Originally posted Saturday, July 2, 2011 at http://mouseinthegiantsforest.blogspot.com/
Say it LOUD… I’m Black and I’m PROUD! We’ve all heard that chant before. Shoot, I did a little chanting of this phrase myself in my youth. But, as I matured, I had to take a long, hard look at the ghettos, slums, projects, poverty, the astronomical illegitimacy rate, gang violence and a plethora of other blights plaguing “minority communities”. I asked myself, what’s prideful about this mess? What do I see that I should be proud of? It looked more like failure to me. I know that there are individuals who have much to be proud of, but as a race, not so much. Certainly people are not proud simply because their skin happens to be black, are they? No…. No, that can’t be. Can it? No, no, no…. I’m going to say no as my final answer because that would be like people being proud just because they're gay!! How silly is that? Oh.....wait....
Pride: Definition # 1: satisfaction with self: the happy satisfied feeling somebody experiences when having or achieving something special that other people admire
Definition # 2: proper sense of own value: the correct level of respect for the importance and value of your personal character, life, efforts, or achievements
Definition # 3: feeling of superiority: a haughty attitude shown by somebody who believes, often unjustifiably, that he or she is better than others
Ok, I’m going to try to figure out where all of this Black pride is coming from by analyzing the word pride based on it‘s definitions…. here goes!
Analysis of Definition #1: I can definitely see having pride in your accomplishments and achieving something special that causes others to admire what you’ve done. However, people of all races are worthy of that kind of pride, right? So, since definition number one is not exclusive to Blacks, I can scratch it off and move on to the next definition. Wow, that was easy! So far, so good!
Analysis of Definition #2: There’s absolutely nothing wrong with having pride for being a person of good character; for personal achievements and living a good life or in seeing your efforts bear fruit. Once again though, this source of pride is not unique to Blacks, so I‘m moving on to definition number three.
Analysis of Definition # 3: Well, who would openly admit to feelings of superiority based on skin color that is not a full blown, out of the closet racist? I know that there are Black supremacists just as there are White supremacists. Don’t lie to yourself about that Black people because you know it’s true. Racism these days come from people of all hues and it’s equally disgusting no matter your skin color. I think reasonable people of all races can agree that being a racist is certainly nothing to be proud of, so, I can conclude that definition number three is not the source of Black pride either.
Sooo… the definition analysis was a bust! I’m still at a loss for why I’m hearing people chant “Black Pride” in this day and age, especially when Blacks are number one in every negative category: illegitimacy, poverty, number of abortions had, incarcerations, high school dropouts, low college matriculation--- you get my point, right? Blacks might be second in some of these categories by now since Hispanics are giving us a run for our money…or should that be a run for taxpayer’s money? It’s public knowledge that Blacks are doing poorly in these categories and it's preventing us from succeeding as a race; so, what’s there to be proud of based on “blackness”? At this point, the only answer I can come up with is that most blacks (and Hispanics) follow liberalism (Democrats, Progressives, Socialists, Communist--yep, those people). Liberalism teaches one to be proud of being on the losing end; after all, in the Liberal’s view, there are no losers! However, this sense of pride born from the sixties and seventies is false today, but many Blacks are still trying to hold on to it… umm, well, this false sense of pride certainly seems to be embraced by “African-Americans” (use of that term deserves a blog of its own!).
Let’s face it people, we’re Americans….period! We are of different races and therefore, we have some cultural differences based on heritage, (Italian, Irish, Black etc.) but ultimately, as Americans, our collective culture is Americana! In my opinion, there is nothing pride worthy about belonging to whatever race you happen to belong to; that happened by chance. I see no problem with being proud of whom you are as a human being and I am certainly VERY proud to be an American. I feel profoundly blessed to have been born in the United States of America, but do I feel a sense of pride based on skin color/race? Nope! That’s ridiculous. Pride and having a sense of high self regard comes from your accomplishments. It’s not something that you can just make up; it’s earned!
Since we are Americans, it’s only our excuses and our lack of desire that holds us down! Our failures and our successes are solely in our hands. Ever ask yourself why so many foreigners who come to the USA succeed? It's because of their desire to do so AND their appreciation for what many Americans take for granted....FREEDOM and OPPORTUNITY! If Robert Smalls (a slave) had the will and determination to escape and free his family, himself and other slaves by commandeering a naval ship in 1862, no Black person today should be using racism or white oppression as an excuse for their failures! As a result of his efforts, Robert Smalls became a Captain in the United States Navy! Yes! An escaped slave was a Captain in the US Navy in 1862! It’s now 2011 and “you is free” so, get “outta” here with that crazy “the White man holdin’ me down” nonsense!!
