Not according to at least half of the Black women who participated in the discussion. They immediately made excuses for the women….and demonized ALL Black males…as animals. Somehow I allowed myself to be personally offended by that…. Because I get enough of that in the general society….simply for being a Black guy.
According to these women, the young lady from Hovey Street bore little if any responsibility for the increased risk she found herself in. I believe this condition of normalization & acceptance of this kind of lifestyle…the mainstreaming of it, has had a numbing affect on these women. They can’t even recognize that the situation was wrong, that the choices were harmful and they can’t even empathize with the babies on that basis. The women in this case (and similar cases) are seen by Black women as helpless victims, not smart enough to make good choices, as women who should not be expected to be held accountable for anything. First we had the pre-women’s Suffrage era, when women were essentially seen as helpless, unintelligent, dependant on men, and even seen as the private property of men. Then we went through the Suffrage era of the late 1800’s - the 20’s and 30’s when women gained more independence, more legal rights, gained control of their own bodies, and gained the right to vote. Then we went through the Women’s Liberation Movement of the 60’s and 70’s. Then to the empowerment, independence and equality that women worked to establish in the 80’s and 90’s. And now in the 2000’s we are back to Pre-Suffrage times, when women were not responsible for their actions, were helpless, were taken care of by men and couldn’t make their own decisions. At least that is what some people would like us to believe. On one hand, women (especially Black women) want to be seen as strong, independent, smart, and responsible, but on the other hand they want to be seen as helpless damsels who can’t possibly be responsible for the decisions they make. What is really happening here is that these women want it both ways.
What I am getting at is that this issue is like the elephant in the room.
People want to ignore the issue of legitimization and validation of this negative Black male image, and the role that some women are playing it in. People want to gloss over the consequences that this is having on Black youth and on society as a whole. And it’s an image that is just as harmful to Black men as it is to Black women. Black women are helping to create & prop up this negative image…of the kind of man that they claim is harmful to them.
Do you believe that Black Hollywood (particularly its women) are playing a harmful role in encouraging young women to seek the wrong image in a mate? Do they promote the wrong image of Black men? Is this trend harmful to the “Black Family”?
And why are Black women so reluctant to criticize other Black women on this issue? Why are they so reluctant to point out the negative role that some Black women are playing in the deterioration of the Black social condition? This kind of criticism seems almost taboo. Instead, Black women (some, not all) seem to defend & make excuses for certain behaviors of other Black women that are helping to destroy the Race.
I understand that there is a need to love these women as a way of helping them, but you can’t get to the point of helping them when no one wants to point out what the negative behaviors and choices are. Without identifying them, and acknowledging them, the problems cannot be corrected. Black folks are in a serious state of denial on many of these issues.
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UPDATE:R. Kelly Getting Support from Black Women, Even His Victims.
Child rapist R. Kelly gets support from an unlikely (but somehow not surprising) source- Black Women. It seems that the victim in this case, along with her mother, have been bought out by R. Kelly. The victim now claims that she is not the girl on the tape. Obviously, with all the time that was allowed to elapse between the videotaping and the trial, R. Kelly has been able to influence the victim.
As if that's not bad enough, Kelly has a loyal group of cheerleaders who attend the trial, some being so "supportive" that they disrupt the proceedings. Who are they? Black women. The scene described in the Courtroom literally mimics the Boondocks episode which featured the trial....with mindless Black folks rooting for Kelly.
So now it is o.k. to rape underage Black girls....as long as you are wealthy and you can buy the girls and their mothers? When did Black women (and Black families) begin this practice of literally putting their daughters up for sale?
Don't know how I found this article this morning, but thought it was interesting. Points out the true generational divide within the Black Community, and who Barack Obama is bringing to the table that wasn't there before now.
Obama power broker new face of black politics Joe Garofoli, Chronicle Staff Writer Saturday, March 1, 2008
Comedian George Lopez told his agent Christy Haubegger a couple of weeks ago that he wanted to campaign publicly for Sen. Barack Obama. Haubegger, an executive with the Hollywood talent firm Creative Artists Agency, knew the person to call: her old friend from the Stanford Law Review, Tony West.
West is one of the California finance co-chairs of Obama's campaign, helping him raise a record $65 million in the state, and he also advises the candidate's national finance committee. And he is more than Obama's confidant. West is part of a new generation of African American politicians who grew up outside the black churches or the civil rights community and now are finding their voice - and political power - in the tone of Obama's campaign.
West's bulging Rolodex, like Obama's, is full of contacts made while studying at an Ivy League university (Harvard) and editing his law school review (at Stanford). That network, in West's case, was augmented by working on six presidential campaigns (including both of Bill Clinton's) and at an A-list San Francisco corporate law firm (Morrison & Foerster).
Like Obama, the 42-year-old West knows from experience how race can affect a campaign - even when the candidate tries to transcend it. Eight years ago, the former federal and state prosecutor was running for a San Jose-area state Assembly seat. It was a nasty campaign, with partisans on both sides hitting hard. Days before the primary, voters received a mailer alluding to false claims that West was living in Oakland. His face was darkened and placed inside an Oakland Raiders logo, to make him appear "as if a gangsta were running," as the San Jose Metro newspaper put it. West lost to Manny Diaz, a Democrat, who eventually was elected to the Assembly.
"I think he came out of that race a little less idealistic," said his sister-in-law, San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris, who has endorsed Obama. West married Harris' sister Maya, his best friend from law school, and they have an adult daughter, Meena. "He is so smart, and he always sees the positive in everything, but that was below the belt."
"I certainly hope that he would run for office again," said former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, who called West "one of my mentees." Brown, who has not endorsed a Democratic presidential candidate, said West "could be, like Obama, one of these candidates that transcends race. He is exceptionally gifted."
