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Who are what is this creation of what some would lead us to believe is of “sub-human” origin and deserves only three (3/5) fifths credit of anything, referencing masculinity?
He has been “given” multiple, unflattering, definitions of who he is by many who describe themselves as being the poster children, for “refinement” and “civilized” principles, ideals and ideas. These assigned, definitions by our distinguished, refined and “civilized” individuals, often appear to be accepted by the masses and are rarely, if at all, questioned; it would be safe to assert that only these shadows and a small number of others fails to find them flattering or acceptable as a description of themselves, these demeaning and marginalized definitions of Black male masculinity are widely accepted by those who have not figured out who they are, however; they have chosen to embrace the aspersions of the self-professed and “refined” civilized citizens that see themselves as the god’s of this earth.
Most if not all of these individuals profess to be God followers and Christians. They are known to incessantly rail about how much they embrace and believe in the Bible and God, yet, somehow, they strangely overlook and or dismiss Romans Chapter 2, verses 8-14 (KJV):
8: But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath;
9: Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;
10: But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile;
11: For there is no respect of persons with God;
12: For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;
13: For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified;
14: For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves.
Lest we forget Genesis Chapters 5:1-2. This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day when God created man, He made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female, and He blessed them and named them Man in the day when they were created.
These shadows are often “blackmailed” and ostracized when expressing; thoughts, ideals of freedom and equality, summarily being subjected to disingenuous statements labeling them as ungrateful, malcontents, wanting something for nothing, lazy, and what seems to be an infinite list of unflattering descriptions. This “blackmail” is further expanded and manifests itself within the confines of the “refined,” “civilized” constructs of society as those in the shadows refuse to accept the bullying tactics that are used by the masses when they attempt to provide for and to protect themselves and their families from ridicule, mistreatment, mis-education, psychological and physical injuries and the injustices that come with it. They are then “dressed” with the unflattering labeled of being “animals” that have no place in a “civilized” society.
Those images lurking in the shadows become filled with consternation and are often holistically chagrined. They wrestle with this definition of a “civilized” society as they witness it refuse to recognize them as men, not Black men, but men. This same “society” of “civilized” inhabitants continues to project violence, hatred, and total disregard for the law all while pretending to be “civilized” citizens of our communities at large.
These shadows of Black males watch in amazement as the “civilized”—who parade themselves to the world as law-abiding citizens in this “civilized” land—break the very laws they say they believe in and will uphold through death if need be. These shadows of Black males continue to squint through the lenses of life as the sun seems to remain in a total state of an eclipse as they observe laws being massaged and outright broken to appease the conscious of these “civilized” individuals.
The shadowed are forced to sit on the sidelines of life and live with the labels of being malcontents, of being seen by some as only being three-fifths (3/5) human, of constantly living with those who try to marginalize their intelligences, and are expected to remain calm and satisfied throughout the perpetration of falsehoods and ignore the intentional discord being sewn into the minds of misinformed “civilized” citizens who refuse to accept that all the earth’s inhabitants contribute to positive, purposeful and good—including those shadows—and that those contributions are far more beneficial to all of our existence and are not rare occurrences that have no “real” value or lasting effect in this “civilized” world.
These shadows must not only endure these double, triple and quadruple standards of a “civilized” society—one that readily accepts their music, athletic prowess, their many scientific invitations, and their overall prolific contributions to this “civilized” society—but just as readily reject them and attempt to reduce them to “something” that is a nuisance and is to be temporarily tolerated. They cannot escape the fact that just like every other “creation” they must remain in constant search of themselves, their beliefs, their values, their willingness to improve both individually and communally as they, themselves seek their place in a “civilized” society.
A global society that was in place before any of us even knew we existed.
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© Melvin “Casey” Lars
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