Tuesday, July 28, 2015

#DearWhitePeople

Because, you know, there are some things that you still just do not get either because of willful ignorance or simply having blinders on about what it really means to be black in America.
Look beyond the post title and semi-popular hash tag #DearWhitePeople and try to see the world from my eyes. You are valuable and I LOVE the cornucopia of friends and neighbors I have - do not let that be a slight at all to you. However, social media has proven to show the worst of us all.

To break from paragraph format, I've chosen to air my grievances in lists as to not seem too articulate and wordy for dummies.

A. Turn signal misuse is only a minor traffic fine in most locales, yet seemingly a capital offense when the violator is black. It's also a quick way for revenue and to put people "on papers" since law enforcement officers may "find" a violation to arrest, jail, and impound. Imagine what could've happened to me that night in Avon had Ashley not rolled down the passenger window before the cop saw me. Case in point:  Ferguson and the events surrounding the late Sandra Bland in Waller County, Texas.
 
B. You worry about a store yet cast a dismissive eye to our houses of worship. A few months ago, social media was outraged over a CVS in Baltimore being looted. Where was that anger when black churches and mosques have burned recently across the South and in Ohio? That misguided furor shows me that the almighty dollar > almighty God to a fair number of you.


C. A bag of Skittles and a can of Arizona tea are not deadly weapons. They are a sugar rush. Everybody likes colored candy and sweet tea, especially at a low price. That being said, Trayvon Martin should still be alive. 

D. President Barack Obama is not the antichrist. Get over your blatant racism. While I personally do not agree with everything POTUS has done since 2009, Brother Barack does deserve some respect if not for the office he holds. For you to say "it's Obama's fault" for your putrid lives, unemployment situations, and bad decision making confirms (for me, anyway) that you are ignorant to world events and quick to blame the smart black guy with the funny sounding name for your ails.

E. We like good schools and safe neighborhoods too. Two years ago, my wife and I moved to a then all-white subdivision which happens to have the city's best-performing elementary school in our residency zone. Not long after, the murmurs came out that the black people (I won't use the actual words) who moved in are dropping their property values. Really? Being homeowners is a huge part of the American Dream, but to them, we belonged to Gravel Hill. Since then, at least four other nonwhite families now call Springhill Manor home in addition to us. Those rumor mongers should've been more concerned about the meth addicts than the minorities; their racism got in the way.
F. Even if/when we've arrived, we still haven't made it. If driving nice cars (read: Audi, Mercedes, Lexus) is am outward sign of success, it takes one second for that to come crashing down courtesy of jealousy. I find it strange that I was given more mess in a Hyundai than a Ford. 

G. Last hired, first fired. Trotting out the one black face to justify diversity repeatedly is not diversity. It just means we're supposed to fall for the same Negro - always lightskinned and smiling - over and over again. Ask where that guy is in six months to five years from the photograph; he or she could've been a Shuttercock feature. How about allaying my fears of last hired and first fired by professional encouragement or better yet, maintaining consistency in employment practices? I'm not one to waste my credentials in retail or fast food just because you (the interviewer or hiring manager) are remotely threatened by me, so meet me at my level and let's become greater. Besides, last hired/first fired reinforces the good ol' boy system. 

H. The Confederate flag does not mean heritage. It's hate. Period. I'm acutely aware of the hijacking of the rebel flag by the Klan and Southern politicians protesting school integration, so this should be obvious. The Stars and Bars (and the Don't Tread On Me one the Tea Party uses) on your vehicles and social media images tell me more about you than your interactions with me.


I. When one makes a mistake, stop lumping the entire group as thugs. We don't do that when the lone wolf kills a bunch of people (see Aurora, Charleston, and Lafayette). Give us the equal respect in the same category. Otherwise, we'll bring your dirty skeletons out of the closet. Then again, Arkansans do it every day to Razorbacks athletes - if you don't believe me, read the vile comments posted on THV 11's Facebook page or when black people in general make the news. Even in positive situations, you treat those as aberrations and quickly sweep them under the rug like African-Americans are incapable of good.


J. Just because we make it look good (or easy) doesn't mean it can capitulated as your own. Everyone loves a winner. Yet, it seems like you don't appreciate the in-your-face greatness of Tiger Woods, Venus and Serena Williams, Dr. Dre, Oprah, etc. because it doesn't fit neatly to the Western standard - and when it is, the superlatives are always belated. You thought MLK and Mandela were raging communists and agitators until their deaths, and now as their ideologies become clearer daily, you steal their true legacies and whitewash them to your convenience. More recently, wave caps, corn rows, sagging jeans, and pricey basketball shoes were considered "urban" until Eminem or the Jenner kid made then fashionable - and let's not start on Angelina Jolie's full lips and Kim K's supple derriere. We've already lost most of our music and credit for patented inventions; let us keep something!

Even if you don't get it, for far too often you benefit from our labor,  strength, and brainpower as if lacking melanin is supposed make you superior to me. #DearWhitePeople is not meant to mentally beat you into submission, for a fair number of people know how I've spent most of my life. Rather, I wish to bring empathy to the forefront as the news portrays us as subhuman. Underneath it all, we're the same. Respect our differences and treat us as partners in the marathon called life.
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