I think I'm beginning to adopt a philosophy similar to my brother. At least on the issue of the brightness of our future.
I have, for a while viewed the future for Black people as a bleak one. One in which we never completely regrasp our Crowns and return to our original position on the world stage. I thought the quote "the meek shall inherit the earth" was a bit dated, and would not hold water against the legions of people who wish to destroy us.
But something my bro said to me is finally starting to make sense. I'm not able to directly quote him, but the gist of it was this, "...Look at T.V. Look at how we dominate sports, how so many young white kids idolize these athletes. See how Michael and Tiger have kids wanting to be them. Look at the music channels. When was the last time you even heard or saw a white group a singer get as much love as Beyonce' or Jay-Z or 50 cent? It's as if white people hardly have a music genre anymore. Rap music is becoming world music.
And because of this, future generations of white kids are gonna see the world through different eyes. They will more likely have listened to, and enjoyed some rap show or have Black friends simply based on "popular culture." So they will more readily empathize with our struggle, rather than with the disdain past generation have viewed us. "
Now, two months or so later, I get it. I can see that vision now, and some other things are making all the sense in the world now. Like Bill O'Reilly's constant bashing of Rap music. He's just trying to appeal to his white audiences' need to put the kibosh on this trend. I could even see the lack of Black programming and the poor production of shows geared towards us on the major networks as further evidence of this theory.
I know some people would say that there is no white conspiracy to undermine the Black population, or white america's acceptance of it. But I tend to disagree, not because I think they are holding weekly meetings on it, but because of nature, and psychology. I learned once that self-preservation is the driving force for people's actions. So with that in mind, it is natural for someone, especially in a position of power, to do what ever is necessary to preserve their way of life.
So to quote the old "Scorpion and the Frog" fable by Aesop, "I could not help myself. It is my nature."
Let me know what ya'll think. Peace.
2 comments:
i agree with the motivation behind a possible conspiracy against black folk. self-preservation has a way of making folk do things that are not only heinous but so diabolically evil you'd think it was something out of a movie instead of real life.
i'm gonna have to give some thought about what your brother said, though. just because a white kid idolizes michael jordan and wants to be him doesn't mean he would empathize with black folk because ultimately, his personal experience doesn't coincide with that of black folk and therefore, he has no personal knowledge from which to build that empathy. all he's got is love for michael jordan. same goes for white kids digging hip hop.
those things are products of the black community but just cuz the white kids buy our fried chicken don't mean they empathize with the hows and whys behind us buying that fried chicken with food stamps.
i see what your saying nikki, but i believe those experiences create avenues on which to better associate with black people.
when white teens see and listen to these shows such as TRL or Rapcity and 106 and park, they will have a greater understanding, or at least greater than their parents, of black culture.
So sucessive generation will gain more understanding than the previous. until oneday... who knows.
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