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FIGHTING OUT OF A SOCIALLY-IMPOSED DARKNESS? The following is a true commentary. If you are a male of the species and are ‘offended’ by it, in the words of one high school coach, you’d better check to see if you have the full equipment to be called a man. Ahem. Brothers…are you tired of doing all the giving, but none of the receiving when it comes to YOUR life? Are you growing irritated at news reports that de-value the contributions of men to society at the expense of the institutions of the workplace, marriage and family? If you are single, do you grow cranky at the prospect of society dictating that your future wife should be proposing to you and offering you a ring, instead of having it done the traditional way? If you attend a house of worship, are you tired of seeing a woman in the pulpit, making an attempt to marginalize--or feminize--Jesus Christ? Are you rapidly growing tired of other men AGREEING with these well-dressed Jezebels? Do you get tired of seeing young women donning football jerseys, and young men putting in ‘fake‘ gold teeth and talking to themselves on street corners? Congratulations! By your irritation, you are a normal man--in an increasingly abnormal society. You don’t like living--or slipping--into a self-imposed darkness of failure and manufactured defeat. Now, WHAT are you going to do about it? SAY WHAT MIKE? That’s right; that’s my challenge. What are YOU going to do about it? Or, I should say WHEN, my brother, are you going to prove the LIES about us--and on us--WRONG by your OWN character, creativity, righteousness and conduct? I’m been convinced for a long time that the only way to turn around some of the shenanigans we see ‘coming out’ among our young men in is for Black MEN to get back into policing the ranks of our younger brothers, rather than letting them carry on as if nothing is wrong. Worse yet, I am frankly getting tired of having the so-called leaders of our churches and community more interested in qualifying for federal funding than helping to teach our young men how to live upright lives and to teach parents how they have the responsibility to BE parents! Now, before the sisters start slapping ‘high fives’ amongst themselves, I have a question for them as well: What are YOU doing about those ‘urban Jezebels’ that are in YOUR neighborhood? You know; the ones who have the body you USED to have--and the mouth and bitterness that you currently possess? The ones YOU imitate on the weekends and ignore during the week. Black Women--POLICE your OWN! Sisters; don’t shout me down when I’m on a roll, Amen? FIGHTING OUR WAY OUT OF A SOCIALLY-IMPOSED DARKNESS: Lately I’ve been spending more and more of my time serving as a ‘reminding rod’ of our own culture. I’ve had to remind more and more of my nay saying brothers (and sisters) that we--no matter how bad it may look--are not as ‘bad’ as we have been painted by the mainstream media brush. Have we lost our collective minds? Have we forgotten recent history? Have we forgotten the previous lies? We truly must be in the last days as it has become more convenient to ‘shiv’ a brother in the back, in order to impress by the local, state, or national ‘power structure’. I’ll deal with these ‘she-men’ more in a moment, but let me get the first part of my vent on the table. Brothers and sisters in the church, schools, and mainstream press: Is the receiving of grants and ‘warm fuzzies’ from major social service agencies WORTH ACCEPTING the ‘Black is bad’ label? Does it mean THAT much to you in our communities to ‘sell out’ your young brothers? Balderdash! There are commentators on BOTH sides of the political spectrum, and within the ranks of the church who are so determined to uphold the status quo that they are ‘recycling’ the lies that were told about Black men in general, and young Black men in particular JUST to qualify for that 30 pieces of silver to sell us OUT! We are anxiously accepting the negative, and not willing to point to our accomplishments as Black men. Furthermore, many of those accomplishments are in the non-traditional arenas of business, agriculture, and academics. Of course, we do have some of the traditional success stories in sports, but there are more and more of our young brothers who HAVE pulled themselves up by their bootstraps and have shunned the life of the easy buck and have quit themselves AS men. It is high time that many of us who are ‘Internet Savvy’ to stop the intellectual laziness, do a web search under ‘Successful Black Men’ and see, on a weekly basis how many brothers are NOT becoming statistics at the jailhouse, but inspirations in the economy. PITCHING THE TRAITORS OVERBOARD: You can not raise a ‘successful Black woman’ without having a ‘successful Black man’. Like the old folk used to say, ‘That dog WON’T hunt!’ It is bad enough that there are some sisters who are quite adept at spreading the ‘victim hood’ lie that Black men have done everything including stealing the Brooklyn Bridge. However, I am continuing my vent against the traitors in our OWN sex who are in agreement with them. Who are quite content to ‘masquerade’ as brothers, but who would better fit in the evening wear category at ‘Vickies’ based upon their pink and yellow in their spines. I believe that a firm housecleaning is in order to refresh our attitudes. It is high time that brothers put the gloves back ON and FIGHT our way out of our socially defined darkness. Anyone over the age of twelve can see that there is a lot of conspiracy fact in the USA. The lies that were told about young Black men when I was that age have been repackaged and readmitted to the mainstream. In fact, let me school some young brother who may be buzzing my column--please study your history and remember it. For, as sure as I am writing this communiqué, IF one knows their history--especially the enemies who are eyeballing our freedoms and traditions--one will have a better chance in staying on message and on a successful path. Keep a sober mind. For, if you can CLEARY outthink your adversary, you’ve got 90 percent of the trouble avoided, and the battle WON! Rule one of being a successful man; do NOT hang out with TRAITORS to our race and/or sex. Do not buy from them; do not contribute to their needs or causes, and do NOT support their sins of ignorance. Brothers, this simply means that you do not need to support ANY individual who likes to ‘clown’ on our brotherhood and our communities for a few extra pieces of silver in their pay envelope. In wrapping up, I’d just like to say that yes, you will be ‘going it alone’ for a time and maybe for a season. Brothers, there are folk who may have helped you in the past, but once you have an honest dialogue and find out the dirty-dirty on them and their loyalty to their causes and pet projects over the causes of truth, righteousness, and community, you may have to part company. They may be the ones to quickly lead you to the door. Do not worry my friend. I have discovered that whenever God wants a Man to start a new venture, HE sets him up with a new network of contacts. Some of them for the short term; some of them for the long haul. Nevertheless, do not feel discouraged nor depressed when you have to stand for right ALL BY YOURSELF. That’s the cost of being an upright Black man coming from society’s darkness, stereotypes and expectations and into the light of the newness of success! Mike Ramey is the author of THE MANHOOD LINE. A syndicated column written from a biblical, business, and common sense perspective. This column appears on fine websites around the world, and is on constant sail throughout the high seas of cyberspace. Emails are always welcomed to manhoodline@yahoo.com. © 2007 Mike Ramey/Barnstorm Communications. |