Waiting For Black America To Grow Up...Seriously

Many of you remember Robin Harris' comedy routine about "Bebe's Kids" that turned into an animated feature some years ago. It was pretty funny. However, as an adult with my own little stinkers (they're the best), I see Bebe and her children in a different light. I also see Black America in a different light - and it reminds me of Bebe's Kids.

How?

Black America, whether people want to admit it or not, is developmentally behind other races/groups in this country. The fact of the matter is that we are not actually "African-Americans", but a new breed entirely. Immigrants from Africa are African-Americans. I would even say that Black people who have a real African heritage could be considered African-Americans. However, most of us who use the label aren't really African-Americans at all.

We're Black Americans.

If you actually look up the word "heritage", you will see that it's not something you take or adopt, like many of us adopt African culture. Heritage HAS TO BE passed down. The problem is that for most of us, our heritage was effectively stolen and erased during slavery. Our people retained some traditions and beliefs, but not enough to call it an actual heritage. They had to start over from scratch, creating an identity and a legacy here in America that began in American slavery. That culture and legacy is unique, and not from Africa. It's Black culture, and Black heritage.

That's who we (for the most part) really are.

In that vein, we are a fledgling people. We have come a very long way, overcoming and achieving impossible feats in the face of fierce adversities. However, we have a long way to go, not having yet developed sufficiently in a number of areas.

That's why Black America needs to grow up.

I see Black America like a prepubescent teen, who thinks she knows more than she does, viewing the world with underdeveloped eyes, spending money as soon as she gets it, going through changes that are sometimes confusing -

and a bit hot in the pants.

Like a 13 year old girl who is a little too fast, Black America is like a talented, witty, but often naive brat.


Or, you can liken Black America to a young boy, thinking he's a man because he has a little hair here and there, needing a father figure but not having one, learning how to stand up on his own through trial and error but not willing to admit it, learning hard lessons the hard way, tempted to use his brawn to get ahead instead of his brains -

and a bit hot in the pants.


So, if you can see this how I see it, it looks like Bebe's Kids are in junior high or something. If Black America could see and admit that, we could develop and grow. However, remaining in denial about who and where we are as a people is only stagnating our growth. Instead of just celebrating and snotting and crying all month long, in February, let's take a critical analysis of our history, too. We have accomplished a lot, but we have also made some mistakes. Acting like our poop doesn't stink does not clear the air and make it smell like roses. It's still crap.

And Black America, at times, is full of it.


So when, and how do we grow up?

Is Black America Raising Generations of Bi@#%$ and Hoes?

The short, obvious answer is "yes". Anytime Nelly can swipe a credit card through a woman's behind without so much as a flinch from 'Black leaders', and 48% of Black teenage girls have an STD, the answer is painfully obvious. (I had to alter the single's cover just to post it here on this blog) However, while most of us would agree that Black America is raising a generation of sexually promiscuous and irresponsible young women, the question was really about generations.

We have been spreading this sickness in the Black Community for a long, long time.

This post comes as I remember a local television show that came on after school when I was growing up called, "The New Dance Show". The show actually started out in the late 80's as "The Scene", then changed it's name to "The Dance Show", and eventually became "The New Dance Show". A local version of "Soul Train", The New Dance Show was the brainchild of R.J. Watkins, the owner of Detroit's only Black-owned television station. Kids is middle school like myself and older would come home to learn some of the latest dance moves and gain a sneak peek into what the young adults we were always emulating were doing.

Sounds decent, right?

Far from it. Anyone from Detroit reading this is already either laughing or shaking their head, because they know what's coming next. The New Dance Show was one of the most trifling, foul displays of lasciviousness that I have ever seen in my life. It somewhat pales in comparison to what young people are exposed to today on BET, but it's amazing to see what some of today's Black educators, professionals, and community leaders were exposed to when they were kids.



Now understand that I am quite far removed from the entertainment mainstream these days. So, someone who is still in the mix might not watch that clip with the same horror that I do as an adult, about 15 years after the fact. So, if you still don't get my point, the next video is a clip of actual commercials that ran during this show, during after-school hours, on broadcast television (not cable) WHEN CHILDREN WERE WATCHING:



THIS WAS HAPPENING IN DETROIT OVER 15 YEARS AGO!!!

Do you see where I'm coming from now? I saw this every weekday after school when I was eleven years old, and I wasn't the only one. By the time we were in high school, The New Dance Show was producing high school editions; but to the dismay of many, my high school did not appear on the show. Students at the college prep high school that I attended were actually angry that our principal had enough sense not to allow us to act like sex-crazed animals and tarnish the good names of our school and our respective families on television for the world to see.

We thought this stuff was normal...which brings me to my point.

Black entertainment has been hypersexual and demeaning to women for over 20 years now. It's not enough for us to shake our heads in disbelief when we learn that homosexual relationships are now popular in middle and junior high school, or when we see Shaquanda on The Maury Show testing potential father number 2,005 at only 15 years old.

(Okay, that last one was an exaggeration, but you get my point.)

