When Mr. Obama took the election and the country by storm, I sat in my living room and quietly celebrated with the rest of America. Not being a big fan of crowds, I stayed in the comfort of my home and in my own way, celebrated the victory. In Chicago I understand they had throngs of upwards of 125,000 people waving American Flags and singing the National Anthem. It was truly a day for celebration, happiness, joy, call it what you want.
White people wept, black people wept, people of “all colors” shed a tear for Mr. Obama and I suppose for this great country that we all share.
The consciousness has been raised, a validation that is long overdue, has been registered in the soul of the populace. The grandsons and granddaughters of slaves, laborers, soldiers that helped build this great nation, came of age in one sweeping moment of history. People in this country, now have a distinct feeling of “being equal” with the election of this man, and they rightly should.
One reader of this page, said that something to me this week that resonated and stirred my spirit. He said, “I don’t always agree with your opinions, but I read your stuff, because you make me think about things.”
Folks been telling me all week, what they don’t like about me, so this evening, I decided to give them a dose of their own medicine. As usual, the comments section is open, those of your that are spiteful can go there right now, the rest I hope will stay and hear me out.
Now here it comes, this is the part where I don’t make a lot of friends, something that I seem to be very good at here lately. One thing that disturbs me about all this is the “Afro-American” tag. I don’t believe in it, I don’t support it, and I for one, think it is wrong. Very wrong. If you are born in St. Louis, Kansas City, Dallas or Memphis, then sorry, you aint “Afro-Anything.”
You are a American.
To some this is perhaps a shocking thought or a revelation, but that is the simple truth of it. There is (in my opinion) no other explanation for it, it is flat out wrong. It is also wrong, dead wrong, to actually believe that you are “entitled” to some kind of compensation from the government because your ancestors were forcibly brought over here and abused. It was not right, and that is not an issue, but to ask to be paid for it, is ludicrous.
It is also just another decisive issue in the fabric of this country. Now before you get your hackles up and send me all kind of hate mail and poorly written invectives, think about it. Look at your history (black history) look how far you have come. You have a distinct and viewable path of victories, winning strategies, suffering, and lofty accomplish as a “race of people.” This is something I as a white guy, do not have. I am from a long string of Germans who came over here, dropped the “Schmidt” and adopted the “Smith” and then blended in.
That is it.
I get a lot of guff about people being raped, houses being burned, this and that, all the atrocity inflicted on the black race, and I am sympathetic to a point. But let me ask you, does it do any good to rehash it all over and over? And no, I am not willing to debate the issue here or otherwise.
The truth is, (and you are not going to like this either) “You as a black person don’t have the market cornered on racism, bad news, or hard times.” The world is full of it. Instead of basking in your glory, a lot of black people want to keep digging up a dead horse to see if it smells bad. Racism in this country will NEVER END until parties on BOTH SIDES OF THE FENCE change their internal thinking.
One thing that would help is to drop this hyphenated crap.
Let’s get real with this. Mr. Obama got elected precisely because he was black, not despite it. So now the honeymoon is in full swing and people are rejoicing all across the width and breadth of this great land. Someone this week actually suggested in the comments section that Baracks House should become the new National Anthem. How dumb is that?
What happens when the glow of all this dims, and it will, all honeymoon’s have to come to a conclusion, it is a fact of life. America’s problems will remain intractable if people don’t change their attitudes and lifestyles. I got a good taste of it this past week, and as always with racial discrimination and racist attitudes, it left a sour taste in my mouth. As it should, it is a sore on the face of humanity and should be eradicated.
With an illegitimacy rate of 70 percent, a huge gap in educational achievements, and literally millions of black men locked down in our prisons, we want to sit around and groan about whether or not “his mother-in-law” is going to live in the White house? Give me a break. At least here, we have a man willing to stay home and take care of his family.
If and I know that is a big word, but “if” Mr. Obama isn’t able to get the country behind him, I am afraid he will leave it just about the way he found it. And that is sad, because I too want to see a change, a real change, in the country I love.
A friend of mine is fond of saying “K.I.S.S.” (Keep It Simple Stupid) he isn’t all that fond of long articles. So I will close this off. If this civil rights paradigm is truly dead in this country, then Black Americans can no longer see themselves as “victims” in their role of society. You want to stop racism in this country, then you turn off the television, you get out a book and you teach your child how to read. You don’t sit back and bitch about a Black Man moving his “family” into a home, as I have pointed out, at least he is at home. Life is a series of problems and possibilities and not just a long list of grievances.
We’re All God’s Children …. Change … real change … Starts in the heart.
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