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What, pray tell, would a Black political party base it's platform on?
~~~Black conservatives may be extremely critical of the Black situation, because, well, they are Black and they know from a first hand point of view, what society expects, what we expect of ourselves and how this whole thing actually plays out. I don't think it has anything to do with self hatred--dissapointment, yes, hatred, no. In one of my classes, taught by a White professor, he asked me why I felt so strongly about my conservative (politically speaking, not just socially speaking) values, especially in regards to the Black situation and I told him 'I expect better. I know we can do better. We haven't been handed the opportunities as other races (i.e. White people), but things have changed (resources available to us) and we need to get on the ball." To the other Blacks in the class who identified as liberals (again, politically speaking, not just socially speaking), I was 'insensitive' and yes, you guessed it, a 'sellout'--which I thought was funny---I was the only person who graduated from a historically Black Boarding school and whose parents stressed Black history/self identification since birth (we all were reading 'Miseducation of the Negro' and more in elementary school). I probably knew more about so-called 'being Black' than they did...but I digress...
So, not being with the majority of Blacks in my classes dealing with race and politics as far as political affiliation, I am, of course, more often than not beside the Whites in the class arguments/discussion. So, then, I guess, I'm trying to be 'like them' or I 'don't get it'.
~~~~The immorality schtick is important because its effects are ruining our people. Plain and simple. No, everyone didn't get the opportunity to know having many children with many men outside of wedlock is not normal or cohesive to the family structure or sometimes detrimental to the child's development is not good, but it doesn't make it okay. No, everyone didn't get the opportunity to learn that spending your money on childrens' educational vidoes versus those $200 gym shoes/insert brand name item here is not okay, but it doesn't make it okay. No, everyone didn't get the opportunity to learn that not only is going to school beneficial to your longterm success in life, it's beneficial to the community and your descendants, but that doesn't make it okay. I could go on and on, but my point is this: there needs to be less finger pointing, name calling and blame placing and more teaching. And that's beyond the classroom. It starts at home, with the village and people who will finally stop saying 'Well, such and such is doing/not doing this and look what happened' and start saying 'This is what we need to do to fix it. Let's get on a roll.'
Or at least, that's why I say. As a conservative Black, I feel obliged to educated my little cousins, my 'littles' (I'm a Big Sister), the foster children my parents raise and those who are a part of my brother's ministry (he has a ministry called 'Break the Cycle: I Dare You!'--go figure), that what they might be going through is not their fault, and that they can do more than what they ever thought they could acheive if they focus on the things that are important. They might go home to situations that might totally refute what I am showing them as an example and telling them in my interactions with them, but that's part of the learning process. And that doesn't even have anything to do with my being conservative.
What do we need to do?
Educate the parents. Educate the spirit. Educate a people. Stop making things okay when they aren't. Don't reward for things that are detrimental to your well being (i.e. giving welfare to 'repeat' offenders' or women, already on welfare with children, continue to have more children--they need to prove they will/already work and/or go to school before their aid is increased OR support videos/entire stations that hype up a lot of this nonsense/mentality). White people saying this same stuff doesn't make it wrong; a lot of times they are right, but we don't want to hear it. Call them racist. Say they don't understand. When Bill Cosby says it, he's 'getting old and out line' and is 'saying what White people have been telling him'. We can say it's not a bad thing and/or ignore it, but the numbers don't lie (number/percentage of single mothers vs. married couples in the Black community, those graduating from high school and those going to prison, etc.) and neither does the situation. So something has to give.
In the meanwhile, we don't have a party. And as most of you know, especially if you've ever taken a politics course, this country is based on a two party system. It's much easier to align yourself with either one than to try to rally up people, many of whom may not be neccessarily apathetic, but not interested in/not able to vote/participate in the political process, and create a party. With what's already here, we need to make a change.
enigma_AKA
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