Redneck Throws A McDonald's Cup At Me From A Pick-Up Truck

It has been 3 weeks since my return to the USA.  While my return has been remarkably pleasant for the most part, today there was an incident that reminded me that the proverbial 10% bigot rule still holds true.

I am in Orlando, Florida which is a medium sized city with a majority minority population.  While I was jogging today just after sundown, noticed a full McDonald's cup wizz past me.  I then saw a beat-up pick-up truck speed by with two occupants inside.

My impulse was to run and catch up to the truck at the red light.  But I then realized that this is America.  The goobers in the truck might have a gun and being a black man, the eternal redneck excuse the blackie having attacked them first was a possibility.

I the cup did not hit me, and I decided that these rednecks likely are miserable and wanted to spread their misery to someone else.

The larger issue is that this type of thing is bound to be on the increase in America.  The economy has abandoned menial laborers like these two and that, coupled with a President of African descent is bubbling over in some of these people.

As Gerald Celente says, "When people have nothing to lose, they 'lose it'."

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.

Professor Gates And the Cambridge, MA Police Matter

The dispute between Henry Louis Gates and arresting Officer Crowley took an uptick when President Obama joined the fray. Now, legions of cops are lending their support to Officer Crowley in light of all the heat he is taking.

What the media is missing are the true issues that are going on here: Gates' lack of civility to the Officer and the American rebuttable presumption of black guilt. Had these two factors not been at play in the incident, there would likely have been no arrest and no explosion into a larger debate on race.

Professor Gates is a man of high esteem. He therefore likely has a bit of a chip on his shoulder that rubbed the investigating officer the wrong way. Any one with common sense understands that an officer has considerable discretion to arrest or grant a warning. If you insult or show disrespect to an officer, you will likely be arrested when the officer could have used discretion to not arrest you.

As for Officer Gates, he is American, born and bred, and he likely embodies the notion that blacks represent a criminal risk higher than that of whites. For those Americans without keen skills of discernment, like the neighbor who called the police when she saw a "black man" (Gates) fumbling on Gates porch, ANY black man is a criminal risk, not just the obvious ones.

Officer Gates extra scrutiny of the black Gates and Gates' arrogance that he was somehow immune to the extra scrutiny gave rise to this matter.

Both men are digging their heels in and maintain the error of the other party.
Yes, America does still have an obsession with caste and stereotype. To the extent that we deny it exists is the extent we will be disappointed when incidents like this rear their heads.

Oh yes; President Obama, stick to health care reform and the economy. You should not be in the weeds on issues of this nature!

The Unspoken Detriment To Black Men

In the 1960's Danial Patrick Moynihan penned the The Negro Family: A Case For National Action. In it, he detailed what was considered sociological heresy for that era. That the matriarchal and pathological characteristics of black women was responsible for the underachiever of many black males in America. His report has generally been vindicated as the years past, especially his description of the toll black women have on black males.

In an effort to further describe Moynihan's point, I submit the following:

Black women often bring black boys into unhealthy, fatherless households often with substance abuse as aggravating factors.

Black women are the overwhelming sources of physical and mental child abuse against black boys. Have you seen the movie "Antwone Fisher" which was based on a true story?

Black girls in school are the most critical of promising black boys who might otherwise turn out to be intelligent or clean-cut.

Black teenage girls are the most likely to sexually reward black boys who engage in fast, illegal money and the gaudy "bling, bling" lifestyle, setting them up for ruin in adulthood.

Black women at work often find any black man to be a threat to the status quo in the pecking order. Most of us recall the conniving Anita Hill who tried to derail Justice Thomas's nomination to the Supreme Court? Even if Justice Thomas did do something inappropriate, what was the real reason for her coming forward?

Black women are the most angry and hateful at the sight of a Black Man with a woman of any other ethnicity.

Black women in the service industry tend to reserve the most discourtesy for successful black men out of resentment and class envy. It is the "You might have money, but you ain't no better than me" attitude.

Black women are hazards to the health of otherwise smart, ambitious, healthy, and successful black men. They are the most obese population group in the world and their ignorance of basic nutrition contributes to high black male rates of hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, obesity with all have bases in childhood eating habits.