Racial Baggage and Traveling Abroad

The eloquent "eN" of YouTube fame speaks here on the sad but prevalent tendancy for some African-Americans to refrain from traveling abroad for fear of being mistreated on account of their race. True incidents of rudeness do occur, but they are grossly outnumbered by positive interactions that make other Americans envious of the attention.

To Be Successful, Male, and Black: Common Perceptions.

In my estimation, roughly 50 to 80 percent of people anywhere in the world are neutral at the sight of a black man who appears polished and successful. However, the other 20 to 50 percent tend to fall into one or more of the following categories:

The Inspired Onlooker: These will see you as an interesting person to get to know, or a paradigm to emulate. These people are well-intentioned and the females are most open to dating black men. Think of these as the "Wow, a successful black man, he must be a remarkably intelligent and charming individual to get where he is today" crowd.

The Validated Onlooker: These individuals may be very successful themselves or well on their way to being successful. They see the successful black man as a validation of their view that all people can make it given the right opportunities and life choices. Think of these as the "We are all the same given the right circumstances in which to thrive" crowd.

The Patronizing Onlooker: While not ill-intentioned, these individuals only see you through the lens of stereotype. This is the person that does not pick up on your behavior, dress, and mannerisms, but your skin color. These individuals may seek to develop rapport with you by uttering some hip hop slogan, or by abruptly patting you the back as if you are some athlete who just scored. This is the "I wonder which he is, an athlete or entertainer" crowd. In my experience, this type seems to be most prevalent in Asian and East European countries and those with high poverty rates.

The Resentful Onlooker: This is a person of which you should be wary. They may simply watch you with an expressionless demeanor, or they may actually engage you in conversation in an effort to discover what you are all about. Whatever the case, they do not like you as you remind them of their own failure and insecurity. They are the "How in the world can this black guy have his stuff together, and I can't?" They need to be let off the hook by learning that you are a cheat, a fraud, or a fool and that is what they seek to discover by interacting with you. They may try to provoke you with some verbal slight or insult to gauge your reaction, or they may simply watch your every move. They represent the disingenuous, smiling stranger that you know has an ulterior motive.


The Self-Preservationist Onlooker: This is the most dangerous of all. This is the person that seeks to destroy you or your well-being because his/her world view does not comport with what you represent when compared with what they represent. Your very presence is interpreted as a threat to their relevance. These individuals range from the unemployed, to the lonely skinhead who wants you out of his country because women pay more attention to you. But, more often, they are the black female co-workers who sees you as a challenge to their positions in the organization. Just as the skinhead seeks to destroy your physical being, the black female self-preservationist onlooker seeks to destroy your reputation, your respect in the eyes of others, and your place as a credible contributor in the organization. Whether it is by luring you into conflict or setting you up for termination, this person wants you demolished as a threat to her social position.

It takes experience to quickly determine if someone embodies one of the above profiles. Sometimes people exhibit elements of more than one profile, and yet others can drift from one into another with time.

The Muted Condemnation of Murderer Raymond Clark

The nation was captivated with the disappearance of Yale grad student Annie Le. I recall seeing interviews with Yale students that they always felt they had to be careful in the Yale university "neighborhood" and now they feel that way more so.

Now that it is has been established that the killer was white, preppy Raymond Clark, the outcry has been muted to non-existent. It is obvious that this is not the face of the killer in the minds of most Americans.

Now that we know he is white, it is interesting to hear the rationalizations about why he resorted to killing her. Mental illness, extreme distress, etc, everything but out and out evil.

Consider for a moment if the killer would have been non-white. We would have seen an outcry for the killer's head immediately. I don't think that Annie Le would approve of the pass granted by the court of public opinion to Raymond Clark. I hope that the courts do their job and put this individual away for the rest of his life. The misery he will endure in prison will be far greater in duration than the pain he inflicted on poor Annie.

Black Women Are The Most Dysfuctional In The World, Here's Why.

This is a powerful video. It is long, but well worth the wait.

Has Culture Supplanted Race in the American Social Landscape?

Over the years, much has been written about the American racial question and its impact on life in the United States. Conspicuously absent from the debate has been a recognition of how racism may now be but a convenient proxy for cultural marginalization. When racial minorities experience discrimination today, the cause is most likely rooted in differences of culture rather than differences in inherited physical characteristics. Perhaps the time has finally come to attribute American intergroup tensions to “culturism” vice racism. The difference is far more than semantic and it could suggest that America has unknowingly turned the corner in regard to relations between racial groups.

It is well settled that race has been the historically predominant factor negatively impacting the lives of racial minorities. However, upon close examination of the current condition of let’s say, blacks, it becomes increasingly clear that we are most likely to be discriminated against if and when we function outside of what is considered the cultural mainstream. If this is indeed true, the implications would be profoundly positive. Race is an immutable characteristic that one cannot change; culture however, is very changeable through familiarity and conditioning.

When whites discriminate against blacks today, it is likely that they do so because of negative perceptions of differing attitudes, behaviors and communication styles, whether real or imagined. It is rare today for whites to discriminate against blacks due solely to the physical traits associated with being black.
For example, there exists a sizable and growing class of affluent and successful blacks who have sufficiently adopted the practices and mores of mainstream society. Their adoptions of corporate language, etiquette, and values have equipped them to persevere in America’s competitive environment despite their racial differences. In contrast, the most underachieving strata of blacks tend to function farthest from the cultural mainstream core. Does it follow that a possible solution to the discrimination that blacks and others experience is mainstream acculturization?

