Black Hypocra-tics

   *****This is a commentary and is NOT a reflection of ALL black people.*******

     Being a proud black woman, I must UNFORTUNATELY point out some inconsistencies and ask some questions to my fellow sun kissed nation dwellers.  EVERYDAY we receive word that members of "the community" are battered, slaughtered, raped, disrespected, etc by the hands that match their own.....YET there is NO uproar! WHY? Recently, I read a social media post by a young man that claims that the reason why black people do not get into an uproar about black-on-black crime is because the assailants will be (and have been historically) prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.       Well, I would jump on that bandwagon if EVERY assailant was apprehended and if the community at large RAISED their youth in a manner that would break this genocidal cycle......BUT that doesn't happen.         More often than NOT, people are afraid to SNITCH.  (It's not socially acceptable.  It's only okay to "tell" if a white man did it).  Couple that will the consummate "Free my ni**a" mentality, posts,      t shirts and sentiment that drench the community..........how does the previously mentioned man's theory hold up? NOT AT ALL.  Not even slightly.....it just sounds good on paper in the mist of a moment in time where comprehending focus is elsewhere.
     Truth is.....post Civil Rights Movement, we have become a sad, sad community.  If its not making headlines or we can't blame the "white man" we want no parts of it.  It's NOT OUR business.  How would you have felt if our historical leaders felt that way? Where would you be if they turned a blind eye or became mute until it was a white-on-black crime?
 

We have become known as a people that do NOT think.....that jump on bandwagons.......that do not use comprehension......that are quick to react VIOLENTLY.  We will allow the media to play us as if we were Santa worshiping toddlers.  We do NOT require all the facts.....we merely need to see or hear about a light face being involved and we scream from mountain tops, "RACISM".  We NEGLECT the fact that we have overwhelmingly conditioned our youth to have a disdain for "the white man" and for "authority".  We ignore the growing popularity of how we view it cute and oh so adorable for our children to curse, be defiant, and know more about rap songs, reality TV and dance moves than what is contained in a book or even just the basics of respect.
     

Recently a group of black men created a video that went viral calling us all out of our "views".  Telling us that we make EVERYTHING a black and white issue.  Pointing out that we will even change a person's ethnicity if they are not Harriet Tubman black to prove our unsubstantiated theories and claims.  And you know what? MILLIONS shared the video and commented in agreement.
       But why has there been no change? Because a week later a black man was shot and killed by a police officer in Missouri.   So now thinking is NO LONGER AN OPTION.  Opinions and rash judgments are the dishes indulged upon.  Think I'm reaching....or better yet (to fit the deflective theories of the community).....think I'm a sell-out......pay close attention to what's next.  When the news broke of the shooting of Mike Brown, NO ONE outside of the eye-witnesses and first responders knew the ethnicity of the police officer......BUT, the web became a buzz that the shooting was racially fueled.  NO ONE was asking questions.....NO ONE.  As accounts surrounding the shooting became public.......NO ONE paid attention to OBVIOUS discrepancies if they did NOT originate from the mouths of the police.  EACH time a black person dies at the actual or perceived hands of a white person (because if its another minority, we still call then white for whatever God forsaken reason) we seem to FORGET the things that we complain about EVERY FREAKING DAY.
   (And NO I am not claiming the following happened in MiMissouri, but let's explore).  Daily, there are social media posts from black people complaining about our youth constantly challenging authority, disrespecting their elders (including parents), not valuing education, choosing sex/drugs/alcohol over following the letter of the law or escaping the pitfalls of the ghetto.  BUT all of that is thrown out of the window if a black person (ESPECIALLY if under 30) is  injured or killed by the hands of someone outside of the community.  DID IT OCCUR TO ANYONE that if we become HONEST with ourselves and each other regarding BEHAVIOR....... WE would be able to curb quite a bit of this senseless violence.  Think about.  There are corrupt people in EVERY profession.  Why focus on the police? And why focus on teaching our children the most deadly and freedom removing ways to deal with officers? Teach your children what you were taught.......LET YOUR PARENTS FIGHT THE BATTLES AND TEACH YOU THE PROPER WAY!!!!! It's better to sit in jail for a bit as our Civil Rights Leaders did and SUE for damages than it is to end up in a casket or urn and your family has to sue for burial expenses.
     And PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE tell me how we went from the gurus of protests to devolving into rioting, looting maniacs?! Yes, I said maniacs!!!! Because who in the world are you helping by DESTROYING your own neighborhoods? What have those business owners and YOUR neighbors done to LOSE their livelihoods?  What are you teaching the youth that we can still save?  Oh yea that's right, it's more socially acceptable to be ratchet, half-naked, barely educated and have a favorite 'Love and Hip Hop' character by the age of ten than it is to be successful at something that is not accompanied by a beat and a sexually charged dance.