You know what? There is one positive category where Blacks rank number one: Churchgoers! According to a 2010 Gallup Poll, Blacks top the list of churchgoers at 55%; right up there with Republicans/Conservatives (also at 55%). Imagine that-- Blacks ranking with Conservatives! Liberals ranked at 27%. Can you see why following them puts us at number one in all negative categories!? When we start following God’s word and stop blindly following Liberals (other wise, why go to church so much), we will fall from number one in the negative categories and we will rise as surely as Jesus rose from the dead! Amen! Get Black to your roots, Black folk….come on home and embrace your conservative roots and values. Live up to your potential the way God intended for you to! That would be something to be proud of! Amen.
Pride: Definition # 1: satisfaction with self: the happy satisfied feeling somebody experiences when having or achieving something special that other people admire
Definition # 2: proper sense of own value: the correct level of respect for the importance and value of your personal character, life, efforts, or achievements
Definition # 3: feeling of superiority: a haughty attitude shown by somebody who believes, often unjustifiably, that he or she is better than others
Ok, I’m going to try to figure out where all of this Black pride is coming from by analyzing the word pride based on it‘s definitions…. here goes!
Analysis of Definition #1: I can definitely see having pride in your accomplishments and achieving something special that causes others to admire what you’ve done. However, people of all races are worthy of that kind of pride, right? So, since definition number one is not exclusive to Blacks, I can scratch it off and move on to the next definition. Wow, that was easy! So far, so good!
Analysis of Definition #2: There’s absolutely nothing wrong with having pride for being a person of good character; for personal achievements and living a good life or in seeing your efforts bear fruit. Once again though, this source of pride is not unique to Blacks, so I‘m moving on to definition number three.
Analysis of Definition # 3: Well, who would openly admit to feelings of superiority based on skin color that is not a full blown, out of the closet racist? I know that there are Black supremacists just as there are White supremacists. Don’t lie to yourself about that Black people because you know it’s true. Racism these days come from people of all hues and it’s equally disgusting no matter your skin color. I think reasonable people of all races can agree that being a racist is certainly nothing to be proud of, so, I can conclude that definition number three is not the source of Black pride either.
Sooo… the definition analysis was a bust! I’m still at a loss for why I’m hearing people chant “Black Pride” in this day and age, especially when Blacks are number one in every negative category: illegitimacy, poverty, number of abortions had, incarcerations, high school dropouts, low college matriculation--- you get my point, right? Blacks might be second in some of these categories by now since Hispanics are giving us a run for our money…or should that be a run for taxpayer’s money? It’s public knowledge that Blacks are doing poorly in these categories and it's preventing us from succeeding as a race; so, what’s there to be proud of based on “blackness”? At this point, the only answer I can come up with is that most blacks (and Hispanics) follow liberalism (Democrats, Progressives, Socialists, Communist--yep, those people). Liberalism teaches one to be proud of being on the losing end; after all, in the Liberal’s view, there are no losers! However, this sense of pride born from the sixties and seventies is false today, but many Blacks are still trying to hold on to it… umm, well, this false sense of pride certainly seems to be embraced by “African-Americans” (use of that term deserves a blog of its own!).
Let’s face it people, we’re Americans….period! We are of different races and therefore, we have some cultural differences based on heritage, (Italian, Irish, Black etc.) but ultimately, as Americans, our collective culture is Americana! In my opinion, there is nothing pride worthy about belonging to whatever race you happen to belong to; that happened by chance. I see no problem with being proud of whom you are as a human being and I am certainly VERY proud to be an American. I feel profoundly blessed to have been born in the United States of America, but do I feel a sense of pride based on skin color/race? Nope! That’s ridiculous. Pride and having a sense of high self regard comes from your accomplishments. It’s not something that you can just make up; it’s earned!
Since we are Americans, it’s only our excuses and our lack of desire that holds us down! Our failures and our successes are solely in our hands. Ever ask yourself why so many foreigners who come to the USA succeed? It's because of their desire to do so AND their appreciation for what many Americans take for granted....FREEDOM and OPPORTUNITY! If Robert Smalls (a slave) had the will and determination to escape and free his family, himself and other slaves by commandeering a naval ship in 1862, no Black person today should be using racism or white oppression as an excuse for their failures! As a result of his efforts, Robert Smalls became a Captain in the United States Navy! Yes! An escaped slave was a Captain in the US Navy in 1862! It’s now 2011 and “you is free” so, get “outta” here with that crazy “the White man holdin’ me down” nonsense!!
You know what? There is one positive category where Blacks rank number one: Churchgoers! According to a 2010 Gallup Poll, Blacks top the list of churchgoers at 55%; right up there with Republicans/Conservatives (also at 55%). Imagine that-- Blacks ranking with Conservatives! Liberals ranked at 27%. Can you see why following them puts us at number one in all negative categories!? When we start following God’s word and stop blindly following Liberals (other wise, why go to church so much), we will fall from number one in the negative categories and we will rise as surely as Jesus rose from the dead! Amen! Get Black to your roots, Black folk….come on home and embrace your conservative roots and values. Live up to your potential the way God intended for you to! That would be something to be proud of! Amen.
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