America needs an open dialogue on race. But what’s an open dialogue without a little snarky commentary?
Ever since the Trayvon Martin verdict was handed down, shit’s been crazy in America. Black people enraged. White people outraged. Problem is, both racial groups are enraged about different things. A good chunk of this county’s Black population is enraged at (what they see) the obvious: An African American teenager was gunned down by (George Zimmerman) a wanna-be, doughy ass-hat. White America is pissed because Zimmerman (who is White and Peruvian) was trying to protect his nice neighborhood, got attacked while doing so, and only shot Martin because he had no choice when Martin viciously attacked him.
The verdict ended up being not guilty, and it was the worst case scenario come true. There were only small pockets of violence, but the digital/media/public fallout was seismic. There was a hazmat spill of outrage, frustration, anger, finger-pointing, and name-calling. And that was on Saturday night. What was most distressing about the verdict fallout was the tribal mentality that seem to overtake the country. It was Black vs. White. College degrees vs. hoodies. Conservatives vs. liberals. The bruised optimism of the Civil Rights era vs. the pessimism of the iGeneration.
What I saw was an exposed gulf between two groups of people…Black and White folks. Well, really the double Presidential elections of Barack Obama exposed the divide. The Martin verdict made us all see how wide the chasm really was. In short: We (Blacks and Whites) don’t know each other very well.
I’d like to remedy that. Today, I’m appointing myself Spokesman of Afro Americana. Your Guide of Get Down. Your Secretary of Soul. I’m going to give you important points/facts about Black people. Things you should know. Things you may not have known. For the uninitiated…consider this a list of things you should know about Black people in the 21st century:
- White people: You were surprised that Barack Obama won the Presidency. So were Black people. Especially the first victory. Oh, we were overjoyed. We loved it. We were shocked. After we fist bumped each other, we stared at each other in disbelief. For like…an hour. I’m shocked Black people got anything done the day after the election.
- Black and White people essentially want the same things: A good job, a big screen television, and great orgasms. That’s it. Those are the essentials both (I’m thinking all) races really want. A legal, lengthy revenue stream, a huge screen to watch the Super Bowl on, and great sex. Doesn’t that even sound like every Country and Rap song ever made since 2000?
- Black people (at least my friends) don’t follow Jesse Jackson nor Al Sharpton. The “Black Leader” position is just that…a job position. It’s lucrative for those guys jump into the forefront of any racial issue/crisis. Black people born from 1973 and up have no use for Jesse’s rhymes or Al’s hair.
- Black people DON’T want to rob White people, or any other group of people. If you can get past skewed media images (some put out there by Black people, hello hip-hop industry), the majority of us are hardworking optimists who want jobs, not jail sentences. We don’t want to go to prison for football number years, and shame our families. Especially our mothers. Ever seen an angry Black woman?
- Yeah. The Los Angeles Lakers are Black America’s Team. We have no idea why. We just go with it.
- Yeah. Most Black people follow Diddy on Twitter. We know why. He told us to.
- Black people and the Republican party? Never really works out too well.
Photo—stevendepolo/Flickr