Tuesday, November 24, 2015

#DearBlackPeople

Preface:  Black people are the most beautiful people in the world - and I don't say this lightly. However, we still have to tend to family business in a manner that while the bruises will hurt temporarily, we control our messaging and destiny alike to remain chosen people. This life is nowhere near easy, so let's not do anything that makes it more difficult. Will people disagree with me? Of course, but I expect that. 

 Similarly to when I wrote #DearWhitePeople earlier this year, I will air out my own grievances in list format to prevent you from sending snide comments that we all know are real within the family.

A) I'm not one of those "respectable Negroes" that has a rusty spoon in his mouth pretending that it is a silver one. Whatever I may have to lose (trust me, it ain't much) will not come at the expense of not living my truth. I came into this world with nothing and I expect to leave with nothing. However, my wife and daughter will be taken care of from the moment I step forward into eternity.
B) None of us like seeing blue lights pop up behind us on the road. We must be vigilant of our surroundings at all times and if we feel unsafe (ie. dark road at night), turn on the flashers and get to a well-lit location for your safety. For the tech savvy among us, setting up your cell phone cameras a la Go Pro would be a good idea anytime when interacting with law enforcement. Keep in mind that they aren't all out to get us, not even the Haskell PD.

C) Doing the right thing is not a sign of being a lame - whatever that means. Whoever said that needs his or her head examined. It seems like we are the only people who put the dope boys ahead of the legit businessmen, prioritize thug life over providing a safe, comfortable existence, and wanting more with selling out. Why black people glorify hood culture is beyond me, but I've never lived in the 'hood - just rapped over beats in the car, that's all. Contrary to what BET or Worldstar Hip Hop tell you, you are worth more than that.

D) Hoop dreams at 30? C'mon son. Unless you're coaching or training future athletes, let that part of life go. The NBA is not looking for thirty-year-old rookies regardless of how compelling a life story you may have had; keep your fandom to watching your favorite teams at home, on apparel, or en route to the arenas.

E) Somewhere, you know a 35-year-old man (or older) from your hometown still trying to rap. Reread that to see how absurd that sounds and all of the wasted years (and studio dollars) invested in a pipe dream. The music industry is already hard enough on its own, and if you haven't broken through yet, then maybe this isn't the dream.

F) Our vanity is going to kill us one day. Why be the grown-ass man standing in line at Foot Locker for the newest Jordans when you make ten dollars an hour and living in your mom's house? Or driving a base model 2005 Tahoe on 24s, more speakers than the auto section in Best Buy, and Cadillac grill with $3 worth of gas? Ladies, you aren't exempt from this:  some women lug around $300 purses and barely have $30 in them, much less their checking and savings accounts. Living for today if we're not careful can lead us to dying for today.
G) What happened to uplifting shows on TV? Why did we let the media hijack our values and make caricatures of them? Yes, I'm talking about Family Matters, the Cosby Show, A Different World, Roc, Living Single, and yes, even the Fresh Prince of Bel Air - all of which have devolved to Real Housewives of Atlanta, Love and Hip Hop, Empire, and its predecessor Good Times. I'm not Hotep, just conscious of where the idiot box has taken us. Let us not forget about our musical tastes from 2Pac (who indeed has a message despite the coarse language) to Lil' Wayne, Yung Thug, and the trap rappers who seem like they spent their formulative years in special education. 

Then again, maybe I'm getting old.

H) On a worldwide level, our dollars can instantly shut down the American economy. Why haven't we taken advantage of that yet? We may make less than our white counterparts (discrimination for decades, if not longer), but the get paid on Friday, broke on Saturday mentality is because we've been conditioned for far too long to not save for a rainy day. I love you, but I cannot help anyone who is unwilling to help himself financially or chooses to ball out with a little bit of change.
I) We have to start being on time! I know it's my biggest pet peeve, but it's true. If your job pays you on Friday, we expect that check to hit our accounts on time, right? Get to work at the time you're supposed to be there. Ditto for church:  the bulletin says Sunday school is at 9 and morning worship at 11, don't lackidaiscially march down the center aisle at noon when the pastor is up preaching.

K) Proper English is not white folks' English:  it's called being understood. Get that foolish notion out of your heads once and for all.

L) It's okay to be yourselves and find your own truth. Not all of us vote Democratic, sag our jeans, or have a mistress, girlfriend, side chick, and some hoes along with a wife or slap dominoes with the best of 'em; at nearly 15 percent (and expanding) of the total American population, we're all entitled to be different. Now if you like chickpeas...

M) We are the only people who seem to discount education. Our kids look like stars on the first and second days of school but their report cards are mostly Ds and Fs because we're too concerned for their appearance or athletic ability instead of academic performance. Why are we raising generations of dumbasses to toil in low-paying gigs? The NBA, NFL, and entertainment industries are over saturated in pie-in-the-sky ambitions, yet I am not discouraging any child from his or her dream:  Just don't forget a Plan B. The other grievance regarding education is our parents fail to see that students do need to be competitive with the rest of the world; smacking them on the bum and solely praying for them is not enough. Make some sacrifices, particularly if he or she is traveling the STEM path.

N) Fuck what other people say about you. Live your truth and don't conform to the stereotypes. You know someone is always going to hate on you - the tweet below illustrates how white America has called us lazy and shiftless since slavery despite the actual truth showing otherwise. 

All in all, #DearBlackPeople is just some good ol' housekeeping matters. I'm not Cosby, Carson, Don Lemon or any of the black Fox News staff; this is not meant to denigrate the home team. I love the HELL out of being black - there is nothing else I would rather be - this is a set of quick thoughts that the most beautiful people around can look at and maybe see ourselves. I do see myself in a number of the lettering, so I know I am not being judgmental in this post.

Like the church folks say, when you know better, you do better.
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