There’s a shortage of ‘good’ Black men. Most of them are either in prison, gay, or bow-wows.
Absolutes…
Black people operate on CP time; are always late and unprepared. (The revolution started at precisely 8 a.m. on June 19, 1976, but ended abruptly because everybody was late.)
Generalizations…
Black women raise their daughters, but ‘love’ their sons, who are more than likely to become dropouts, criminals, and sperm donors.
Generalizations…Black people don’t care about other Black people. We shun unity, are more divided than any other ethnic group and subscribe to the ‘crabs in the barrel’ paradigm.
Absolutes… All Black women are sexually promiscuous, breed like rabbits, and lack moral foundations.
Generalizations (oversimplifications)… Black businesses are inept, disrespectful toward their customers, and lack creditability. All of them overcharge, sell faulty materials, and can’t be trusted.
Absolute… Black men prefer lying around playing video games instead of working.
Generalizations (sweeping statements)… Black people are too naïve to participate in the political process and must be prodded and coerced. They don’t hold politicians accountable, are more in tune with symbolism than substance.
And oh yeah, we must be provided special accommodations because it’s harder for us to get IDs than White people.
Generalization… All Black people have rhythm. But that God-gift doesn’t help us walk straight lines to the polls, a crooked route to pick up litter around our homes, or an indirect path to motivate our children to maximize their educational experience.
Absolute generalizations….We don’t value education. We are genetically inferior and need affirmative action to advance.
Wanna hide something from Black people? Put it in a book.
Generalizations, generalizations, generalizations. Absolutes, absolutes, absolutes.
They define us, and most have become accepted stereotypes while generally untrue—if not blatantly deleterious.
My favorite generalizations start with ‘we don’t and ‘if we (unite) .’ My favorite absolute begins with ‘you, we, they never….’
While some Black people are quick to disparage Whites for uttering assorted G&As (generalizations and absolutes), few of us (another conception) acknowledge we contribute mightily to entrenched stereotypes and preconceptions as well. Nor do we recognize how those G&As impact our socioeconomic and cultural status.
Seems like every day, I hear a new generalization, frequently sandwiched between absolution and stereotype.
(I took a break from typing this column to make a run to the bank, during which I tuned into my fourth favorite local radio show—Tory Lowe on the Truth 101.7 FM. I heard six generalizations in the 30 minutes of travel time, one absolute, three unreferenced ‘facts,’ and two unsubstantiated declarations.)
Excluding local and national radio talk shows featuring various radio revolutionaries, I average two generalizations each day. In 47% of the time, at least one of those generalizations is sandwiched between an absolute or unfounded stereotype.
In far too many tribal households, every third sentence uttered by the rib bone starts with: ‘you never,’ or: ‘why can’t you ever….’
Most brothers just ignore them, understanding sisters have been socialized by the media and BFFs to accept that absolute reality.
That’s particularly true when the woman is a product of the ‘mother-mate’ syndrome.
Warning, another generalization.
A ‘mother-mate’ is that sister who raised her children essentially by herself. She was the head of the household and generally isn’t accepting of a biblical nuclear family role.
That’s not an absolute, but it comes close.
Absolutes are just as wrong as generalizations. They leave little room for logical discussion; they generalize without rationalization or data to back them up.
From a man’s point of view, upon hearing the other four-letter word– ‘never’–there’s no sense in offering a different perspective or reality. It’s best to focus on that one anatomical organ that Nyame gave exclusively to men for that purpose. (Adam’s apple, in case you have a dirty mind.)
The alternative is an unnecessary fight, which will include another absolute—our supposed insensitivity to a woman’s needs.
Since Black politicians are ‘never’ available, accountable, or accommodating, why vote, attend a meeting supporting a piece of legislation, or contribute to their campaigns?
If you think it through, you’ll recognize the dangers of generalizations, and you can understand why they—along with absolutes—contribute to our socio-economic-cultural stagnation. And our self-hatred.
You may even discover the link between our obsession with generalizations and how we’re treated by the power structure, particularly the political establishments.