     We make fun of the "nerd" the "band geek" and praise the sports star and encourage our girls to chase a man with a check and pray that she's fertile.  We complain about deadbeat fathers, yet give men hell for trying to be in their children's lives although they are no longer in (slight) like with the mothers.  We as a people are a ball of contradictions, excuses and unrelenting, unsubstantiated conjecture.  We get mad when called out on our hypocrisies.  If its a white person, they are dubbed racist for pointing out the purely obvious.......and if its a black person, they are self-hating.  NEITHER is true.  Face it or shut up.  Don't like it.....change it.
    How? For ONCE.  Pay attention to the facts of a case rather than the race(s) of the case.  Ask questions.  Be UPSET by EVERY death...... ESPECIALLY those by the hands that match your own.  CEASE with the excuses.  Encourage your children to be BUSINESS OWNERS instead of "corner hustlers".  Teach your children that being INFAMOUS or known for showing tail or being known for having multiple women is NOT a badge of honor.  And Lord Jesus STOP twerking every chance you get ESPECIALLY IN FRONT OF YOUR DANG BABIES!!!!!!!!!!!
    It's time to be mad.....BUT no longer at "the white man"........be pissed at the man in the mirror!!!! Because that is the person that is screwing you over.  That is who is killing your children, your mothers, your fathers, your friends, your neighborhoods, your legacy!!!!!!!!!!!

Senseless Begets Senseless

  By now EVERYONE is aware of the tragic shooting of 18 year old Mike Brown this past weekend.  We can ALL agree that this could of been avoided......where the division lies is HOW it could have been avoided and people's actions since his death.  From all accounts, it can safely be said that Brown was shot while fleeing police AND that there was a shot fired from WITHIN a patrol car.  Logic and rationale would dictate that a FORMAL investigation be had so that precisely what happened can be unearthed......BUUUUUUUTTTTTTTTT let's face it, we live in America.  NO ONE wants an investigation.......EVERYONE wants their brand of justice carried out.
     Now let's move on to what will guarantee me hate mail.  SOMEONE PLEASE tell me why he was in the BACK OF THE PATROL CAR TO BEGIN WITH? Why did he run? What are we as a SOCIETY (not simply black folks) teaching our children about the police?  Playing devil's advocate, let's assume that he was being falsely detained by an officer.  OK, that's plausible.......BUT how did he get out of the back of the car? Why was a shot fired within the car? Why did he run? By all accounts Brown was a young man with a bright future.  The world was in the palm of his proverbial hands......why was he fleeing police? Had his mind been filled with the fear that black men are the usual suspect by law enforcement? Was he a typical 2014 teen that felt he was invincible?  Or was "they shoot first ask questions later" replaying in his mind and fight or flight kicked in?
    Before you take out your pitch forks and come looking for me to burn me at the stake......I AM NOT justifying his death in the least...... I just have questions.  We ALL should have questions!!!!!!! Not to mention WE should NOT be condoning looting and violence in his memory.  It was VIOLENCE that took Brown from his parents, family and friends.......how is that a proper way to point out how senseless it was? Keep in mind that what you do NOW.......IS NOW THE FOCUS!!!!!! Not so much how or why a young man is no longer going home to his mother.  The headlines are now ALL about St. Louis and the comments are less than flattering currently about its residents.
     Tell me again how this helps?  What ever you tear up....steal....deface.....you will replace with your freedom....your taxes.....your lack of justice. Take up his cause, by all means!!!!! But do it in a way that is productive!!!!!!!!!! Launch your OWN investigation.  Compile statements from those that were there.  Collect the videos that were taken.  Hold [controlled] protests encouraging those that you have elected to take a look at the state of affairs in your city? Believe that they are corrupt? Get yourself in their position.
    Oh, while you are at it......don't just be enraged by Brown's death......BE ENRAGED BY ALL OF THE DEATHS RATHER BY POLICE, PARENTS, OR FELLOW TEENS!!!!!! You are only as valuable to society as you show society that you are.