West said he lost none of his idealism and dismissed the mailer as the "stuff that happens in politics. I think it says more about the process than it does about the voters.
"I think it is sometimes easier for people to appeal to things that are negative," he said. "It is easier sometimes for campaigns to appeal to things that frighten us. The fact that campaigns may do that, and do it successfully, doesn't make it right and doesn't make it lasting."
More than race
Trying to look beyond racial politics is "generational," said Charles Henry, a professor of African American studies at UC Berkeley and an expert on black leadership. "This is a generation that grew up outside the black churches or the civil rights community. They're less likely to see a racial slight than an older generation.
"They're more likely to have met through elite universities or law schools," Henry said. "They've taken advantage of the gains of the civil rights movement," even if they were in diapers during its heyday.
Henry and other analysts said examples of this generation of black politicians include Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick; Newark, N.J., Mayor (and Stanford alumnus) Cory Booker; and Rep. Laura Richardson, D-Long Beach, who has a master's in business administration and was recently elected from a largely Latino district. Richardson, unlike the other two, supports Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.
"Tony's ascension in the various worlds of politics is largely due to the fact that he has always been very meticulous about maintaining his networks - and they are networks that are beyond California," said Sam Rodriguez, an unaffiliated political consultant who worked with West when Rodriguez led the California Democratic Party.
Kerman Maddox, a onetime aide to former Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley who runs his own Southern California consultancy and is African American, said West has shown him the fundraising breadth of the black middle class. Much of the $3 million raised at a fundraiser at Oprah Winfrey's Santa Barbara estate last year came from middle-class African Americans, Maddox said.
"I was surprised at how much money came from African Americans in Southern California," said Maddox, who teaches political science at the University of Southern California and who is an Obama fundraiser. "It used to be that campaigns would come to the (African American) community and ask us to get out the vote. But they have the money. There just haven't been people like Barack Obama and Tony West to tap into it before."
Thug DJ Returns To Radio Airwaves In New York... & Is Welcomed Back By The Black Community
Where is the outrage from the so-called "Black Community" about the thug radio personality Troi Torain returning to the airwaves? Black folks have been up in arms recently over the return of Don Imus to the radio airwaves. But Imus's comments were not nearly as inflammatory or offensive as the comments made by thug Troi Torain, who goes by the name DJ Star. Imus was not arrested, nor did he break the law. Imus didn't make threats to do bodily harm to anyone. I'm not excusing Imus... I am mentioning that for the purpose of juxtaposing the two incidents and to highlight the hypocrisy that runs rampant in the so-called “Black Community”.
Last year, while on the air at one of New York's biggest thug Hip Hop radio stations, Mr. Torain threatened to stalk and rape a 4 year old little girl....and then urinate on her. He also threatened her parents...and even solicited listeners to help him find out what school or daycare the child attended. See Report 1 See Report 2. I blogged about this story last year. See 2006 Report from NY Times.Where was the outrage from "Black America"? I don't know...but I do know that there was not a peep from Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, and the rest. NOT A WORD! They certainly did not call for any major protests against him or demand that he be fired. Now he has returned to the airwaves....and still...no protests... no outrage from the "Black Community". But Negroes had an epileptic fit over Don Imus? This is one of those things that sometimes makes me hate my racial identity.
Oh… . This is just more wholesome and nourishing Black entertainment for the youth, right? Yeah… this is what Blacks often try to convince people of. I get so tired of these ignorant and misguided Negroes who try to argue that Rap/Hip Hop culture and its degenerate music and images are no problem. They constantly make excuses for this culture, which is why none of the problems that plague the so-called “Black Community” have ever been addressed and will never be addressed. Too many Blacks are walking around with blinders on…. denying or ignoring the problems in their community and in their culture.
Take the Black on Black crime rate for instance. There is a self-canabalism taking place within the so-called Black community right now. Street gangs control entire neighborhoods in urban America. And the problems are exacerbated by Blacks keeping their blinders on... along with this "no snitching" mentality. This has allowed the criminals to prey on those who look like them without much fear of any serious consequences. I think John McWhorter and Jason Whitlock may be on to something with the "Black KKK" analogy. Thanks to Plez World for the McWhorter piece.
This is why I don’t identify with Black Popular Culture….and I have no regrets.
Side Note:
This nonsense (Black hypocrisy) seems to be par for the course. I was thumbing through radio stations in my car the other day and ran across one of the local Black stations…and they were holding one of their radio contests. One of the callers was overjoyed at the fact that she won the contest…. What was the prize you ask? Two tickets to see R. Kelly. Yep… THAT R. Kelly…. The child rapist. He is on yet another tour. [1][2].He still hasn’t gone to prison, nor has he even gone to trial for the 2002 rape of a teenage girl. And I suspect folks in corrupt Chicago are being paid off to continue to delay the trial. I doubt if there will be a trial at all… and that would be just fine with his Black supporters.
And yes…. His concert venues have been selling out since the rape charges. The rape charges made him more of a hero in the Black community. Go figure. Any other culture would have ostracized the thug and child rapist. But in Black culture… the more crimes you commit and the more severe your crimes are, the more of a hero you become.
"The two parties have combined against us to nullify our power by a ‘gentleman's agreement' of non-recognition, no matter how we vote ... May God write us down as asses if ever again we are found putting our trust in either the Republican or the Democratic Parties." -- W.E.B. DuBois (1922)
If you're single and in your mid-30s, it doesn't matter who you go out with. Whatever you do is between you and your partner and that's the way it should be. On the other hand, if you're a married man with four children, you have responsibilities to provide more than just money. Now, don't get me wrong, in this economy, providing money is plenty but it isn't the whole story. The children need guidance.
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