Those of us who are religious often hear talk about generational curses being passed down. Is this not one of them, and possibly the most crippling of them all?

Young people are often accused of "trying to be grown", but what they are really trying to do is emulate young adults. No adolescent wants to jump to 35 or 40; they want to be 18, 21, or 25. Those are the ones who teach the children what adulthood is all about through their actions. While one might argue that The New Dance Show was perfectly acceptable adult entertainment, the problem is that the show aired while it was still light outside; that kind of programming should come on late, late, LATE at night. Now, raunchy music videos are a part of urban Black lifestyles; we expect our young people to watch much worse than what I was exposed to.

BUT ISN'T THAT MESSED UP?

When you listen to sexually explicit lyrics while driving with your pre-schooler in the car, aren't you teaching them that it's okay? When you allow BET and MTV in your home WHATSOEVER, aren't you telling your children it's okay to watch such filth when it airs?

In my parent's defense, they didn't know we were watching The New Dance Show. They surely had no idea what Watts Club Mozambique was. I want to unlearn the passiveness toward hypersexuality among young Black Americans by allowing myself to be disgusted by it and keeping such cultural influences out of my home.

People like to get mad at Bill Cosby for calling Black people out on their mess, but he only scratched the surface of the degeneration of the Black community. Furthermore, besides being offended at anything that doesn't celebrate and justify Black culture, do we not think that this hypersexual culture that we continue to perpetuate through our financial support of entertainment media is DIRECTLY related to the educational and economic problems we face? The young Black masses are more concerned with getting high, drunk, and laid than they are with getting a real LIFE and establishing themselves for the future. Don't we contribute to this cultural cesspool every time we listen to the songs on FM radio or patronize establishments that play those songs and videos?

Are we ready for another 20 to 30 years of this? How degenerate does our community have to become before we do something?

When does the madness stop?

Question For the Obamanation: What Will Obama Actually Do For Black America?

Hubby and I were sitting here watching Secret Millionaire (great show, BTW), and we began to talk about current events and the Blagojevich scandal. That's when the involvement of Jesse Jackson, Jr. came up...OH brother (pardon the pun). This moved the conversation to the issue of Obama and his relations with Black America...

And how he doesn't really have any.

Now before you call be a big fat liar, understand that I'm not talking about photo ops and shaking hands and garnering free labor from enthusiastic volunteers. What I'm really asking is what Obama's presidency will do for Black America directly? Besides hope and change, change and hope, what is he really going to do for YOU, as a Black American? I'm not asking what he will possibly do for people within your particular socioeconomic bracket, or what he will do for public schools or something like that. I'm asking, what has Obama done specifically for Black Americans in the past, and what will he specifically do for Black people in the future?

I submit to you that the real answer is nothing. There weren't any Black people on his campaign payroll, yet millions volunteered their time and effort free. I suspect that his tenure as President will look a lot like that; Black people fighting for someone who isn't really doing much for them, though he used the race card to get their support.

If you've got facts to back you up, please, prove me wrong. If you're full of hot air, you might want to save it.

Any takers?

Obama Caught In a Lie On "Meet The Press", Will Probably Go Unnoticed By Black Idealists

Obama is a smoker. That's not a huge deal to most people. However, him lying about it is. Why? Because Black America has done such a thorough job of idolizing Obama that character defects such as vain posturing (which I will discuss another time) and crafting empty promises as answers to straight questions go unnoticed and therefore unquestioned.

During his latest appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press" program, Tom Brokaw accused Obama of having ducked answering a question posed by Barbara Walters during an interview last month.

After remarking that the White House was a no-smoking zone, Brokaw asked Obama, "Have you stopped smoking?"

"I have," Obama replied, after giving one of those big smiles that lets you know he's about to lie or spin something. "What I said was that there are times where I have fallen off the wagon."

"Wait a minute," Brokaw interjected, "that means you haven't stopped."

Now here's the good part:

"Fair enough," Obama said. "What I would say is that I have done a terrific job under the circumstances of making myself much healthier. You will not see any violations of these rules in the White House."

What? You admit to lying but then congratulate yourself for doing so well despite your lies and failures?

Watch the video footage and you will hear Obama concede that he was dishonest for yourself.

Now I know that the morally degenerate will say, "So, what?" when confronted with this lie. They don't think that such a "small lie" could say anything significant about a person's character. The truth of the matter, however, is that it speaks volumes.

My mama uses an old Black adage, "If you'll lie, you'll steal; and if you'll steal, you'll kill." I know your mother or grandmother probably said the same thing. I used to think mama was full of it; but then I grew up and began to see what was really going on. Anyone who is willing to tell a lie to avoid punishment or judgment will do whatever they feel they have to in order to preserve themselves discomfort or disgrace, which can often involve stealing or even murder.

Think about it...

So what does the cigarette lie (and subsequent self-elevation) say about Obama's character to me?

It says to me that if he will lie about something as stupid as breaking his smoking habit, he SURELY will lie about much more important issues, like taxation, terrorist threats, and just about every other issue that's important when you're THE LEADER OF THE FREE WORLD!

