Plight Deepens for Black Men, Studies Warn

You know,

I'm glad this article came out. But as many brothers know, none of it is a surprise. The Times just broke it down into bite-size pieces. Really, if you travel, it's not a surprise anywhere in the world.

But the article seems to dance around something that I think should be in the lead paragraph: Black Men are in a cycle where we perpetuate our own suffering in a society that already hates us.

I'm not going to sit here and preach a sermon or cry a Greek tragedy for brothers, because there is a lot of good about us. For one thing, we are the most educated black men in U.S. history; secondly, we're the wealthiest black men in the world right now.

The true problem is we're the most powerless segment of western civilization. When it comes to manipulating society for our own ends, we're like a pianist with no fingers.

And we actually swallow this "good guy wins in the end" bullshit that white folks have been telling us for years. No, quite the opposite is true. It's all about the people who pull the strings.

That, my friends, has been the black man's downfall. Not drugs, not rap, not women, not whites, Jews, the police, nothing else has contributed more to our failures than a lack of understanding the Golden Rule: He Who Has The Gold Makes The Rules.

Attaining power is possible, but is is gained through two prime things -- time and focus.

I'm being vague, but feel free to discuss.

"What white person ever said that?  Never heard it."

Ummm, have you ever read any western literature at all? Saw a film? Seen a play?

The protagonist/antagonist structure has been the fuel of pop culture in western civilization for centuries. From bedtime stories to "Star Trek" it always drove home the point that the honest, just hero always won -- and the origins were always Eurocentric (and please don't drop the Bible into it, because that book is full of good guys who wound up in a tight squeeze).

But you're missing my whole point. What I'm saying, and please read closely, is that we have actually believed in this hero winding up on top thing, which was a terrible thing to follow. What we should have focused on was the man who has the power and learned how he gets it and uses it?

Do you understand me now?

What we should have focused on was the man who has the power and learned how he gets it and uses it?

Excellent point.

Black Men are in a cycle where we perpetuate our own suffering in a society that already hates us.

Great point...

They are taking all of our pligth deepend men. LOL

I don't debate with you... because quite frankly, I think you are an ass.

And we actually swallow this "good guy wins in the end" bullshit that white folks have been telling us for years. No, quite the opposite is true. It's all about the people who pull the strings.

Could you elaborate?

Well okay,

What I mean by that statement is that we live in a society where we have an "us" vs. "them" mentality. It permeates much of our general popular culture. Our bedtime stories have always talked about protagonists and antagonists. Even the religion and arts we embrace (even when the hero is an anti-hero like Tony Montana), all have this "good guy/bad guy" premise.

All of this has a psychological effect because it allows the thinking that the good guy winds up holding the strings, when in actuality this world is full of Machiavellian types who ruthlessly gain power. In fact, that is the true history of civilization.

Are you following me so far?

Everybody sees himself as the good guy and eventually thinks he or she did the right thing, or at least got some gratification, and should be in a gainful situation. But that hinders the focus on responsibility for one's actions, situation and station. You feel me?

So in short, too many brothers go about their lives thinking they are doing the right thing, or getting away with something, when their choices lead them to disempowerment. The way we are socialized has a lot to do with that.

The fact of the matter is, many of those families, nations and institutions in this world became powerful because they were calculating and ruthless, and excellent long-term planners -- all of which was a means to an end.

Now am I saying we should all be freaking Rasputin? No, but if we're going to be criminals, we should be good at it. The good crooks are the ones who never got caught, like Joe Kennedy.

We might have voted a variety of Democrats into Congress, but did we fund their campaigns, so that they would actually be obligated to us as constituents?

So really, all I am saying is that black people should stop believing in angels and messiahs who will sweep us to the "promised land." There is no such place. Just because we've been dragged through the mud does not mean we are God's "chosen people." In fact, Jews don't even believe that, which is why they took Israel instead of waiting for it to come to them.

Learning how to manipulate and exploit what we have and using resources to our own end will be our saviour.

We can learn this lesson, or not.