A strong case can be made both parties utilize built-in excuses. They can justify their actions by announcing our generalizations.
Many of us are concerned about the heightened political polarization these days, not only because this paradigm is disingenuous, but because it shuts the door on beneficial legislation requiring cooperation.
A case in point was former State Representative Jason Fields’ working with Republicans to advance legislation of benefit to our tribe.
His reward was to be attacked and ostracized. Democratic Party leadership actually conspired to throw him out of office.
And many Black folks—pawns in the partisan political chess game—fell for the Okey-Doke.
That was a few years back, and the polarization was nowhere near as bad as today.
The Trump Administration’s flirtation with racists and White Supremacists created an atmosphere so toxic that to be seen walking on the same side of the street with a Republican can get you thrown out of the party, or, as President Biden declared, to lose your Black card.
Because of our generalizations about Republicans (they are all racists, right?) and our unwillingness to accept the reality that only we can or will empower us, the Grand Wizard of the KKK can run as a Democrat in an all-Black district and expect to win against a Black Republican.
Culturally, generalizations and absolutes have created a level of dysfunction and pandemonium that has all but destroyed our value system, along with the Black nuclear family.
We are so confused we call each other disparaging epithets, fail to accept God/Nyame designed roles, and terrorize our community.
For the record, generalizations are not the privy of the ignorant, lower-class, or culturally naive. We have all been conditioned to utilize them without thinking.
I’ve heard ministers preaching them. Merchants utter them frequently.
Many government educators don’t teach our children because they believe ‘poor’ Black children can’t be taught. I know some Black parents who feel the same way.
I once wrote about a Black college professor who declared he opposed school choice because Black parents were too stupid to make informed decisions for their children.
The recently elected superintendent of the Department of Public Instruction said the same thing. And yet, our Democratic Party ‘leaders’ not only earmarked nearly $1 million for her campaign but openly encouraged naïve Black folks to vote for her.
Maybe the worst and most debilitating generalization is that poor African Americans are happy being victims; are unwilling to do what is necessary to improve their conditions.
We don’t stand up to oppression, are not unified, don’t’ read, nor practice religious values, and are morally bankrupt. Oh yeah, and let’s not ignore the recently accepted fact that women can replace men; in essence, that single-parent households are apparently divinely preferable.
Actually, I agree with the generalizations—fact—that you will never get ‘all Black people to do anything, aside from breathing and dying.
Since we were brought to this country in 1526 (not 1619, as you’ve been told), most movements have been orchestrated by small groups, never the whole.
Nat Turner only led a handful of revolutionaries. Marcus Garvey rallied a percentage of frustrated African Americans to help purchase the Black Star Lines.
Martin Luther King, Jr. led small—comparatively—armies in his civil rights campaigns.
The Open Housing Marches, which served as my initiation to the human rights war, drew only a few thousand Black Milwaukeeans, as did the Coalition to Save North or the Justice for Earnest Lacy demonstrations.
The crusade to empower poor Black and Brown parents through the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program started with a dozen people. It grew significantly, but it was never even a majority who pulled the cover off educational apartheid and essentially created a national revolution.
While that is true, it should not be taken that only a handful of Black people are opposed to injustice or doing nothing to change their circumstances.
If anything, we must accentuate the positives and make a note of the consensus.
For the record, there are not more Black men in prison than in college.
As a group, we are not poor, spending over $4 billion on goods and services in Milwaukee annually.
Every day, thousands of Black groups—whether sharing a 40 on the corner, playing bid-wist, or emerging from the church, engage in conversations about the Black plight and how we can improve the quality of life of ALL Black people.
While data from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee provides that most Black men 18-55 are unemployed, nine of ten would like to and are aggressively seeking employment.
Only a small percentage of us ‘live’ off welfare, or perceive it as an occupation.
We detest crime, aren’t on dope, don’t steal, know our neighbors and find a way to support our families.
Granted, most of us don’t know all the words to the Black National Anthem, but that’s not a generalization. It’s a fact.
And I can absolutely declare that we will never enter the promised land until we replace the missionary from being behind the steering wheel.
Hotep.
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