Black America, you can't continue to hypocritically judge this man by the color of his skin while whitewashing the content of his character. No one is perfect, but some character flaws are just too big to be typical of a leader as powerful as the President of the United States. The only thing that Obama's experience in politics has proven consistently about his character is his lack of integrity. He will flip flop on anything - even his own assertion that he would not run for President in 2008 because he didn't have enough experience (watch that video clip here)

Unless God helps me, I'm going to be the one right in your face saying, "I told you so" when he runs this administration into the ground. I'm calling the end of 2010 when the house of cards begins to fall...

If Gay Is The New Black, I'm Chinese

This one really makes me sick, and not for the reasons you might think. I am neither homophobic nor a gay basher; who you do the do with is your business. However, I do have a MAJOR problem with gay people acting like their alternative lifestyle is something that the rest of us have to celebrate or honor in some way. That kind of thinking causes many homosexuals to somehow find the AUDACITY to compare the hardships that may come as a result of their lifestyle choice to the oppression of my people.

Excuse me?

This idea of gay being the "new Black" is not in and of itself new, but with all of the upset over California's failed Proposition 8, it is beginning to resurface, and I'm wondering where all the Black leaders and interest groups are now. I understand that homosexuals are often the victims of hate crimes. That's messed up. However, so are women and a number of other minorities. I also understand that everyone doesn't agree on the definition of marriage, which therefore makes it illegal in most states for homosexuals to enter into a legally recognized marriage.

That is NOTHING compared to what Black Americans have experienced in this country! ARE YOU SERIOUS? IS NO ONE ELSE HEATED ABOUT THIS?

Things like this are why I started this blog. Hypersensitive Black America who is offended at everything has let this one go by without so much as a word. Why? You aren't offended that people have reduced the suffering of our forefathers (and even many of us still alive today) to a sexual preference? Those who promote this ideal are a group that wants to force their freakish sexuality on society by making others recognize and/or celebrate what is clearly against their religion or beliefs. When they don't get what they want, they're oppressed now?

NEWS FLASH: No one is stopping gay people from being gay. Have a ball (no pun intended).

No one is enslaving gay people or forcing segregated society upon them. Gay people may experience prejudice and discrimination, but that does not compare to the 400+ years of slavery, Jim Crow, and the subsequent aftermath facing a ravaged and crippled community. Gays can't get America to concede that marriage means what they want it to mean. Boo hoo. That is not the same as being Black.

Now don't get me wrong, good old I.C. Jackson isn't one to make Black America the perpetual victim, either. I am all for accountability and blame where blame is due (just like credit), but that doesn't negate or minimize the suffering that took place.

Instead of getting mad and bent out of shape over stuff that really isn't about you being Black (like the overturning of Affirmative Action), why won't you get upset over something that really IS about you being Black? It's demeaning and disrespectful to try and put the gay experience in America and the Black experience in the same boat.

I sympathize with anyone who has been truly victimized because of what they believe or how they live, but that still doesn't justify such a comparison as this. If gay is the new Black, I'm Chinese or German, or something else. Maybe Dutch.

I don't know...

What Are The REAL Black Issues?

All issues deemed to be "Black Issues" do not really qualify to don the moniker. More often than not, what we call "Black Issues" are really educational and economic issues. Any community that faces the lack of education and wealth that we do will face certain issues, so they aren't "Black". Some will try and argue that our previous disenfranchisement in this country is what caused the educational and economic deficiencies in the first place, but in 2008, such an argument is VERY weak. With the Civil Rights Movement 40 years behind us, we are now living in a generation that does not know the horrors of Jim Crow, and cannot conceive living in a segregated society. Although Black Americans are not accepted in every socioeconomic circle, the fact of the matter is that for the most part, we have equal access to information and resources that can free us from the ignorance and poverty that we experience at large.


Well, if we've got all this access, what's the hold up, then?


We are. Our modern culture, our outdated philosophies, our broken homes. Our hatred for White America, our laziness, our low self-esteem, our warped sense of entitlement, and most of all, our lack of critical thinking skills contribute to our problems. We deny our instinct to be independent in order to rest in the vices of victimhood. We're still tuckered out from marching and protesting, so there's no energy left to rebuild our families and communities. We want the best that life has to offer for the least amount of effort because we think that someone owes us something.

The issues I just mentioned are the REAL Black Issues - most other things are just ignorance and poverty. Get a clue and a job or a hustle if unemployment is high. I know it's not that easy, but it is that simple.


More coming soon...

Why I'm Writing This Blog

It's finally time for me to publish my writings on Black America on my own platform.

Why?

Because I don't mind the hate mail I get when I express my views. Because Bill Cosby is not the only Black American with some sense. Because we are living in a generation of Obamanation. Because Connecting Black fell off and you need somewhere to go to hear the truth. Because my blogging brothers and sisters can't continue to hold the torch by themselves. Because I care about my people too much to say nothing and do nothing.

Because I want to be part of the solution.