Sadly, vehement and defiant resistance to mainstream acculturization remain the rule in many black communities. Years of continual exclusion from American mainstream life has given rise to a vibrant black sub-culture that, among other things, prides itself in rejecting vestiges of the cultural mainstream. That this rejection stifles upward mobility is seldom considered in some black communities. Therein dwells the new American dilemma. To expect these blacks to abandon their familiar culture in favor of a historically hostile mainstream would be truly ambitious. This difficulty notwithstanding, this should be increasingly acknowledged as a critical cultural goal to be pursued.

Some critics might consider this mainstream acculturization to be a form of denial of ethnic heritage. This need not be the case. Obtaining the ability to function in a different cultural milieu does not necessarily displace one’s original cultural disposition. For example, when foreign businessmen come to the United States, they quickly realize that they must adopt American corporate modes of dress, speech, behavior if they expect to make positive impressions in the business world. Are these foreign businessmen thereby rejecting the heritage from which they came? Surly they are not.

Further, notable figures like Denzel Washington, Condolezza Rice and Michael Jordan are respected and admired by Americans across the demographic spectrum. Are they any less Black by heritage and culture as a result? Again, this is not the case.

It would be disingenuous to suggest that racism no longer exists in American life. In some environments, it continues to be an everyday phenomenon. More often than not however, American racism now consists of slights and indignities rather than systemic measures used to subjugate people as in years past. This fact alone demonstrates just how far American society has come in lessening the relevance of race, per se, as a barrier to equal participation in the American dream. And despite the protestations racial pessimists would have us believe, we are obviously well along the right path.

The Truth About The "N" Word

The "n-word" is perhaps the most emotionally-loaded term in the English language.

Throughout its history, the n-word's usage was primarily meant to dehumanize, debase and dishonor African-Americans. In the "good old days," the word was used by bigots with either contempt or patronization. Its underlying meaning, however, was always the same.

Increasingly, many African-Americans use the n-word as if to say, "Yes, we are worthy of dehumanization, debasement and dishonor and we're darn proud of it." It's now even used to identify a friend or associate. What they don't acknowledge is how they still might fire off that word during heated altercations and conflicts, which suggest the word is not still quite the term of endearment that may maintain it is at other times.

Some within the ghetto subculture try to rationalize the continued use of the n-word by claiming that an alternate spelling - "nigga" - signifies a positive meaning.

Positive?

Is the ghetto underclass that desperate for positivity? The word "sucker" has just as negative a connotation when it's spelled "sucka," so the alternate spelling argument holds no water with me. That these people can muster any justification at all for using the n-word is surprising, but that justification fails when it is juxtaposed with the vile historical origin of the word.

The truth of the matter surrounding the n-word is that the black ghetto subculture has willingly internalized its meaning. John McWhorter, author of acclaimed book Winning the Race: Beyond the Crisis in Black America discusses the concept of therapeutic alienation in black America. He says this alienation prioritizes social defiance over social progress, and manifests itself in the ever-present exaggeration of all that is negative in black America. By calling themselves and others the n-word, members of the black ghetto subculture reinforce and comfort themselves with the therapeutic alienation that is at the very core of that subculture.

Black America has historically allowed itself to be defined by its worst and least-respected citizens, not its best and brightest. This strategy, in my opinion, has actually hastened the attainment of some political and legal victories over the years. But black America now suffers from a dictatorship of the black lower class so well-entrenched it would make Karl Marx himself proud.

This black lower class has appropriated the n-word, and the ineffectual black middle and upper classes can do nothing to wrestle the animal back into the cage. Bill Cosby was skewered in his attempt to publically castigate the destructive practices of the black underclass.

The result?

We now have white youngsters who throw around the n-word with their friends of all ethnic backgrounds. I never thought I would live to see the day when a white teenage waiter would find it acceptable to use the term in my presence as a customer, but it happened. The teen explained that he meant no harm by using the word in my presence, and I that should "get over" my complex about the term. I opted to simply leave it to his employer to resolve his naiveté.

Clear-thinking people need to call out this new use of the term. Simply mentioning that it is unacceptable in polite usage will at least prompt some to reconsider its use. Alternatives should be suggested, and - where possible - people should be held accountable until they realize that even "nigga" is viewed by most as an offense ethic slur.

Unfortunately, thanks to the long marriage of mass media to black ghetto subculture, black Americans can increasingly expect to be greeted with "Hey, my nigga," "Good morning, my nigga" and "How can I help you, my nigga" all around the world. For that, blacks have themselves to blame for permitting it for so long.

If White Americans Are To Be Envied, Here's Why.

I am not one to assume that whites enjoy any innate advantage in the United States. There are poor whites, middle class whites, and affluent whites who have varying degrees of hurdles to overcome in day to day life.

But if there is one thing that whites enjoy that let's say blacks do not, it is respect for their individualism. By this I mean, a white person can choose to be a redneck, a wall street banker, a conservative, a liberal, or a hermit and society does not castigate them for not adhering to a predetermined role assigned to whiteness.

Blacks on the other hand, are expected to think a certain way, assume certain characteristics, and embody stereotype. For example, Barney Frank and Rush Limbaugh are polar opposites. One is a gay, left-wing Member of Congress and the other is a heterosexual, right-wing political pundit. They have nothing in common, yet they are both full-fledged whites. On the other hand, Al Sharpton and Clarence Thomas represent the same continuum in Black America. However, Thomas is castigated as "not authentically Black," as a racial turncoat, and as some sort of an anomoly by both many blacks and whites. Sharpton, eccentricities and all, would be viewed as the true black of the two.

What is going on here? On the black side, there is an unabashed collectivist mindset that deems any black person as a single part of the whole, a "brother" if you will.

On the white side, it is a bit different. Most whites take their cue about blacks from limited personal experience and politically correct practices demanded by blacks. Whites are thus conditioned and encouraged by blacks to view blacks in a collectivist manner.

Both are misguided. Until Americans extend the burden of individual assessment to persons of ALL ethnicities, the double standard will persist.